Report: FBI eyed Joe Montana, then dropped probe
Joe Montana threw for 273 touchdowns in his Hall of Fame career. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation questioned Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana about an unspecified business proposition but ultimately dropped their probe, reports Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle.
According to the report, an undercover agent contacted Montana during their investigation of California state Sen. Leland Yee and Chinatown tong leader Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow.
Yee was one of more than two dozen people arrested in a federal corruption probe involving bribery and weapons dealing.
Montana, who played for the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, retired after the 1994 season and has "dabbled" in development deals since then.
Montana's attorney, Rob Mezzetti, said he knew nothing about the inquiry.
"If the FBI was reaching out to Joe, I would know about it - and nobody has reached out to him," Mezzetti said.
More from the San Francisco Chronicle:
Montana, the Hall of Fame quarterback who has dabbled in development deals since retiring from football after the 1994 season, was contacted by an undercover FBI operative about an unspecified business proposition during the Yee-Chow investigation, according to one source familiar with the case. "Nobody has said he did anything wrong," said the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
