"Spygate" has resurrected itself with another Super Bowl winning team, this time under the beleaguered New Orleans Saints.
According to sources with ESPN, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana was told that Saints GM Mickey Loomis had a device in his suite that allowed him to eavesdrop on opposing coaching staffs.
The alleged eavesdropping occurred between 2002-2004, during the first three seasons that Loomis was GM of the Saints.
The eavesdropping allegations could possibly be a violation of NFL rules and a federal crime, under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986.
"I can say that we were just made aware of that on Friday, at least of these allegations," Jim Letten, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana said.
A spokesperson for the Saints, Greg Bensel called the allegations "1,000 perecent false".
Sources with ESPN say that Loomis modified a microphone device from former GM Randy Mueller who used the device to listen to his own teams game-day activities.
"There was a switch, and the switch accessed offense and defense," said the source told ESPN. "When Randy was there, it was the Saints offense or defense, and when Mickey was there it changed over so it was the visiting offense or defense."
The same sources outlined a detailed setup how Loomis would use a special earpiece to listen to the opposition on game day from his suite. ESPN was unable to determine if the device was actually used, only that the source confirmed the elaborate eavesdropping system.
The allegations follow a time of turmoil for the Saints, who were recently punished for a "bounty" system to hurt opposing players. Loomis, head coach Sean Payton, and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams were suspended for the "Bounty Gate".
Now, this new "Spygate" could have happened before the New England Patriots' 2007 "Spygate", in which the Patriots were fined and lost a first round draft pick.
