Kuehn said this of the fact that the NCAA won’t use the evidence from the bankruptcy depositions: “If that’s the minimum the NCAA is suggesting, that’s a joke. This entire investigation has been compromised. Anybody who relied on information that was obtained improperly was tainted. The whole organization is compromised.

“The entire investigation should be dropped.’’

How did the NCAA learn that investigators had been acting inappropriately?

Emmert said receipts were turned in by investigators for legal work by Perez.

The issue of the improper depositions initially was discovered by the NCAA in the fall, Emmert explained, “when bills, invoices were presented ... for legal work that had not been approved. No one had approved the hiring of an outside attorney, and some many months later, a bill was presented to pay for those expenses.

“It immediately raised the question, ‘Where the heck did this come from?’’’

Emmert said some investigators connected to the UM case have been dismissed. “Since that time,’’ he said, “there has been a great deal of inquiry of what had transpired and what the legal role of this counsel [Perez] had been.

“…One of the questions that has to be answered unequivocally: What was the nature of that contractual arrangement [between the NCAA and Perez]? What was all the activity that [she] was involved with? ... How did this individual engage in these activities on our behalf?

“How in the world could you get this far without it being recognized that this was an inappropriate way to proceed?”

One reporter during an afternoon teleconference with Emmert asked the NCAA president, “So, essentially the NCAA was paying an attorney who was the subject of a current investigation to gather information of itself?’’

Replied Emmert: “That appears to be the case.’’

Emmert said any evidence that is tossed out will not be revisited by investigators, but he stressed that only “small portions” of evidence were collected improperly.

“We’ll use the information that was collected appropriately,” he said. “My understanding is there is a great amount of evidence that has been compiled in this case.”

Among the claims Allen made during his deposition that included incriminating evidence was that he witnessed Shapiro paying money to UM players and that Shapiro gave him $3,000 to take UM recruits Ray-Ray Armstrong, Dyron Dye and Andre DeBose (who eventually went to Florida) to a strip club in an unofficial recruiting visit to UM. Asked Shapiro’s motivation in giving players money, Allen said: “One, I think he enjoyed being around them. The other part is he ultimately wanted them to sign with Axcess Sports.”

Though the NCAA does not have the same legal authority as the court system, Emmert was asked if this could be viewed as a mistrial of sorts and work in Miami’s favor.

“It’s premature to answer that question...,’’ he said. “This is a shocking affair.”

The lawyer who will investigate the NCAA’s conduct is Ken Wainstein, a partner with the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. Wainstein was formerly Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush and has served as the Assistant Attorney General for National Security as well as the FBI general counsel.