Edward Rife (OSU tattoo guy) expected to plead in court today

Edward Rife

((ht: Columbus Dispatch))

Updated 11:45am ht: nbc4i.com--Rife did plead guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering charges. No word yet on his sentence.

Obviously, we'll update this story later in the day after he appears. But we wanted to let everyone know that the man at the center of the Ohio State "Tattoo-gate" problems is expected to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges in the U.S District Court in Columbus.

Edward Rife owns Fine Line Ink Tattoos, and his place in the public eye came after it was discovered he was selling signed memorabilia from Ohio State football players. Active OSU football players.

That revelation has sent the Ohio State football program and administration into an incredible tailspin. The active players involved were suspended for the 1st 5 games of 2011. The investigation eventually cost now former coach Jim Tressell his job.

You can read Tuesday mornings update from the Columbus Dispatch RIGHT HERE

Rife's plea will not have much of an impact on the NCAA investigation. The NCAA is looking at this incident along with many, many other issues that have cropped up since this all began last year.

The memorabilia that Rife has will be sold by the government if Rife can't come up with $50,000 he apparently agreed to fork over for it.

Check back frequently, we'll let you know what happened with this story later today.