Sun, Jul 05, 2009

Tucson Region

Lute Olson ordered to court over banking transaction

Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.23.2008
University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson has been ordered to appear in court May 7 to explain a banking transaction he made after he filed for divorce from his wife, Christine.
Christine Olson's attorney, Kathleen McCarthy, claims Lute Olson transferred funds from a Charles Schwab account, one of five joint accounts he shared with his estranged wife, to another Schwab account that only bears his name — despite a court order prohibiting such actions.
The court filing doesn't say how much money was transferred. But documents submitted to the court indicate the transfer was made because funds from Lute Olson's Nike shoe contract and the Olson Family Limited Partnership were being deposited in the joint account.
Court records indicate Lute Olson's attorney, Leonard Karp, told McCarthy his client transferred the money because Christine Olson had withdrawn funds from their joint account and sent them to Pennsylvania "without satisfactory explanations."
McCarthy noted in the documents that Lute Olson transferred the funds Dec. 7, the day after he filed for divorce, but that wasn't discovered by her accountant until April 6.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Sarah Simmons is presiding over the case.