New Orleans Saints Brass Tarnish Lombardi Luster with Vicodin Scandal

Has the Madden curse already begun?

Could the defending Superbowl Champs be without their star...coach?

Guess that all depends on where you fall on the breaking scandal around a lawsuit filed against the New Orleans Saints this past Friday, April 30, 2010.

The civil suit, filed in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana alleges not only a break-in and theft of vicodin from the team drug locker but the possibility of a huge cover up by the front office.

Former security director for the New Orleans Saints Geoffrey Santini, and 31 year veteran of the FBI claims there was a theft of 110 Vicodin tablets from the team's drug locker between January and April of 2009. At this point, Santini allegedly spoke with Mickey Loomis, Saints general manager.

The story goes...Mr. Loomis directed Santini to use a hidden camera in the trainer’s room to capture any further vicodin theft. On April 30, 2009 Santini claims to have been informed of eight missing vicodin tablets.

Enter alleged video tape evidence...Shows Senior Staff Member B, believed to be Joe Vitt, assistant and linebacker coach, is accused of using trainer Scottie Patton's keys to gain access to the drug locker and subsequently taking eight pills from the bottle of vicodin.

Videotaped evidence claims to show SSM-B also procuring 12 more pills the next day as well as an attempt to gain access to more on a third day. The bottle had been moved to a more secure area therefore the attempt yielded no pills, however the video shows the attempt.

Santini informed Mr. Loomis of what the tape yielded and that in order to preserve it, a copy needed to be made. At this point Mr. Loomis told Santini, "No, this is not a criminal investigation".

However, being in the medical field myself, I am keenly aware that all scheduled narcotics must be logged in and audited on a regular basis. I am assuming the same is true in the NFL as well especially in light of so many high profile drug test violations popping up over the past few years. 

There are allegations of Sean Payton, head coach of the Saints and SSM-A as also being involved; however that involvement is very unclear if at all. Both coaches are believed to have a prescription for the vicodin with Coach Payton's to be minimal (prn-as needed) while Vitt more of an ongoing regime of treatment for a valid medical condition.

The suit also alleges a cover up of the act starting with not securing videotaped evidence as well as a changing of the drug log book.

Just how deep the rabbit hole goes on this one remains to be seen.

My guess is that more facts will be coming soon. However the impending oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico and its effect on the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline as well as the car bomb in New York’s Times Square over the weekend has had the national media’s eye.

Something tells me that Roger Goodell’s eye may be looking into this case very soon.