Is Something Mentally Wrong With Karen Sypher? She Claims Now That Her Husband Tim Was Paid To Marry Her -- Presumably, By Rick Pitino. Sheeeeesh!

Sypher says husband was paid to marry her
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears

In a telephone call with a Louisville police detective on July 13 concerning her allegations that University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino raped her in 2003, Karen Sypher said her estranged husband Tim Sypher "was paid to marry me," according to police records.

Tim Sypher, a long-time personal assistant to Pitino, married Sypher in 2004. The couple are in the process of divorcing.

The information was detailed in police records obtained by the Herald-Leader through a request under the Kentucky Open Records Act.

Karen Sypher did not say in the police interview who allegedly paid her husband to marry her.

Steve Pence, Pitino's lawyer, told the Associated Press Friday that the allegation of a plot to keep Karen Sypher silent by finding her a husband was a "complete fabrication."

"Karen Sypher promised that if coach Pitino did not pay her $10 million, she was going to embarrass him," Pence said. "This is part of that promise."

The Louisville Courier-Journal obtained the police records initially and reported on Tuesday that Pitino, 56, told police in a July 12 interview that he had consensual sex with Karen Sypher at a Louisville restaurant in August 2003.

Pitino told police, according to police records, that he paid her $3,000 when she said she had become pregnant and wanted an abortion, but had no health insurance. Steve Pence, Pitino's attorney, said that Pitino gave her the money for health insurance and not specifically for the abortion.

Sypher accused Pitino of rape in July after a federal grand jury indicted her on charges of trying to extort up to $10 million from Pitino.

Pitino told police he did not rape Sypher, who was unmarried at the time. Last month, a prosecutor declined to pursue the case because of a lack of evidence.

On Wednesday, Pitino, a married father of five, publicly apologized to his family, U of L officials, and his fans after details of his interview with police were reported.

The police records show that Louisville police Sgt. Andy Abbott said in his reports that he found problems with Karen Sypher's credibility. She could offer valid explanations on some key points, he said.

Tim Sypher's attorney, James McCrocklin, did not return a telephone call seeking comment on Friday.