Sports agent, associate arrested in Auburn star’s case

Bill Poovey

Tuesday, April 25, 2000 | 2:33 a.m.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Las Vegas authorities arrested a sports agent and a self-described "middle man" for agents on charges of providing $2,500 to former Auburn basketball star Chris Porter.

A spokeswoman said the multiagency Criminal Apprehension Team was continuing to seek Colleen Preiss, 49, also of Las Vegas. She has been described in news accounts as the person who provided $500 and $2,000 money orders for Porter.

A law enforcement spokeswoman said sports agent Robert J. Walsh, 39, and an associate, Nate Cebrun, 54, both of Las Vegas, were arrested Monday on Alabama warrants charging them with violating the state's sports agent law.

The law prohibits agents from secretly contacting college or high school athletes, or providing them money.

Cebrun has said Preiss is a wealthy woman who provided the money as a loan to help out Porter's mother.

The arrests came after a grand jury in Lee County indicted the three. The indictments contend that Walsh and Cebrun provided money to Porter.

The senior star said the money was to help his mother. He said he didn't know it was from an agent.

Police said Walsh was arrested during a traffic stop and Cebrun was arrested at his apartment, where he was hiding in a bathroom. Both were released on their own recognizance.

A conviction for violating Alabama's sports agent law is a Class B felony, with a maximum possible penalty of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

A woman who answered the telephone at Walsh's Las Vegas office said he was in a meeting and not available, although he was aware of the message seeking comment. Cebrun and Preiss do not have telephone numbers listed.

The payment to Porter, once projected as a first-round NBA draft pick, prompted Auburn in late February to suspend the senior star. The NCAA refused to reinstate Porter and an appeals panel upheld that decision, ending his career prior to postseason play.

Porter admitted to the university and to Southeastern Conference officials that he accepted money.

In addition to sports agents, the law says that any student-athlete who has improper dealings with an agent and fails to notify a school or university can be convicted of a misdemeanor and can be sued along with the agent for damages, such as any lost television revenue.

The Alabama Athlete Agent Regulatory Commission has directed the state attorney general's office to prosecute any wrongdoing discovered in the Porter investigation.

Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor previously has refused to discuss the investigation. His office issued a statement Tuesday that the three defendants were each named in three-count indictments.

Cebrun has said he was introduced to Porter by Auburn center David Hamilton of Compton, Calif. Cebrun said he knew Hamilton through summer league basketball. Hamilton was Porter's roommate until Hamilton left the team on Feb. 9.

Cebrun has had several run-ins with the NCAA. They include his role in a free shopping spree by Florida State football players at shoe store in Tallahassee. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail under a plea-bargain agreement he reached in the case after being charged with failing to register as a sports agent in Florida.