Radio host who teamed with ex-NFL player shocked by charges
NEW YORK — A radio host who teamed up for years with former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason on a New York City sports show said Wednesday that he was shocked by his arrest and will prove his innocence.
Craig Carton, 48, spoke outside Manhattan federal court after pleading not guilty to fraud charges in an indictment returned last week. He told reporters he entered the plea because he was “unequivocally not guilty.”
The longtime co-host of WFAN’s “Boomer and Carton” show was arrested in September on charges that he misappropriated at least $5.6 million from two investors in a ticket reselling business designed to raise millions of dollars so he could pay off gambling debts. Free on $500,000 bond, he quit his job shortly after the arrest.
“I was shocked when I was arrested and even more surprised that the government was accusing me of running a complete sham as they put it,” Carton said with his lawyer at his side.