Clarett's Funding Came From Israeli Gangster?

In the days after Maurice Clarett's arrest, there were numerous stories about how he had received compensation in the forms of cash, cars and living arrangements most likely in exchange for a cut of his rookie NFL contract. Some articles hinted that he was backed my rap artists, but ESPN has reported that he was actually receiving the compensation from an Israeli mobster by the name of Hai Waknine.

Apparently, the FBI even questioned Clarett about his relationship with Waknine before the '05 NFL draft, though no details of that investigation have been released. This past June, Waknine plead guilty to one charge of racketeering(he was accused of 46 crimes; including racketeering, extortion, etc.) Waknine was also tied to a gaming license for Judah Hertz that failed to be approved in 2000.

The Nevada Gaming Commission supposedly had some concerns because a part of the money that Hertz used for his Reno properties came from an uncle of Hai Waknine. The Control Board described Hai and Assaf Waknine as "alleged enforcers for Orgad(an associate of Hertz) and members of the Bachsihan crime organization involved in ecstasy dealing."

Another interesting tidbit is that apparently Youngstown, Ohio has ties to the Italian mob. Clarett's attorney, Nick Mango(insert SNL reference here___), said, "It's been kind of tossed around by us, and quite frankly, Youngstown has quite a reputation -- if you don't know it already -- for the Italian side of that ballgame."

Seriously, what the hell is going on in Ohio?

First it's Chappelle, then the Bengals, now high school football players having their sentences postponed until after the season and the Sopranos invading Youngstown.