Gunzlingr
07-10-2003, 04:30 PM
SACRAMENTO -- Luxury suites did not even come close to selling out for the Raiders' inaugural 1995 season in Oakland, the team's former star quarterback testified Wednesday.
Instead, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum board and an organization created to peddle season tickets sold a handful of suites on a game-by-game basis and constantly sought new companies to sign on for the full year, said Daryl Lamonica, whose practice of throwing long passes earned him the nickname of "Mad Bomber" in the 1960s when he quarterbacked for the Raiders.
While his testimony does not broach the question of whether the Raiders were the victim of fraud, it does appear to conflict with past testimony by top team officials who said they never found out suites weren't sold out until 1996.
In particular, Lamonica's testimony placed into question past testimony by Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask.
MORE (http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1504542,00.html)
Instead, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum board and an organization created to peddle season tickets sold a handful of suites on a game-by-game basis and constantly sought new companies to sign on for the full year, said Daryl Lamonica, whose practice of throwing long passes earned him the nickname of "Mad Bomber" in the 1960s when he quarterbacked for the Raiders.
While his testimony does not broach the question of whether the Raiders were the victim of fraud, it does appear to conflict with past testimony by top team officials who said they never found out suites weren't sold out until 1996.
In particular, Lamonica's testimony placed into question past testimony by Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask.
MORE (http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1504542,00.html)