Johnny Law looking for former Cosmos star Giorgio Chinaglia

Say the name Giorgio Chinaglia to any fans of the old New York Cosmos and you are bound to get a reaction. Say his name to any people involved with the Cosmos and you will probably hear some cussing. However, if you say his name to Italian authorities, they'll tell you of an arrest warrant.

Earlier today, Italian authorities issued a warrant for Chinaglia in relation to an alleged attempt to influence the price of Lazio shares over the last six months.

"The 59-year-old Chinaglia, a former Lazio president who now lives in the United States, is accused of trying to oust current club president Claudio Lotito by falsely claiming that there was a Hungarian investment group interested in buying a controlling stake in the club, according to police in Rome."

For his part, Chinaglia, who still lives in the New York area, denies any wrongdoing.

"(Lazio president Claudio) Lotito never wanted to sit at the table with the Hungarian group that was interested in acquiring the team," Chinaglia said. "And if no one wants to believe that, then, enough, let's forget it."

Chinaglia openly admits to being a bastard of a person, but does that mean that he is also a felon? It will be interesting to see where these allegations lead. Lazio is one of the clubs in the middle of the match-fixing scandal that has destroying Italian football, so maybe this is a ploy. Then again, maybe Chinaglia say an opening and went with it.