Saints' Vitt rips allegations

NEW ORLEANS -- While state police and the FBI start a wiretapping probe into the Saints and general manager Mickey Loomis, assistant head coach Joe Vitt is calling the allegations that Loomis had his Superdome booth wired so he could listen to opposing coaches "ludicrous."

Vitt calls the suggestion "impossible" and that he's never heard of something like that before. He said it sounds more like something out of "Star Wars."

A joint Louisiana state police and FBI task force began investigating Tuesday, one day after anonymous sources made the allegations in an ESPN report. State police Col. Mike Edmonson confirmed the joint effort.

Loomis and the Saints have called the allegations "1,000 percent false," and have said they are reviewing legal recourse with regard to the report that described a setup that would have allowed Loomis to eavesdrop on opponents from 2002-04. ESPN could not verify the system was used.

Edmonson said he is aware that statutes of limitations -- six years under state wiretapping laws -- may hinder prosecution but added, "Let's find out if any laws have been broken first.''

The statute of limitations for federal wiretapping crimes is generally five years.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten in New Orleans also said his office had been told about "general allegations" involving the Saints and possible wiretapping.

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Loomis described his game-day setup in the Superdome booth in an emailed statement Monday. He said the booth has a monitor that provides league-issued stats, a small TV with the network broadcast and an earpiece to listen to the local radio broadcast.

"To think I am sitting in there listening and actually . . . doing something with the offensive and defensive play calls of the opposing teams makes this story and the unnamed sources that provided the false information that much more less credible," Loomis' statement said. "It just didn't happen."

Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was the Saints' coach from 2000-05. In a comment the Saints forwarded to the AP by email, Haslett denied knowledge of any system that would have allowed for eavesdropping on opponents.