Book Richardson suspended by Arizona Wildcats amid FBI investigation

The UA learned of the investigation on Tuesday morning

Arizona Wildcats assistant coach Book Richardson has been “immediately suspended and relieved of all duties” following his arrest in an FBI corruption probe, the University of Arizona announced Tuesday.

Here is the University of Arizona’s response in its entirety

“We were made aware of the Department of Justice’s investigation this morning and we are cooperating fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office. Assistant coach Emanuel Richardson was immediately suspended and relieved of all duties.

“We were appalled to learn of the allegations as they do not reflect the standards we hold ourselves to and require from our colleagues. The University of Arizona has a strong culture of compliance and the expectation is we follow the rules.”

Here is the statement from Arizona Athletics:

“We became aware of the situation involving one of our men’s basketball coaches Emmanuel Richardson this morning. We have been working in conjunction with the University and have confirmed that Richardson has been suspension effective immediately. We will cooperate fully with authorities as they move through their investigation.

“We work under the basic directive that all department personnel operate within applicable laws and NCAA rules. The behavior that Richardson is accused of is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the principles of this athletics department.”

Richardson was one of four assistant coaches charged with fraud and corruption for accepting bribes to pressure student-athletes to take on certain agents and advisors.

Richardson allegedly accepted $20,000 bribes, and he used some of the money to pay at least one recruit to attend the UA, a court document says.

Richardson has been on Arizona’s staff since 2009 when head coach Sean Miller was hired from Xavier, where Richardson was also on Miller’s staff.

Richardson was primarily known for his recruiting prowess, especially on the East Coast.

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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