{Kentucky}...Attorneys for 51 year old Karen Cunagin Sypher, the woman convicted of trying to extort University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, has asked a federal appeals court to overturn her conviction and seven-year prison sentence. Attorneys are claiming there was a broad conspiracy involving Pitino, the federal trial judge and Sypher's former attorney to ensure Sypher would be found guilty, claims previously rejected by U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson of Louisville. A jury convicted Sypher of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Prosecutors said she sought millions in cash, cars and a house from Pitino to stay quiet about a sexual encounter they had in a Louisville restaurant. Sypher is currently in the federal prison in Marianna, Florida.
