Former UofL basketball assistant coach Dino Gaudio federally charged with extortion

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - University of Louisville basketball’s former assistant coach Dino Gaudio has been federally charged with extortion, according to court documents obtained Tuesday.

UofL announced on March 18 Gaudio’s contract would not be renewed, being let go alongside former assistant coach Luke Murray. Gaudio was hired by the university back in 2018.

In court documents filed with the US District Court Western District of Kentucky, Gaudio allegedly threatened on March 17 to report to the media “allegations that the University of Louisville men’s basketball program had violated National College Athletic Association rules” in recruiting student athletes.

Documents also state Gaudio would have released video evidence unless the university paid his salary “for an additional 17 months or provided the lump sum equivalent of 17 months of salary.”

Gaudio allegedly sent a text message to UofL personnel that contained one of the recruitment videos he threatened to send to the media. The message was sent and received both in and outside of the commonwealth.

The University of Louisville released a statement regarding the charges against Gaudio:

“This afternoon, the United States Attorney’s Office of Western Kentucky charged former University of Louisville assistant men’s basketball coach Dino Gaudio with “interstate communication with intent to extort” related to the non-renewal of his contract with the University. As detailed in the charging document, after Gaudio was informed that his contract would not be renewed, he threatened to inform members of the media of alleged NCAA violations within the men’s basketball program unless he was paid a significant sum of money. The allegations of violations are the impermissible production of recruiting videos for prospective student-athletes and the impermissible use of graduate managers in practices and workouts. While the University cannot comment further due to the ongoing federal investigation and the NCAA process, it continues to cooperate with authorities as well as with the NCAA on the matter.”

UofL head basketball coach Chris Mack also released the following statement on the charges:

“While I cannot comment on the details or substance of the matter, I am grateful for the professionalism of members of law enforcement and the United States Attorney’s Office. The University and I were the victims of Coach Gaudio’s conduct and I will continue to fully cooperate with authorities in their investigations. We take seriously any allegation of NCAA violations within our basketball program and will work within the NCAA processes to fully review the allegations.”