Who Is Ted Sarniak?

Ted Sarniak is a businessman who lives in Jeanette, Pennsylvania. He owns a glass factory:

"Jeannette Specialty Glass is the longest-running glass company in the city," Howard says. The factory has been in existence since 1904. Ted and Kathleen Sarniak have owned the facility since April 1976.

"It was founded by a family named Crock, and the factory stayed in that family until we purchased it," Ted Sarniak says. "It was previously known as Jeannette Shade and Novelty. As we got into making more items, we changed the name to Jeannette Specialty Glass."

His glass and glass-type things have been touched by the stars:

"We've made sinks for most of the major hotels in Las Vegas, for Ringo Starr and Celine Dion," Ted Sarniak says. "Our line of gourmet dinnerware and serving bowls will be used in upscale restaurants and homes all over the world."

He's not above the occasional bribe:

The investigation began in April when Peck received a complaint that Sarniak bribed police to avoid arrest. Sarniak crashed his car into the utility pole at the corner of Lowry Avenue and Division Street following the Jeannette-Central Catholic football game.

When patrolman Justin Scalzo arrived, he "found Sarniak uncooperative, smelling of alcohol, glass in his hair and a damaged windshield," according to Peck.

Sarniak was taken to Mercy Jeannette Hospital for treatment of a head injury but refused to allow medical personnel to draw his blood to determine his alcohol level. In Pennsylvania, a reading of .08 meets the legal presumption of intoxication. Refusal to submit to a blood test or Breathalyzer carries an automatic one-year license suspension, Peck said.

After the incident, Peck said Sarniak contacted another Jeannette patrolman, Keith Rosky, and told Rosky he had only two drinks that night and was not drunk. Peck said Sarniak did not ask Rosky for any favors, but Rosky mentioned the conversation to Scalzo and asked him not to charge Sarniak with drunken driving.

He is very generous to people in the community, and likes football:

Sarniak regularly has given gifts to city police officers, Peck said. Rosky and other officers have received Steeler football tickets from Sarniak.

"Although there was no direct link between the gift of the tickets and the intervention of Officer Rosky in the incident, one would be naive to believe that such gifts were not helpful in Mr. Sarniak receiving a willing ear from Officer Rosky," Peck said.

A smooth mover, Ted Sarniak is probably the richest man in Jeanette, Pennsylvania.

Why is he meeting with Ohio State coaches?

“It’s crazy and it’s going to get worse as it gets closer,” Reitz said. “It’s like playing poker: Everybody wants to have the last trump card.”

Last week, OSU’s coaches made an appearance and had a Thursday night dinner with someone close to Pryor believed to be Ted Sarniak, a Jeannette businessman. The following day, the 6-6, 225-pound Pryor headed to Ann Arbor for his second official visit.

And why has that Scout article, emailed to me by four different people in the span of ten minutes last night, been changed to read like this?

Last week, OSU’s coaches made an appearance and the following day, the 6-6, 225-pound Pryor headed to Ann Arbor for his second official visit.

Scratch a message board remotely connected with recruiting and you will encounter a vast network of rumors about Sarniak, Pryor, and Ohio State: Pryor has a new Corvette and worked at Sarniak's factory this summer. Sarniak has a business in Dublin, Ohio, that's doing quite well. OSU coaches and Sarniak had dinner before Pryor's trip to Michigan. None can be proven, and all seem like sour grapes from schools not likely to end up with Pryor on their team.

But... yeah, Maurice Clarett was driving around an SUV he didn't own and Troy Smith was suspended for taking money from a booster and Jim O'Brien bought a bunch of Yugoslavians or something. Ohio State fans are an enthusiastic bunch, aren't they?