Longtime Fiesta president canned

The Fiesta Bowl fired president and CEO

John Junker

after a scathing internal report released yesterday found "an apparent scheme" to reimburse employees for political contributions and "an apparent conspiracy" to cover it up.

The reimbursements, listed as at least $46,539, appear to violate state and federal campaign finance laws. The Arizona attorney general's office is conducting a probe of the matter.

The BCS reacted swiftly, saying it would undertake an investigation of its own to "consider whether the Fiesta Bowl should remain a BCS bowl game or other appropriate sanctions."

Junker, in his ubiquitous bright yellow Fiesta Bowl sports jacket, had been the face of the event for 3 decades, leading it from an upstart event to one of the BCS giants.

The board said the probe also uncovered "excessive compensation, nonbusiness and inappropriate expenditures and inappropriate gifts."

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