Boxing promoter faces 200 year jail sentence
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from January 1982.
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Harold Rossfields Smith, 38, and a former bank employee, Sammie Marshall, 36, were convicted Wednesday after a seven-week trial of embezzling 21.3 million dollars from Wells Fargo Bank.
The powerfully-built Smith, who remains free on 250,000 dollars bail until he is sentenced on March 9, told reporters after his conviction on 29 counts of embezzlement, conspiracy and interstate transporation of property taken by fraud:
"This is not the final step. I'm a fighter. I have no plan to running anywhere. Whatever is dished out to me, I'm man enough to take."
Marshall was found guilty on three charges and could go to jail for up to 15 years. A third accused, L. Ben Lewis, a former bank loan officer, who pleaded guilty earlier to his part in the scheme, was the prosecution's star witness.
Smith was alleged to have arranged with Marshall and Lewis, who worked for Wells Fargo, to "divert and secrete" certain cheques that Smith cashed at a bank branch so they would not be charged against his account.
The indictment said fictitious bank entries were made so it would appear funds credited to Smith were transferred from another branch of the bank, which takes its name from an old western stagecoach line.
Sports writers have estimated Smith spent 21 million dollars on promoting fights and lost up to 10 million dollars of that amount.
He ran Muhammad Ali Professional Sports, which paid the former world champion to use his name. But police have said there was no evidence of any wrongdoing by Ali. Of 23 fight programmes staged by the sports organisation, none was listed as having made a profit.
A little known heavyweight named Eddie Lopez received 100,000 dollars for a fight and heavyweight champion Larry Holmes was offered 900,000 dollars to sign a promotional contract. The organisation at one time controlled eight world champions.
Other big U.S. promoters were often unable to match the giant purses offered by Smith.
Smith's lawyer, Howard Moore, told reporters he expected his client to appeal against his conviction.
The prosecutor, Dean Allison, told reporters: "The evidence proved overwhelmingly Smith was guilty."
Smith, wearing a cowboy hat and shirt, declared: "I'm not afraid. The battle isn't over."
Smith, 38, who was also known as Ross Fields, was found guilty after a seven-week trial on 29 counts of embezzlement, conspiracy and inter-state transportation of property taken by fraud.
He could be sentenced to up to 200 years in prison. His fellow accused, former bank employee Sammie Marshall, 36, was found guilty on three counts in the scheme and could be sentenced to up to 15 years in goal.
The jury of eight men and four women announced its verdict before a U.S. district court here after eight days of deliberation.
A third accused, L. Ben Lewis, a former loan officer at the Wells Fargo Bank, pleaded guilty earlier to his role in the scheme and became the prosecution's chief witness.
Smith, a giant but soft-spoken man, did not give evidence at his trial. His lawyer, Howard Moore, told the court Smith had a legitimate line of credit at the bank.
A former rock music promoter, Smith emerged from obscurity in 1978 to become one of the most powerful promoters in professional boxing with a seemingly unlimited amount of money to pay in purses. Two little known welterweights were paid 300,000 dollars for fights that brought in less than 90,000 dollars at the gate and boxing promoters estimated the promotional organisation could have lost up to 10 million dollars. Smith and his wife and child lived in a series of hiding places after the bank filed a suit a year ago to recover the money. The suit is still pending. Before he was arrested. Smith periodically telephoned reporters from hiding to say he had promoted fights because he wanted to rid the sport of corruption.
