NEW ORLEANS – The attorney for New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma has gone to court in the bounties case with an email from a former assistant coach who called the Saints a "dirty organization."
The email from Mike Cerullo to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello is part of a filing that seeks to block former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue from hearing appeals of the alleged program to pay for injury-producing hits.
It is designed to back up Vilma's claim that Cerullo had a vendetta against Saints interim coach Joe Vitt.
The motion by Vilma's attorney, Peter Ginsberg, also challenges the NFL's plan to have Cerullo and former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams testify by telephone at the hurricane-delayed appeals hearing. Ginsberg says both men should be at the hearing if it goes forward.
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