Tattoo parlor owner behind Ohio St. scandal sentenced

Edward Rife/Ctsy: Dispatch.com

((ht: dispatch.com))

The man who helped bring the issues at Ohio State to the forefront, will spend the next 3-years-in jail.

Edward Rife, a convicted drug dealer and former owner of Fine Line Ink tattoo's in Columbus, Ohio, not only trafficked in drugs out of the shop, he dealt in Ohio State memorabilia.

You'll recall, the pay-for-tats scandal that ensnared former QB Terrelle Pryor and 5 current OSU players. In that, Rife got signed memorabilia from the players in return for tattoo's. The ensuing investigation also cost Jim Tressel, the former coach, his job.

Read the entire story from Dispatch.com RIGHT HERE

Rife eventually would plead guilty to drug charges, which he was sentenced on. As part of the plea deal, he got to keep the memorabilia that he already had.

In reality, this is only the second of several steps tOSU is going to go through as the NCAA wraps up its investigation. It just closes one of several chapters in it.

The school should learn some time in the next few months what the punishment will be for that and other alleged transgressions from the NCAA. We suspect, while stern, they won't be crippling.

Edward Rife (OSU tattoo guy) expected to plead in court today

Edward Rife

((ht: Columbus Dispatch))

Obviously, we'll update this story later in the day after he appears. But we wanted to let everyone know that the man at the center of the Ohio State "Tattoo-gate" problems is expected to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges in the U.S District Court in Columbus.

Edward Rife owns Fine Line Ink Tattoos, and his place in the public eye came after it was discovered he was selling signed memorabilia from Ohio State football players. Active OSU football players.

That revelation has sent the Ohio State football program and administration into an incredible tailspin. The active players involved were suspended for the 1st 5 games of 2011. The investigation eventually cost now former coach Jim Tressell his job.

You can read Tuesday mornings update from the Columbus Dispatch RIGHT HERE

Rife's plea will not have much of an impact on the NCAA investigation. The NCAA is looking at this incident along with many, many other issues that have cropped up since this all began last year.

The memorabilia that Rife has will be sold by the government if Rife can't come up with $50,000 he apparently agreed to fork over for it.

Check back frequently, we'll let you know what happened with this story later today.