Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/145833
Under the Dome Chris Zorich Sentenced To Probation On July 12, former Notre Dame two-time consensus All-American, 1990 Lombardi Award winner and 2007 National Football Foundation Hall of Fame inductee Chris Zorich was sentenced to three years probation by U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Martin. It was better than the alternative of facing up to 16 months in prison for failure to file tax returns from 2006‑09. During those four years, court records indicated that Zorich had a gross income of more than $1 million in deferred compensation from the NFL's Chicago Bears and other sources. The famed 1991 alumnus, who also graduated from Notre Dame's Law School in 2002, was hired by his alma mater's athletics department in 2008 as its manager for student welfare and Zorich received three years probation and development, a title that later changed was ordered to pay more than $70,000 in to manager of youth programming and restitution for failure to file tax returns from community outreach. 2006-09. Photo courtesy Notre dame media relations However, in the fall of 2010 it was revealed that Zorich had resigned from his position at Notre Dame, shortly after the Chicago Tribune had reported he didn't know the location of $864,645 in assets listed on the Chris Zorich Charitable Foundation he began in 1993 while playing for the Bears from 1991-96. He also played for the Washington Redskins in 1997 before retiring from football. In March 2013, the 44-year-old Zorich pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges but has denied any misuse of the funds. "I'm obviously very sorry about my actions," he told the court after the July 12 decision. "I take full responsibility for them." Judge Martin took into account what he noted as Zorich's otherwise "exemplary" life, including the lack of a criminal background despite coming from an impoverished background, numerous charitable works, and letters of support from friends and strangers. Per the Chicago Tribune, Judge Martin ordered Zorich to pay more than $70,000 in restitution. His current assets are worth around $300,000, but he owes nearly $350,000 to the state of Illinois alone.