The Survivors of the OSU Abuse Scandal (Part 1) (NEW 3/6/26)

It's the Opperman Report, and now here is Investigator in Opperman.

Okay, welcome to the Opperman Report.

I'm your host, Private Investigator at Opperman.

Now you can find me an Opperman Investigation and Digital Forensic Consultant if you reach

out to me through my email, Opperman Investigations at gmail.com.

This show today I've been waiting to do for eight long years.

We have Michael Disabato, and he's one of the athletes.

At Ohio State University.

We've talked off the air, he sent me other guests, he's given me information, but we finally

got him to sit down and record because he's like shot out of a cannon over what's been

going on here at OSU this week with the testimony of Les Wexner.

It's got an organization that's just launching called Athlete Coalition.

You can go to their website called Wegsit.org, that's Wegsit like Brexit, but it's for getting

rid of Les Wexner.

So it's Wegsit, w-e-x-i-t-dot-org, and they're working on this other thing too called

We Are The To Take Away The Ohio State Slogan, they're going to own it under the leadership

of the new Athlete Coalition.

Mr. Michael Disabato, are you there?

I'm here, Dad.

Good to hear your voice.

Oh, man, I love it.

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

So we've been talking off the air, and I've just blown away.

But before we get into your story about Ohio State University and all of that, and

Les Wexner and Epstein and all these characters, Jim Jordan, tell us why you're

yourself.

Who is Michael Disabato?

Wow.

Okay.

Thanks for having me first, Ed.

Thank you.

We met each other about seven and a half years ago.

Actually, March of 2017, which is coming up here soon will be the eight-year anniversary

of my meeting with the Ohio State University officials, which included their HR department

and their lawyer and some other folks.

But March 27, 2018, I blew the whistle at the time.

What at the time was the first elite male athlete, sexual abuse and sexual assault scandal.

I was a wrestler at the Ohio State University from 1986 to 1991.

I wrestled at a time when, and trained with UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman and Kevin

Rammelman, who was also a UFC heavyweight champion, and they were my teammates.

And we trained, I was at Ohio State for eight years.

I did my undergrad and postgraduate work at Ohio State.

I have a MPA, master of public administration.

So I've got two degrees from the university.

I've done research, I've done research related to the issues of sexual assault and substance

abuse by the student athlete population when I was in college.

So I've been an advocate for athletes.

I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, the Ohio State University is the largest athletic department

in the world.

We're talking about an institution that does $8 billion, they spend $8 billion a year

and they have a $9 to $10 million endowment.

The largest endowment for a public school in the country.

And so I grew up on the West Side of Columbus.

My father was an entrepreneur, he founded a pizza, I call it a pizza pub now, but back

in the day it was a joint where General Motors union workers would come on their lunch break

to have a few Budwizers and a pizza and go back to the second shift.

So I grew up in a family of nine, there are six boys, three girls, all six of us, the

six boys, wrestled for us, Catholic School in the West Side, Bishop pretty high school.

At the time we were one of the top programs in the country.

My family, again there's six of us, we hold the Ohio High School Athletic Association

record for most state titles in one family as a relate to brothers.

Wow.

Wow.

The interesting piece of the conversation is that we are tied, just recently tied by Jeff

Jordan in his sons, Bo, Micah and the Jordan brothers.

But anyway, the Jordan family, Jim Jordan, Mr. Congressman, his brother, his sons are

tied with us for 11 state titles in one family.

So that's I grew up in an athlete environment, five of us went on from Bishop pretty high

school to Ohio State.

My family, there's five of us, each of us were Varsalio winners and then I got two cousins

that also wrestled at Ohio State.

So that's seven wrestlers and then I got a niece and two cousins who were cheerleaders.

So when you look at the at our impact in the state of Ohio as a rate, so how high school

athletic association, we've got the most state titles of one family and we've got the

most Varsalios in the history of the largest public athletic program in the world.

That's incredible.

I know how it should be.

I had no idea that that's incredible.

So you must have been like a shine out of a cannon when we accept OSU and Jim Jordan,

the former Olympic superstar was the assistant coach here, right?

Yeah, listen, I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and you know, it's hard for people that don't

live here to know what the Ohio State University means to this state, this city, I mean, this

is I think the second largest employer in the state of Ohio and this university is again

spending $8 billion and they got a $10 billion endowment and they yield a big stick.

And so I grew up, I was born in 68, the same year that Woody Hayes and Bo Schembach-Beckler

began their 10-year war and you know, there's six, I told you I got five brothers and I can

remember vividly, you know, watching Archie Griffin and Ray Griffin and John Hicks and

some of the old Woody Hayes guys that I've been able to meet over the years because of

this brotherhood of Ohio State athletes.

And so, so yeah, I'm proud of the fact that, yeah, you made it, you had to have a state

of emergency, but you must have been used to that Jim Jordan, there we go, re-direct me, my

friend.

I ran the questions down before.

Let me just say this, this is an emotional conversation.

Yeah, I know.

And so, if you hear me stop for a minute, it's because I'm trying to hold the emotion back

because I don't want to get on here and be angry or cry or I just want to educate your

viewers because what we're talking about is sexual abuse of minors.

And at the end of the day, we can talk Jim Jordan and, you know, Russ, Helixson and Archie

Griffin and all these people.

But what we're talking about is the sexual abuse of minors, kids that were 9, 10, 11 years

old.

Really?

I wasn't aware of that.

Hold on.

Let me be clear.

Yeah.

When I talk about Epstein, and I talk about Wexner, and I talk about Strauss, they're all interconnected.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Let me explain.

What Leslie Wexner is the owner of Elbrans.

He is the richest man in Ohio, and he is the most prominent philanthropist in this city.

There's records reports that he's given up to $200 million to the university.

His name is on the several buildings throughout campus, including the football practice facility

inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, which has a former athlete whose family owns 36

to 37 varsityos, and the other in my brotherhood, which includes athletes from third

to three sports at the Ohio State University, we are putting up with it anymore.

We're talking about the Ohio State University today is governed by the personal attorney

of Leslie Wexner, whose most people think is a criminal, serial, pedophile, sex trafficker.

Let me say that again.

There are many people that are saying this about Leslie Wexner, the number one donor at

Ohio State University, and the man whose name is on a building of the great Woody Hayes.

Yeah, people would be shocked to know that his name is stolen, the building isn't his wife

still a trustee?

His wife, and she's not a trustee currently, but the Wexner, I mean, Mr. Wexner still serves

as a chair of the hospital board of directors.

I mean, this guy is really, listen, this Leslie Wexner and his subordinates, his people,

are the current chairman of the board of trustees at Ohio State as John Ziger.

He's the last Wexner's longtime personal attorney.

He's the chairman of the board of trustees, and his client is being, most people believe

that this dude is a criminal, serial, pedophile, sex trafficker, because he is the man that

funded Jeffrey Epstein.

Didn't Epstein also make divination so as you?

We've come to find out.

Let me, you ready for this?

Yeah, I'm ready.

So in 2005, Jeffrey Epstein entered into a contractual relationship with Ohio State

University, and then current, her then athletic director, Gene Smith.

They signed a contract, and this was negotiated directly by draft Jeffrey Epstein in 2006.

People knew who this dude was in 2006.

They did, yes.

And if they didn't know, they should have asked the less Wexner's attorney, who's chairman

of the board of trustees at Ohio State, and has been active in the governance of this

university, for almost, they've been involved in for 40 years governing this university.

And let's be clear, these folks, the Ziger, the Wexner, the Liz Kessler, Liz Kessler is

the co-chair of the board of trustees.

Their father is Jack Kessler, who's Leslie Wexner's partner in the New Albany Company,

which transformed a farm community into little Leslie world.

What was it that absolutely was going on?

Of course.

What was it that absolutely was going on?

Build community.

The long and short of it was we're talking about people that were governing this university

today.

And Mr. Wexner was on the board of trustees from 1988 to 1997, which is the same time

that Gordon G. was the president of this university.

And it's also the same time that Dr. Richard Strauss was under secret university hearings

related to his serial sexual assault of me and my teammates over a 20-year period at

the Ohio State University.

Less Wexner was a board member during that time.

And also the chairman of the board in 1995-96, when Strauss was going through the secret

disciplinary hearing secret because there's only, I mean, we got documents.

Michael, let's back up because we were talking about what did Epstein negotiate in 2005

in 2006?

Thank you for the redirection.

Yeah.

In 2005, he negotiates a deal with Gene Smith to rename the football practice facility inside

the Woody Hayes Athletics Center after his best body.

The man that they're not friends, according to Mr. Wexner's testimony in front of Congress

here in New Albany, Ohio last week, oh, in that interesting, they held it hearing for

this man in New Albany.

They flew here to do this interview with this dude.

Oh, I didn't know that.

Oh, and Ed, he says during this interview, at one point, there's several very interesting

takeaways, one of which is he claims that Less Wexner and him are not even friends.

Yeah.

They had 20-year relationship with, you know, Wexner, Congress is on the record that

Leslie Wexner gave this man over a billion dollars in assets.

There is no Jeffrey Epstein but for Leslie Wexner.

Okay.

And the fact that this man has not been interviewed until last week by the Department of Justice

Deppy, I'm not the first to say that.

Paulson was.

And it's really amazing.

Paulson, you know, like he said, that he sat down and they came to him.

I didn't even know that.

And here's what's interesting is neither side really explained how that happened.

So Congress had to agree to fly on jets to this man's billion dollar estate and you know

what else Michael?

He gets to testify in his home, which is fine, but who made that decision?

And the press is complicit too by not reporting on it.

That should have been one of the main things they're reporting.

But let's get back to this because now because if Epstein made this donation to get his

buddies name on the story, let me finish that story.

Okay.

So in 2005, they enter into a contract.

And the contract states that they will, they, Wexner or Epstein's people are Epstein

as the, as the negotiator for this group is going to agree to pay the university $5 million

to rename the football practice facility.

And that the money had to be paid no later than 2007.

So they entered a contract in 2005.

Jeffrey Epstein endorses it, his signature, Gene Smith and two other university officials.

And they enter into a contractual relationship in 2005.

And Ed, we knew a lot about this dude in 2005, so they do a deal with him in 2005.

And then in 2006, he's convict or not convicted.

He is charged indicted in Palm Beach County for sexually molesting a 14 year old.

Now we know that in part of that investigation, there were three, four dozen other victims.

So they knew who this dude was in 2006 on the record for sure.

It's not just hearsay and people think that, no, this dude was charged, was sexually molesting

a 14 year old in 2006 and yet in 2007, the Ohio State University accepted a check from

Jeffrey Epstein's personal, his foundations bank account.

It was endorsed by Jeffrey Epstein and it was deposited by Ohio State University in 2007.

One year after they knew or should have known because Mr. Wexner, obviously,

you would think that Mr. Wexner and Mr. Wexner would inform the university

that they were doing business with a man who's been charged with criminal pedophile on the lawful acts.

He played guilty in 2008, so it's not like this is right in a prime of the negotiations, everything.

But now, Michael, you had told me in the past that there was some kind of an arrangement made

that anybody who worked on the campus were allowed to use these lock rooms.

What is the timeframe between Epstein making these donations and that rule being passed?

Well, and I'd look at back in our experience where we trained in the recreational facility at Ohio State.

It was called Larkins Hall, and I was there for maybe six to 91, but this is one of these old school recreational facilities

that you see on many college campuses.

I've traveled to many as an athlete.

Most of these big 10 institutions have these recreational facilities that include swimming pools and

there's all kinds of stuff going down classrooms.

So this building we trained in was Larkins Hall.

We shared it with the gymnasts we're also there and the swimmers.

And we had our own locker room where we could dress in private, just our team.

But to take a shower, we took showers with the general student administrator professor population.

So if you were at the Ohio State University when I was there, and for several decades,

if you knew when the wrestlers were going to be in the shower that day,

and you enjoyed having the ability to take a shower with an elite male athlete,

well, you could do that at Ohio State University during my time.

Is that unique to Ohio State or something that happens all kinds of things?

Listen, wrestlers complained about Larkins Hall over and over again.

And there's not one university official that debates the fact that we were basically training

in a sexually hostile environment every day.

We had to take showers and saunas with serial pedophile sex traffickers.

These people, Dr. Richard Strauss, that's exactly what he was, a criminal serial pedophile.

We now know, Ed, that he was molesting 12-year-old boy scout troop in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

We know this.

We know this.

The same community up around eastern high school, which is just adjacent to the university.

It's within five minutes.

You could walk to campus in parts of Upper Arlington.

Jack Nicholas went, he's the Golden Bear, the Upper Arlington Golden Bears.

And yet this community of professors and administrators who work at the university

allowed this man to do what he did.

And he did it not just to us, student athletes at Ohio State.

He was done at the 12-year-olds in their backyard, boy scout, boy scout group.

And we now know that one of those boy scouts who was traumatized by this took his life recently, Ed.

I'm so sorry.

So my point is, we're talking about a governance at Ohio State University, Leslie Wexner.

He's not, I mean, you watched the interview the other day.

He was a disaster.

This dude's often like, he didn't know Jeff Reapstein.

The dude gave him a $10 million mansion in New York City.

They had cameras going everywhere, Ed.

Surveillance after, I've talked to many, many people who've been inside Wexner's compounds.

There's cameras surveillance everywhere.

I also know that as well, because my daughters went to a private school in Bexley, Ohio.

And Mr. Wexner's child enrolled in 2001, the same year of 9-11, correct?

So Mr. Wexner, when he comes in to this private school, all girls school in Columbus, Ohio,

he goes to the administration and tells them,

I'm going to install surveillance system to ensure the protection of my very high-profile daughters.

At least he believed they were, because he had a full-time limousine, a town car,

black town car sitting out in the parking lot every day with arm guards.

My daughter's told me that her boast for one memory of Mr. Wexner's daughter was that,

when 9-11 happened, security came in to the school and rushed her out.

So, I know who this dude is.

And so does everyone in this city.

And interesting is that he installed cameras on a girl's school campus.

Yes.

Okay, I don't think I've ever heard that before.

Let's say, again, you get your ad operman and you've been getting this working to get this interview for eight years,

so I had to bring something to the table.

Thank you very much.

I'm telling you right now, head operman's the first to hear this.

This private school in Bexley, Ohio, all the girls school, we were told that Mr. Wexner

was being very generous and allowing us to create a safer environment for your children.

Now, little did I know then that these surveillance cameras, which are all over his compound,

told everyone telling me this in Columbus, Ohio, because for the first time,

everyone's talking about this dude who's been out there that we've seen him,

he's operating in front of our own eyes.

Elaine Maxwell's on the record saying that Jeffrey Epstein, quote, quote, ran New Albany.

She said that in a deposition where they moved her from the maximum security,

the DOJ interview, she says Jeffrey Epstein ran New Albany.

New Albany is where Leslie Wexner operates.

It's his community.

And to say that this man was intertwined, Leslie Wexner is the most influenced person in this state.

And when it comes to Ohio or Columbus, he runs everything.

His name's on everything.

He's got influence over there.

All the politicians have taken some money from him.

When I look at what he's given, some guys are getting a thousand, 500 bucks.

I mean, we're not talking big money from him, at least directly.

Now, what's going on in the 501c4s and whatnot?

But he makes sure he's got everyone covered.

And that's why you name your organization Wexit.org.

It's about the, you got t-shirt, you got sweat, hoodies and stuff.

And it's about taking Leslie Wexner's name off from the billet.

Yes. Well, we, you know, back in December, a group of us decided that,

you know, we've been watching what's going on with the Wexner, with the Epstein stuff.

You know, I started, it really hit me about nine months ago.

And I started hearing Les Wexner's name finally being used as a related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Now, you know, I know how the national media works.

It's a hell of a lot sexier to talk about Donald Trump and Bill Clinton and Bill Gates.

But, but let's step back.

The most without doubt, culpable person in this Epstein situation is Leslie Wexner.

He funded this, dude.

This, dude, had power of attorney, had, had, you don't give power of attorney to someone

that you're not in bed with. Michael, what, what, what, what, and he was asked this past weekend,

or this past week by Barry, I thought she was, she was amazing.

She asked Mr. Wexner, hey,

uh, um, most people think Mr. Wexner that you're, you and Jeffrey were lovers.

Now, there's nothing to be ashamed of, Jeff.

Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of.

If you're, if you enjoy men, it's actually, that's, that's okay.

Hey, and she sent it to him twice.

And I know this is hard to, uh, to do right now, but I've got to take this call.

I don't know. We can pause. We can pause.

And the person I say that is, wait, let me pause before you say it, man.