By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Bobby Dellimuti became a surrogate father to Maurice Clarett, helping the football player through tough times at Warren Harding High School. But when his financial assistance continued after Clarett enrolled at Ohio State, it violated NCAA rules and became the centerpiece of the investigation that has led to Clarett's season-long suspension.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Thursday that Dellimuti, a Warren caterer, was Clarett's benefactor - the man who wrote a $500 check to the tailback and paid at least $1,000 worth of his mobile phone bills.

Dellimuti long has looked after Warren Harding players, Harding coach Thom McDaniels said, and was unaware that his support of Clarett wasn't allowed by NCAA rules.

"I'm sure Bobby had no clue," McDaniels said.

Dellimuti did not return phone messages left at his catering business.

"What you've got is ... a Good Samaritan type who is now distraught and paranoid and very afraid for every good thing he's ever done for any kid he's ever helped at Warren Harding," McDaniels said of Dellimuti.

The perception of Clarett's improper gains is that of a spoiled athlete trading on his celebrity for some extra bucks. McDaniels says Dellimuti had a rapport with Clarett - stepping in for Clarett's estranged father, Myke - that is unchanged by the player's rise to fame in the past year.

It's in line with what Clarett meant Wednesday when he said, "There's two sides to every story." His side is that his long-established relationship with Dellimuti should supercede NCAA rules that usually allow a student-athlete to accept money only from parents or legal guardians.

OSU athletic director Andy Geiger said that doesn't necessarily rule out someone such as Dellimuti.

"(It) depends on the circumstances," Geiger said.

The NCAA allows exceptions for what it calls "pre-existing relationships," though it has significant guidelines for that.

"The gist of it is, an individual would have had to establish the relationship prior to any athletics ability emerging," NCAA spokesperson Kay Hawes said. "You could make an argument one way or another about how to define that, but it needs to be longstanding."

OSU coach Jim Tressel said, "I think the definition ... is someone that goes all the way back to middle school." Dellimuti first met Clarett when the player transferred from Austintown-Fitch to Harding after his freshman season.

Dellimuti's role isn't as damaging as it would be if he had ties to the university - as an employee or booster. McDaniels said Dellimuti has "been to two Ohio State games in his life" and is merely a lifelong Harding supporter.

"If someone out there is trying to make Bobby Dellimuti the scapegoat, then the NCAA need to investigate every collegiate athlete in the country," McDaniels said. "Practically every scholarship athlete has somebody apart from their family that's been good to them, helped them in time of need.

"I've coached at Orrville, Mansfield, Canton and Warren, and people in every community did good things for kids for the right reasons. It could be anything from guidance to lunch money. It's no different. There are thousands of Bobby Dellimutis across the country. Any high school head coach who's honest will admit to that."

Dellimuti's role became public in October in a Columbus Dispatch story about Clarett. In the story, he said of Clarett, "He's like my kid. ... We talk three or four times a day."

The story indicated Tressel was aware of Clarett's mentor, as Dellimuti told the paper that Tressel called him with questions about a luxury car Clarett had been driving.

"(Clarett's) uncle lives in Columbus and has a Lexus. He sometimes lets 'Reece' drive it around," Dellimuti said then. "Well, coach Tressel called me and said, 'Hey, where'd he get this money? Did you buy him this car? He's not with an agent, is he?' I told him Reece's uncle was gone a couple of weeks and let him drive it around."

If the NCAA had ruled that Geiger or Tressel knew last season - or should have known - that Dellimuti had provided Clarett with improper benefits, it could have made OSU forfeit regular-season victories. But the school has been cleared.

Dellimuti's financial support of Clarett was lumped into one violation of NCAA Bylaw 12. The other Bylaw 12 violation reportedly was for Clarett accepting and cashing a check for $100 from someone he didn't know.

E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com