Free Republic

Bill Rasmussen [founder of ESPN], left, talks with Robert Hardy while the two await sentencing Friday morning at the Sarasota County Judicial Center. In the background is Rasmussen’s defense attorney, Jerry Berry, left, and Hardy’s defense attorney, Ron Hanes, center. Stadium Naples: Rasmussen, Bob Hardy both get probation [for racketeering conspiracy] By DENISE ZOLDAN, dczoldan@naplesnews.com January 10, 2004 Real estate mogul Bob Hardy and Stadium Naples idea man Bill Rasmussen chatted like old friends Friday morning inside the Sarasota County Judicial Center courtroom. Within minutes, both men would begin the final chapter the largest public corruption case in the history...

Stadium Naples: ESPN founder pleads guilty to reduced charges in fraud case Wednesday, August 28, 2002 By GINA EDWARDS, gvedwards@naplesnews.com Bill Rasmussen, the ESPN founder who left Naples three years ago under a cloud of debt, pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges in the fraud case involving the failed Stadium Naples golf arena. As part of a plea deal, special prosecutors agreed to drop a corruption charge in a separate case against Rasmussen in exchange for his testimony and cooperation against former Collier County Commissioner John Norris and others. ESPN founder and Stadium Naples partner Bill Rasmussen, right, confers with...