Timeline Of Events

December 2, 1997 -- Scandal hits the fan. Eddie DeBartolo resigns as CEO after receiving "target letter" from U.S. government warning of possible federal crime indictment. Eddie turns over management control over to sister, Denise DeBartolo York. S.F. Mayor Willie Brown voices concern over future of controversial stadium/mall. San Francisco Chronicle reports the 49ers and NFL have been secretly preparing for the last five weeks and that an unsigned agreement approved by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has been drafted, in which Carmen Policy would take over Eddie's job and part ownership of the 49ers, as well as surrender his interest in the DeBartolo Corp. to his sister, who has become fed up with his gambling ventures.
December 4, 1997 -- As details of the scandal trickle out, Edwin Edwards calls payment a "legitimate transaction" and says he and Eddie are "nothing but close friends who have done some business together"
December 5, 1997 -- San Francisco Chronicle headline calls Eddie and Carmen a "formidable duo"
December 15, 1997 -- Reitrement of Joe Montana's number removes Eddie's troubles from papers
January 15, 1998 -- Despite rumors of previous agreement, first sign of feud with Carmen, who tells press that he was almost fired by Eddie and the two have survived a rift in their friendship. Eddie claims near-firing incident is being overblown
January 26, 1998 -- First signs of family fued. Carmen admits that there is not "unanimity with the DeBartolo family" and that Denise has considered selling the team. Tagliabue claims he will intervene if 49ers cannot settle stadium issue
January 27, 1998 -- Denise denies selling rumors, declares stadium/mall on hold because of rising cost estimates to the public surprise of Carmen
late January, 1998 -- Eddie and Carmen stop talking to each other. Later reports indicate cause is the possibility of Carmen creating a partnership to buy 49ers, an act which Eddie considers betrayal
January 28, 1998 -- 49ers official press release states Carmen has taken trip to "Tierra del Fuego and the South Pole" and will not be available to the media for comment
January 28, 1998 -- Mayor Brown insists stadium on track from city's perspective
January 29, 1998 -- SF Chronicle reports Eddie-Denise feud is based on money and Eddie's lavish spending/gambling lifestyle; report the next day adds Eddie is millions of dollars in debt to the corporation and that Denise has sold Eddie's corporate jet
February, 1998 -- Eddie-Carmen feud begins heating up publicly, fan fears fueled by foreboding media stories predicting an end to the team's free-spending ways and renewed sale rumors
February 19, 1998 -- Judge rules more evidence is needed in lawsuit filed by Voter Integrity Project relating to stadium/mall election transgressions
March 1, 1998 -- San Jose Mercury News runs article entitled, "49ers' Image Shifting From Class To Crass"
March 25, 1998 -- Reports of impending sale of team back to Eddie include innuendo that he would scrap the stadium/mall deal
March 31, 1998 -- Sports Illustrated reports Eddie has reached tentative agreement with Denise to regain team, fire Carmen, replace him with Bill Walsh, and also hire Joe Montana. Carmen confirms if Eddie regains team, he would be fired
April 1, 1998 -- Mayor Brown fuels stadium concern by voicing option to move 2003 Super Bowl to Oakland if S.F. stadium fails
April 1, 1998 -- Tagliabue says he is prepared to "freeze" any hirings/firings until all issues, including Eddie's looming indictment, are resolved
April, 1998 -- SI report disputed by SJ Mercury. Carmen (back from South Pole), embarks on public relations tour to diffuse situation, culminating with appearance on Race and Sports Town Meeting panel
April 16, 1998 -- Tagliabue declares Carmen will run the 49ers in 1998 regardless of ownership issues
May 20, 1998 -- NFL owners avoid officially broaching 49ers' issue at Winter meetings
June, 1998 -- George magazine details Eddie's relationship with former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, concluding he may have gambled away the 49ers
July 1, 1998 -- NFL officially meets with lawyers representing Eddie and Carmen to argue ownership issues
July 1, 1998 -- Walsh clocked in Lake Tahoe casino
July 22, 1998 -- Carmen resigns from 49ers to join Cleveland Browns
late July, 1998 -- Dwight Clark celebrated as "fan-favorite", according to the SJ Mercury, to run team
late July, 1998 -- New 49ers executive Larry Thrailkill says team is still committed to stadium/mall
September, 1998 -- Thrailkill says team is considering trashing stadium/mall plans because of rising cost estimates
September 3, 1998 -- U.S. Attorneys indicate they believe Eddie will be indicted sometime in October
September 13, 1998 -- First reports of an "abruptly changed strategy" by prosecutors indicating Eddie will avoid bribery/fraud charges
September 18, 1998 -- Mayor Brown, Thrailkill and Tagliabue meet to discuss stadium/mall
September 19, 1999 -- Stadium/mall summit declared a huge success, everybody declares everything is a go, Thrailkill dismisses his earlier stance as "confusion"
September 25, 1998 -- Eddie cuts a deal with prosecution where he will plead to a lesser crime, pay a fine, and testify against his "friend", Edwards.
October 6, 1998 -- Eddie cements his deal with prosecution by pleading guilty to misprision of felony, officially becomes a convicted felon; Eddie and government take position that Eddie was victim of Edwards' extortion
October 6, 1998 -- On the steps of the courthouse, apparently oblivious that he was just convicted of a felony stemming from gambling activities, Eddie declares he wants to begin the process of getting the 49ers back "right now"
October 12, 1998 -- Dwight Clark, while discussing a meeting with Carmen last week, admits that he never renewed his contract with the 49ers
October 16, 1998 -- Thrailkill angrily declares Clark will remain through the season
November 6, 1998 -- Edwards rips Eddie's motives for cutting a deal; more evidence of Eddie's love of gambling and that he did indeed knowingly place a bribe
November 6, 1998 -- Edwards indicted on racketeering and conspiracy charges
November 18, 1998 -- San Francisco Chronicle poll says 45% of S.F. voters feel Eddie should be allowed to regain control of team, prompting the headline, "S.F. loves team, DeBartolo, poll says"
November 28, 1998 -- Clark departs 49ers for Browns
December 6, 1998 -- SJ Mercury runs headline calling Eddie "classy" after the P.R. stunt where Eddie (who is supposedly banned from being involved with the team) rides in the ambulance with the injured Bryant Young
December, 1998 -- Delays in an extension for coach Steve Mariucci's contract become a big issue for media even though Mariucci is already under a long-term deal thru 2001
December 24, 1998 -- Voter integrity group challenge of the stadium/mall election rejected by California state appeals court
January 8, 1999 -- SJ Mercury declares "there is something the NFL must do: Free Eddie DeBartolo Jr."
January 8, 1999 -- Thrailkill resigns, voices support for new Mariucci contract upon departing
January 11, 1999 -- 49ers indicate they may abandon stadium/mall plans
January 12, 1999 -- To the relief of the media, Mariucci gets a contract extension
January 20, 1999 -- Walsh returns to 49ers (again), happily praises Eddie's involvement in his hiring (notwithstanding his supposed ban from the team); all signs point to Eddie regaining the team sooner than later
January 29, 1999 -- Tagliabue, angered by Eddie's flaunting of his failure to adhere to his agreement to stay separated from the 49ers, addresses the current situation by saying, "I am not naive or dumb", decrees Eddie will be banned from the 49ers for at least the rest of 1999; also indicates NFL is considering dropping pledge of S.F. Super Bowl
February 3, 1999 -- Eddie makes first appearance as government stooge in Louisianna court
February 3, 1999 -- SF Chronicle columnist Glenn Dickey, notorious bandwagon jumper, opines, "49ers don't need DeBartolo" and that Eddie should sell team
February 4, 1999 -- Tagliabue remarks that he is working on guidelines to ensure that Eddie will stay divorced from the 49ers
February 24, 1999 -- After weeks of rumor, brother-sister rift becomes official with public release of 49ers interoffice memo from Denise ripping Eddie in a purposefully embarrassing fashion; Denise's husband, John York given corporate control of team
February 26, 1999 -- SJ Mercury columnist Mark Purdy sobs over poor Eddie's situation in sickening fashion, using Eddie's offer to buy his family a fruit basket and the beers Eddie bought for the media as evidence of Eddie's good nature (not unethical stunts to buy-off the media)
February 26, 1999 -- First hints that Eddie is considering a lawsuit against his sister or even forcing the sale of the team to a third party if he cannot regain it
March 5, 1999 -- Eddie tries to force Denise's hand before NFL owners meetings by demanding to seat extra directors on the Board of the family-owned DeBartolo Corp.
March 5, 1999 -- Despite that the promise of an S.F. Super Bowl was pivotal in the stadium/mall election, talk grows that it will be canceled; Mayor Brown reverses on his earlier stance of wanting it to at least be played in Oakland
March 14, 1999 -- York, in deflecting criticism of his wife's perceived disinterest with the 49ers, says all that Denise wants is "separation from her brother"
March 16, 1999 -- At NFL owners meetings, Tagliabue announces $1 million fine and year suspension for Eddie for "conduct detrimental to the interests of the NFL and professional football"
March 17, 1999 -- NFL officially withdraws 2003 Super Bowl offer because of stadium doubts; York, new 49ers administrative chief, says stadium/mall plans are better than 50-50 chance
March 19, 1999 -- SF Chronicle reports stadium/mall issue "shunted to back of back burner"
April 8, 1999 -- Denise sues to remove Eddie from stadium/mall project and to force repayment of debt to corporation. The suit claims Eddie owes the corporation $94 million and improperly negotiated a side deal in the stadium/mall project which would pay Eddie $10 million plus 22% interest in the mall
April 9, 1999 -- Stadium/mall opponent and now mayoral candidate Clint Reilly calls for the S.F. City Attorney to investigate Eddie's alleged stadium/mall side deal
April 13, 1999 -- To Denise's chagrin, Eddie places daughter Tiffanie and gambling cronie Ed Muransky as new directors on the Board of DeBartolo Corp.
April 14, 1999 -- U.S. Post Office announces stamp will commemorate 49ers as one of 15 stamps representing the 1980's
April 15, 1999 -- Eddie holds a press conference to fling barbs and announce he is counter-suing his sister; at the conference, three stooges -- Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Roger Craig -- are wheeled in and out as stage props to show their allegiance to their meal ticket
May 6, 1999 -- Eddie places his Bay Area home for sale
May 17, 1999 -- Denise calls Eddie's comments "inaccurate mudslinging" and claims, "He is trying to shake my faith in doing what is right and he's trying to take away my dignity."
May 18, 1999 -- U.S. District Judge Dan Polster orders Eddie and Denise to stop publicly discussing the pending lawsuits. Supervised meetings with the Judge begin behind closed doors
June 16, 1999 -- SF Chronicle reports Eddie is interested in giving up the 49ers for the right price
June 30, 1999 -- Reports confirm Eddie is ready to give up his fight for the team; big factor is speculation that the NFL might not let Eddie return after such a gambling scandal
July 21, 1999 -- Eddie's home sells for about $5 million. Going away party planned for his impending move to Florida
July 22, 1999 -- CNN/SI reports that the 49ers are under investigation for salary cap fraud after John York turns over information allegedly showing impropriety under Eddie's ownership involving Carmen Policy, Brent Jones and his agent, Leigh Steinberg. A spokesman for York denies it was done to further his wife's (Denise's) negotiations against Eddie
July 31, 1999 -- Unofficial agreement announced where Eddie will hand over all ownership to Denise. Twenty months after first stepping down after the gambling scandal in December, 1997, Eddie's 22-year reign of sleaze as an NFL owner apparently is finally over.

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