COLUMBUS - On March 8, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and president Gordon Gee along with coach Jim Tressel held a press conference to announce NCAA ethics violations by Tressel.

Tressel had received emails from a Columbus attorney Christopher Cicero in April 2010 stating that Terrelle Pryor and a teammate, wide receiver DeVier Posey, had been selling memorabilia items to a Columbus area tattoo-parlor owner under federal investigation for drug trafficking.

During this televised conference the Buckeyes coach claimed he did not share the information with the school or the NCAA in order to protect the confidentiality of the federal probe and for the safety of the players involved.

But he did nod his head when asked if he forwarded the emails he received and Smith quickly spoke up to prevent Tressel from commenting about the matter currently under investigation by the NCAA.

Tressel was originally suspended for two games and fined $250,000 by OSU, but asked the university a week ago to extend the suspension to 5 games, bringing it in line with the punishment given to the five Buckeye players that were suspended as part of the original investigation.

Now, according to an article published today on the Columbus Dispatch website, Tressel did share information with someone other than the university or the NCAA.

According to the Dispatch, Tressel shared the emails with Ted Sarniak, a 67 year old prominent businessman in Terrel Pryor’s hometown of Jeannette, Penn. Sarniak has been close to Pryor for several years and had accompanied him on recruiting trips and attended Ohio State games.

Ohio State didn’t confirm the forwarded emails to Sarniak, telling The Dispatch it won’t comment on the case until the NCAA investigation is concluded.

“We are not discussing any issues relative to the case until it is resolved with the NCAA.”

Doug Archie, the school’s compliance director, told the newspaper Sarniak isn’t considered a booster because of his long time relationship with the player and that Ohio State had reviewed the relationship between Pryor and Sarniak before Pryor enrolled at Ohio State.

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