Moffitt's wife will have to repay employer

TAMPA -- The wife of USF linebacker Ben Moffitt will have to repay the Sumter County property appraiser's office for any work time she spent writing school papers for her husband, property appraiser Ronnie Hawkins said Tuesday.

"People expect that if our time was used to do that kind of stuff, she's going to repay us for that time," Hawkins said. "I don't know the hours. It could be five hours, it could be two hours."

USF senior Ben Moffitt filed for divorce Thursday after five years of marriage. Shauna made headlines earlier that day, saying her husband had abruptly left her and their two young children in November, and that she had written "every single paper he has ever written" at USF and taken online classes for her husband. Over the past three seasons, local and national media outlets had shared the story of Moffitt, who made a daily 55-mile commute to be with his family, juggling that part of his life with the busy schedule of a college athlete.

Hawkins said when he discussed the issue with Moffitt, she admitted between five and eight papers had been written on her office computer but wasn't sure whether the work was done on the clock or not.

"I'm not going to say it's negligible. She's going to make it right," he said. "She couldn't remember when it was, said it was early in the morning. I'm going to find out in the next few days if it was between 8:30 and 5."

Moffitt has worked in her job as a data specialist since May 2000 and earns a salary of $34,918, according to Marie Lovett, an administrative assistant in the office. Hawkins said Moffitt's job was never at risk and that the time spent doing non-work activities wasn't anything significant.

"It didn't affect her work," he said. "We're in a growing county, and she's responsible for a ton of work. I'm going to reprimand her, but once I'm assured the taxpayers have been reimbursed, it is over."

Comments

[Growler Bull]

So if it turns out that she didn't write ALL of his papers is the county going to pay her back for lying?

[ETC]

She shouldn't have lied if she did

[Holly]

What was Shauna's goal when she opened her mouth? Just another example of a bitter and hateful female. She's a lesson in what NOT to do...shameful!

[Mike]

Divorce sucks, it has cost me a few hundred grand...pay it back goverment employee, your job is supported by taxpayers!!

[Jrtnutt]

She should have kept her mouth shut and sucked him dry once he entered the NFL

[Jack]

Hopefully her lowlife husband gets what he deserves as well.

His husband is a dirtbag imo.

[ronsha]

This is going to get nasty on all sides. bitter. It's a shame to drag so many people into the fray.

So basically she admits to a crime, or at least a work and ethics infraction, in order to simply embarass him. Being such an idiot, how on earth did she ever pass his classes. LOL. Good that he left her.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

Nice to see some open discussion on the issue. Looks like another one of my buddies, Herman Momart, was banned from thebullspen.com for giving some insight on the issue. It seems like Brad Meyer is pretty proud of his treehouse and likes his perch. What a loser. Sad that this is the only place in Tampa where we can have an honest debate about this sensitive subject.

Keep up the good work Greg. Always out in front.

[Growler Bull]

UCiF fans are gutless. BTW...how is O'Leary's heart doing?

[Brad Meyer]

Thanks for the publicity Ari. Your boy Herm was booted from the board after making a salacious accusation about Ben Moffitt. You see, over there, we have rules. It's not a bunch of anonymous people taking shots at those unable to defend themselves in the same forum. We try to keep slander and false-identities to a minimum. Continue to dwell here, it fits you well.

[VOR]

I keep seeing "writing" in all these articles as if it were a proven fact.
He MAY have writen them, she may have TYPED them on her office computer.

Anyhow, It really would'nt take much to forensically go thru her computer to determine how much time she spent on the papers.

[Mike]

Oh, so she didn't write ALL of his papers now? How are they going to prove she wrote any at all?

[Robert]

Not very well planned out on her part. She sould have thought it through before she exposed her family issues to the public. Now she may get burned.

[Fritz]

Lesson learned: Don't open fat mouth unless it's for a Big Mac.

[Brad Meyer]

There are 5 total bans in 9 years and 3 are attributable to your IP Ari. It has nothing to do with power, it has to do with decency. Most people know that. there is no reason for me to argue with you.

you've called me a loser and worse in your emails Ari. If this brings you a greater feeling of worth, that's fine.

Lastly, if you could read thebullspen.com, you'd see I've not defended Moffitt. But now that you're Hermie account is gone I guess you're left to making accusations.

"Brad has banned 'everyone'". LOL! Shauna may not be the only scorned one making ridiculous comments.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

I don't think I have had one problem with Greg. Guy always has good insight and even allows the nut jobs to put forward there perspective. Nice and refreshing.

And Rules.. They are located on the left hand side of the blog, for the mentally challanged and blind.

[G.A.]

Again, I'm spending my time not reporting USF news, but trying to decide which posts to delete.

Mike, I'm thinking the easy explanation for there only being a certain number of papers on the work computer would be that she perhaps wrote others elsewhere. Or typed them.

[Who Cares]

This woman was pissed off her husband left her and now she is just bad mouthing him. Who cares if she wrote his papers or not? How will the truth ever come out? He is going to the NFL and she is STUPID to do this to him. Maybe she should look at herself and notice a little weight loss may be a start to keep your husband. All the college girls are so pretty compared to Shauna. Yeah, she may be a nice person but when your in college nice is not what boys are looking for.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

I think when you have a guy that graduted from your university and it is alledged that he didn't write a number of his papers, that is cause for concern. Not to mention that this guys story of hard work and sacrifice was trumpented around town for 4 years. Heck, I remember in the West Va game broadcast, they wouldn't shut up about how great of a family man he was and how he worked so hard on his acadmeics during the day..

All a bunch of junk.

What did you he think was going to happen when he left his wife??

Of course she is going to blow the whistle.

[VOR]

Until she can provide hand written drafts of all these papers she purportedly wrote this is all heresay.
Till then, she can only prove that she typed them.
Yes, the story was trumpeted for 4 years but it has only been rewritten in the last few months.

[JR]

Dude, ari... so for 2 months the man wanted to get away because of troubles with a relationship... so what?! It does not change the fact that for 4 years he still took care of his wife and 2 kids, drove a very long distance back and forth from school to home, acted as a great leader on our football team and worked very hard. If you have ever had someone to help you out I am sure if you could even attempt to handle as much as Ben did you would not mind your own wife lending a hand, I mean get real man... tell me you have never got help from someone else. 2 months of relationship trouble should not take a way from 4 years of dedication that in fact was REAL and not a lie. So quit trying to gain pleasure from other peoples problems and take away from their accomplishments. Maybe you do it because you have never made any great accomplishments in your life.. who knows, but for real get off of his case and quit making yourself look so pathetic

[Ari Hinkelberger]

Did he write his own papers or not?

I graduated from USF and I happen to write all my papers.

That is the accusation that has created the uproar. I don't think anyone really cares that he wants a divorce.

[Ken]

The only new thing we know for sure now is that her allegation has gone from "every paper" to "5 or 8 papers"--that's a pretty significant reduction in the claim, I'd think.

[whatever]

GA- Can I assume from your post "I'm thinking the easy explanation for there only being a certain number of papers on the work computer would be that she perhaps wrote others elsewhere. Or typed them" you are judging Ben as guilty. I thought that writers claimed to be objective reporters of the news. Maybe I am reading too much into that statement. The other thing would be that you have some proof that you are not sharing. Just curious.

[Stpeteguy]

I want her $34K year gov job in a small town with a low cost of living. She's LUCKY to have such a high paying job for living in hickville.

[G.A.]

I'm not judging anyone. Just see you guys trying to poke holes in something, when there's a reasonable explanation. She never said she wrote all the papers at work. That's all.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

I believe Anita Hill.

[VOR]

Again then, the only proof would be the handwritten drafts in her own handwritting.
Until she can deliver them she was simply the typist.

[JL]

High paying job? 34K? Dude...even in that small town...

[JL]

Everyone needs to take a chill pill...he is about to go pro, and wants to date a hottie!

I cannot blame him.

He's a man! He's 20-something!

[GrowlerBull]

Greg -- how does someone who doesn't attend class or take notes have the ability to just sit down and write her husband's paper? If Ben can't spell like she claimed, how was he able to pass good old fashioned paper and pencil classes where students have essay exams? She is making her husband out to be a clueless hick, yet IIRC Ben had no problems qualifying. Did she do his work in high school too?

I realize you would rather defend everything she said, but don't insult our intelligence by not giving a thought that it's not embellished and completely one-sided. Thus if this is the case how can you believe ANYTHING she says?

[Herman Momart]

There are no facts that Roger Clemens did steroids either, but we know he did. sure you cant prove these charges and probably nothing will come of it, but we know the deal. His wife says he cant read and i know a girl who takes classes with him who said he was as sharp as a marble. BTw, thats the comment why Bulliever banned me from the treehousepen.com. I bet if you had to bet your bank account on if she did or did not write his papers all the Bullievers would vote she did. Or even better yet, I guarantee if it was a UCF player all the Bullieverbots would say she wrote his papers and he was a deadbeat dad. But thats the difference between me and the Bullieverbots, I am my own opinions and not scared to express it. Some USF fans are walking contradictions, and so small town thinking, its hilarious.

Also, i took a few Education courses at USF and believe me i didnt need to attend classes or study to write good papers and pass tests. Lets not act like USF is Harvard, my 12th grade NY high school classes were tougher.

There are no facts that Roger Clemens did steroids either, but we know he did.

Really? How do we know for sure?

Is is impossible for a pitcher to get better with age? So did Nolan Ryan do steroids too? After all, he maintained his fastball over 93mph until his mid-40s and experienced more success later in his career than in his prime.

The bottom line is that you have to question who the is the source? How reliable are allegations from a scorned woman?

I guess the Duke lacrosse team scandal wouldn't be relevant.....right?

[nybullsfan]

Guys, guys, guys... Get a Life!

There are 215 comments on the previous story, and already 36 on this one.

Who cares what he / she / they do in their personal lives?!?!

Moffit's a damn good middle linebacker, and that's all I care about.

Let's talk about his Pick-6 vs. WVU for crying out loud, not his personal life.

Go BULLS!

[Herman Momart]

hahahaha Clemens didnt do steroids. Look at his stats. When the GM of the Red Sox let him go he said "he is in the twilight of his career". He was 11-14 in 93 with a 4.46 era, and 10-13 in 96, then he meets his "trainer" in 1997 and goes 21-7, and wins back to back cy youngs. His head explodes and body becomes huge. Then back to the Yankees to win 20+ games and get huge contracts. Suuuuuuurrre he wasnt on steroids just like Barry bonds wasnt. I know theres no proof but cmon have a brain, guy.

nybullsfan, why cant we talk about his personal life? It had to be him who was an advocate of his 110 mile trip, you know Leader, linebacker, father, husband blah blah blah. Throw in our face for the last 3 years at nauseum. Please.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

I am waiting on the small pecker allegation... It should arrive next week.

I do think she wrote the papers though.

Which is cheating by the way. Tenn football was almost shut down for something similar.

http://espn.go.com/ncf/news/1999/0928/83606.html

[Mark Feldman]

This whole story is getting old. As an ex-teammate of Ben's, I'm proud of the dedication that he gave to the Bulls. Unfortunately, too many people will remember him for this incident. Good luck to him in the future.

[Brad Meyer]

No Hermie, you were banned from thebullspen.com for making slanderous comments about another individual. And it wasn't quite as nice as you cleaned it up to post here. Thebullspen.com is a fans site. Something you fail to understand. It is not there for you or others to cheap shot players, coaches, admins and the school. This is the forum for that. Welcome.

[Reality]

In other words, Brad, your site is Izvestia and this site is the Sp Times'.

Messageboards with more than one viewpoint are much more exciting.

Shame you stopped the Truth. Your site evidently had this evidence long before anyone else.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

Reality,
You going to be at the game tonight?

What a big game it is my friend. We got a down Pitt team who has suffered some injuries.

This is one of the wins that the Hinkelberger thinks we can pull out. If we can go 3-2 through the first five.. we look pretty decent. We got providence and then Seton Hall... and I think the Seton Hall game is a big mileage marker for this team.

Reality has spoked that we will get smoked by Seton Hall.

Glad Big East play is here.

[G.A.]

Guys, I'm tired of this.

Ari, stop pushing -- and crossing -- the limits of what I'll tolerate on the board. Brad, your comments aren't helping the level of decorum in this forum. If you want a better level of discussion, drop in a comment on something other than people banned from your site. It only encourages them to respond with attacks to you, which means I spend more time deleting posts.

If anybody sees a post here they think should be removed, send me an e-mail at auman@sptimes.com and I'll address as soon as I can.

[JL]

"decorum in this forum"

You're a poet and don't even know it.

24K does not how to play

Ray Rice initiated USF's demise.

Ari, Herman, and Meyer got Greg really tired.

Thank you! I will be here all week!

[Ari Hinkelberger]

Greg,
I apologize for clogging up your site. Its a sensitive subject with the three jews.
See you at the game tonight.

[Brad Meyer]

My apologies Greg...don't I have the opportunity to at least deny or disprove accusations?

I'd be happy to drop in a comment about something else (as I have under other names - seems to be the way around here) - but you really should address the problem. I don't bring up my name or thebullspen.com here. Your new supporters and our scorned ex-members do. Just remember, every allegation ought to have a chance to be answered. When they stay on topic and off me it'll end...Note my real name is used in your forum by a bunch of guys with made up names.

I'd be happy not to bother after this note.

[G.A.]

Again, to everybody reading here, O.J. Simpson included, if someone else posts something under your name, send me an e-mail ASAP at auman@sptimes.com. I've had good practice deleting those kinds of posts in the last five days.

Don't use other names,
when you want to post,
It is a real shame,
to get erased by the host.

Do not upset Greg,
for this is his blog,
He will make you beg,
like a starving dog.

I don't care about Moffitt,
I hope that he's well,
He'll make a huge profit,
In the NFL!

Thank you! Thank you very much!
Please come back again, I will be here during the weekend! 2 for 1 specials, ladies drink for free!

[JL]

I forgot to add my name to the poem!!

[Brad Meyer]

J.L.

Great stuff, do you rent out your services?

LOL.

Brad

[nybullsfan]

JL is a budding young bard.
To him, the rhymes don't come hard.
He'll be here all week,
To put a smile in your cheek,
Don't forget to drop a tip in his jar(d).

Go BULLS!

[Robyn]

I know this woman clearly wanted to support her husband, but writing all his papers? If there is any truth to this (which I highly doubt everything she says is credible, sounds like she is wanting some lime-light and sounds just as trashy as someone on Jerry Springer), she's to blame too. It is going to be difficult to prove her claims, and I am sure he didn't get through college taking all online classes. Get over your self, and stop your power trip. Have some class and take care of those babies.

[DM]

I think that she is stupid and all she wanted was a little media herself...she has no proof that she wrote these papers.she is just bitter because he is leaving her.