The Enterprise Report

PHOTO OF THE DAY: ANDY IRONS SURF MEMORIAL AT SEA

Editor's Note: for a stunning photo essay tribute-click photo 
below for ASP site

BREAKING NEWS: SURFING ICON ANDY IRONS DEAD AT 32

By Eric Longabardi

Professional surfer Andy Irons died today in Dallas.  He reportedly was suffering from the viral disease Dengue Fever.  Other surfers reportedly had also contracted the illness in a recent surfing competition in Portugal.  

Irons a three-time pro surfing champion was traveling back to his home on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.  He was traveling from Puerto Rico where he dropped out of a pro surfing contest due to an illness.

Irons fell ill at a Dallas-Fort Worth International airport area hotel he was staying at during a layover. The local coroner is expected to begin the process of conducting an autopsy Wednesday to determine the exact cause of death. The results could take a month or two to be released.

For more on Iron's death and his surfing career his sponsor Billabong has posted a tribute.

EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: JOSH BOOTY ALLEGED ABUSE LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT: READ IT

By Eric Longabardi

Last week The Enterprise Report  broke the story that former NFL/MLB player and TV sports analyst Josh Booty's settled a lawsuit that alleged abuse at the hands of Orange County Sheriff's Department Jail deputies during his arrest for DUI in 2008.  The lawsuit was settled for a paltry $8,619 dollars. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed at the time.

TER has now obtained the settlement agreement between Josh Booty and the County of Orange and is publishing it in its entirety.  No admission of guilt or any other issues related to the underlying charges are contained in the agreement by either party.

You can download and read the full document by clicking here:

Download Settlement Agreement Booty case

EXCLUSIVE: JAIL LIES AND VIDEOTAPE: JOSH BOOTY POLICE ABUSE CLAIMS: TRUTH OR LEGAL FUMBLE?

By Eric Longabardi

The alleged case of abuse and excessive force made by former NFL and MLB player Josh Booty against the Orange County Sheriff's Department is now settled. The Enterprise Report first reported the story earlier this week. The details of the settlement agreement have not been made public, although the amount has: $8,619.

That payout is not exactly a windfall for what was a serious case of alleged police abuse. A similar case to Booty's was settled earlier this year. In that case, which alleged abuse by O.C. Sheriff's jail deputies there was a $750,000 dollar payout to a 24-yr old man named Matthew Fleuret.  He was repeatedly hit with a Taser and physically subdued by O.C. Sherrif's deputies while in the jail after being arrested for a bar fight in 2006.  Fleuret was never charged with a crime and was later released. In the Fleuent case a videotape of the incident was released publicly and was widely reported by the Los Angeles Times, AP and others.

In Booty's case an exclusively obtained 11-page statement provided to the The Enterprise Report directly by Booty's attorney Tariq Hasan detailed Booty's allegations concerning what he claimed is depicted on videotapes that were recorded inside the O.C. Jail. The existence of the tapes was confirmed by TER long ago. The tapes in question have never been made public and their contents remain unknown.

[CLICK ON PHOTO TO READ 11-PAGE STATEMENT]

UPDATE: IS THE PRICE WRONG: JOSH BOOTY SETTLES ALLEGED ABUSE LAWSUIT AGAINST OC SHERIFF FOR LESS THAN 7K

By Eric Longabardi

A lawsuit alleging excessive force and abuse by the Orange County, CA Sheriff's Department brought by former NFL and MLB player Josh Booty was settled with the County of Orange for a figure of just under 7-thousand dollars, according to a recent media report.

The lawsuit was first exclusively reported by The Enterprise Report in August of 2009 and the settlement of the case was first broken by TER early yesterday morning, nearly a day before The Associated Press later picked up the story.  Other Southern California news outlets like the independent O.C. Weekly attributed to the TER exclusive report earlier today.

Josh Booty's attorney Tariq Hasan of Los Angeles previously released an 11-page statement regarding the case exclusively to TER prior to the settlement. The extensive statement regarding Booty's claims in the case was first reported by TER yesterday in breaking the story of the case settlement.