Donaghy pleads guilty
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NBA referee pleads guilty to charges in gambling case
Court records detail how he provided tips on games to two co-conspirators and would get up to $5,000 a game if his information was correct.
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
9:11 AM PDT, August 15, 2007
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty in a New York federal courtroom Wednesday to two felonies connected to illegal bets on league games, an arrangement detailed in court records.
A maximum 25-year prison sentence confronts Donaghy, 40, a 13-year veteran official who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting waging information through interstate commerce, the Associated Press reported.
In a Brooklyn courtroom, U.S. District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon said Donaghy provided co-conspirators information that was not public.
Amon said the recommendations, which she called "picks," were directed by Donaghy, who would then get paid up to $5,000 per tip if his information was correct.
"I was in a unique position to predict the outcome of NBA games," Donaghy told the judge. "Some of my picks included games I had been assigned to referee."
Donaghy admitted receiving several cash payments from co-conspirators, but no amount was discussed in court.
The judge said Donaghy's "unique access" included which NBA crews would officiate specific games, information about the interaction of different officials and players, and the physical condition of certain players.
The scheme, said the judge, was concealed from the NBA and other officials. But court records released Wednesday detailed the scandal that has rocked the league's credibility.
Two men identified by law enforcement authorities as Donaghy's former high school classmate James "Baba" or "Sheep" Battista, 42, and Thomas Martino, 41, conspired with Donaghy to profit from his inside information about league games.
Battista and Martino surrendered to FBI agents in New York Wednesday and were to be arraigned in Brooklyn.
In early 2007, the FBI received information the pair bet "large amounts of money" on NBA games with a referee's assistance, court records allege.
Federal prosecutors said that Donaghy began betting four years ago on NBA games through a friend, including bets on games Donaghy officiated. The bets were made through "a bookmaking service." Those acts were not part of his plea, however. Donaghy told authorities Battista "confronted" him about the bets he made through his friend in a meeting with Martino present in Philadelphia. The referee then agreed to Battista's suggestion that Donaghy provide inside information on games.
The friend who Donaghy originally bet through emerged as a confidential source to the FBI.
Donaghy began receiving cash payments from the co-conspirators in mid-December 2006 for providing inside information, according to court records.
Donaghy would earn $2,000 for games the gamblers won by using his information, and no money if the bets were losers. Martino acted as the intermediary between Donaghy and Battista, court records allege.
"Several weeks" after the arrangement began, Donaghy would later earn $5,000 for each winning suggestion, the court records claimed.
The court records alleged the payments continued through the games of April 30. Donaghy's tips would come over the telephone sometimes in "coded language," to Martino.
Phone tips were made by Donaghy, prosecutors said in court records, on or about Dec. 13 and Dec. 26, and he received cash payments in Pennsylvania around Dec. 14, in Phoenix in January, in Toronto around March 11, and in Washington, D.C., in April -- sites where Donaghy was working NBA games.
FBI agents found records of "hundreds" of phone calls between Donaghy and Martino, and Martino and Battista.
"On multiple occasions, a call between [Donaghy] and Martino was immediately followed by a call between Martino and Battista," FBI Special Agent Paul Harris wrote in an affidavit.
Battista was interviewed by FBI agents on April 27 and admitted being a "professional gambler" who would make several bets with multiple bookmakers, the court records showed. Martino told the agents in a May interview that Battista was a high school friend who used Martino's home to conduct his gambling business.
"The participation of an official of one of the world's premier sports leagues in an illegal betting scheme involving his own sport demonstrates the corrupting allure of easy money," U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf said in a prepared statement. "… seemingly easy money often comes at a high price."
Donaghy was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine and at least $30,000 in restitution. Donaghy will be sentenced at a later date, a U.S. Attorney's spokesman said.
"The appeal of legitimate professional sports is that the outcome of the competition is determined solely by the competitors," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Mark J. Mershon. "That an official -- responsible to his sport, its teams, its players and fans, and duty-bound to be impartial and incorruptible -- placed bets on games he officiated undermines everyone's faith in the integrity of the competition."
Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro of Tampa, Fla., and NBA spokesmen were not immediately available for comment on Donaghy's day in court.
The case has been previously described by NBA Commissioner David Stern and other league referees as an "isolated" episode among the league's 60-person officiating crew. Stern called the scandal the worst situation in his 40 years around the league.
Stern issued a short statement after Donaghy pleaded guilty: "As expected, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty today to betting on NBA games, including games in which he officiated, and providing confidential information to others who bet on NBA games. We will continue with our ongoing and thorough review of the league's officiating program to ensure that the best possible policies and procedures are in place to protect the integrity of our game."
In an era when referees have been occasionally criticized by owners and fans alike for inconsistent calls or home-team preference, the credibility questions raised by Donaghy's crimes are expected to linger well into the 2007-08 season.
"Some of the taunts will be nasty, we know," said one NBA official who declined to be identified due to Stern's gag order on Donaghy-related subjects. "But I'd also bet -- no joke intended -- that by Christmas, Donaghy will be a non-issue."
Law enforcement sources told the Associated Press that Donaghy, who lives in Bradenton, Fla., was a troubled gambler.
The FBI first contacted the NBA on June 20 about information that a referee had bet on games he worked. Donaghy worked into the second round of the playoffs in May, landing an assignment in that round's marquee San Antonio-Phoenix series.
Stern said he met with the FBI on June 21, and Donaghy resigned on July 9.
Stern said Donaghy ranked as a "top-tier" official before the FBI contacted the league.
The commissioner said there was no indication the official was manipulating games with fouls or no-calls that would help his gambling friends.
"There wasn't a squawk about this guy," one league official said. "I worked a game with him, and he was very good. My sense was this was a guy trying to move up the ladder, not trying to fix a game."
Pugmire reported from Los Angeles. lance.pugmire@latimes.com
NBA referee pleads guilty to charges in gambling case
Court records detail how he provided tips on games to two co-conspirators and would get up to $5,000 a game if his information was correct.
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
9:11 AM PDT, August 15, 2007
Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty in a New York federal courtroom Wednesday to two felonies connected to illegal bets on league games, an arrangement detailed in court records.
A maximum 25-year prison sentence confronts Donaghy, 40, a 13-year veteran official who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting waging information through interstate commerce, the Associated Press reported.
In a Brooklyn courtroom, U.S. District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon said Donaghy provided co-conspirators information that was not public.
Amon said the recommendations, which she called "picks," were directed by Donaghy, who would then get paid up to $5,000 per tip if his information was correct.
"I was in a unique position to predict the outcome of NBA games," Donaghy told the judge. "Some of my picks included games I had been assigned to referee."
Donaghy admitted receiving several cash payments from co-conspirators, but no amount was discussed in court.
The judge said Donaghy's "unique access" included which NBA crews would officiate specific games, information about the interaction of different officials and players, and the physical condition of certain players.
The scheme, said the judge, was concealed from the NBA and other officials. But court records released Wednesday detailed the scandal that has rocked the league's credibility.
Two men identified by law enforcement authorities as Donaghy's former high school classmate James "Baba" or "Sheep" Battista, 42, and Thomas Martino, 41, conspired with Donaghy to profit from his inside information about league games.
Battista and Martino surrendered to FBI agents in New York Wednesday and were to be arraigned in Brooklyn.
In early 2007, the FBI received information the pair bet "large amounts of money" on NBA games with a referee's assistance, court records allege.
Federal prosecutors said that Donaghy began betting four years ago on NBA games through a friend, including bets on games Donaghy officiated. The bets were made through "a bookmaking service." Those acts were not part of his plea, however. Donaghy told authorities Battista "confronted" him about the bets he made through his friend in a meeting with Martino present in Philadelphia. The referee then agreed to Battista's suggestion that Donaghy provide inside information on games.
The friend who Donaghy originally bet through emerged as a confidential source to the FBI.
Donaghy began receiving cash payments from the co-conspirators in mid-December 2006 for providing inside information, according to court records.
Donaghy would earn $2,000 for games the gamblers won by using his information, and no money if the bets were losers. Martino acted as the intermediary between Donaghy and Battista, court records allege.
"Several weeks" after the arrangement began, Donaghy would later earn $5,000 for each winning suggestion, the court records claimed.
The court records alleged the payments continued through the games of April 30. Donaghy's tips would come over the telephone sometimes in "coded language," to Martino.
Phone tips were made by Donaghy, prosecutors said in court records, on or about Dec. 13 and Dec. 26, and he received cash payments in Pennsylvania around Dec. 14, in Phoenix in January, in Toronto around March 11, and in Washington, D.C., in April -- sites where Donaghy was working NBA games.
FBI agents found records of "hundreds" of phone calls between Donaghy and Martino, and Martino and Battista.
"On multiple occasions, a call between [Donaghy] and Martino was immediately followed by a call between Martino and Battista," FBI Special Agent Paul Harris wrote in an affidavit.
Battista was interviewed by FBI agents on April 27 and admitted being a "professional gambler" who would make several bets with multiple bookmakers, the court records showed. Martino told the agents in a May interview that Battista was a high school friend who used Martino's home to conduct his gambling business.
"The participation of an official of one of the world's premier sports leagues in an illegal betting scheme involving his own sport demonstrates the corrupting allure of easy money," U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf said in a prepared statement. "… seemingly easy money often comes at a high price."
Donaghy was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine and at least $30,000 in restitution. Donaghy will be sentenced at a later date, a U.S. Attorney's spokesman said.
"The appeal of legitimate professional sports is that the outcome of the competition is determined solely by the competitors," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Mark J. Mershon. "That an official -- responsible to his sport, its teams, its players and fans, and duty-bound to be impartial and incorruptible -- placed bets on games he officiated undermines everyone's faith in the integrity of the competition."
Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro of Tampa, Fla., and NBA spokesmen were not immediately available for comment on Donaghy's day in court.
The case has been previously described by NBA Commissioner David Stern and other league referees as an "isolated" episode among the league's 60-person officiating crew. Stern called the scandal the worst situation in his 40 years around the league.
Stern issued a short statement after Donaghy pleaded guilty: "As expected, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty today to betting on NBA games, including games in which he officiated, and providing confidential information to others who bet on NBA games. We will continue with our ongoing and thorough review of the league's officiating program to ensure that the best possible policies and procedures are in place to protect the integrity of our game."
In an era when referees have been occasionally criticized by owners and fans alike for inconsistent calls or home-team preference, the credibility questions raised by Donaghy's crimes are expected to linger well into the 2007-08 season.
"Some of the taunts will be nasty, we know," said one NBA official who declined to be identified due to Stern's gag order on Donaghy-related subjects. "But I'd also bet -- no joke intended -- that by Christmas, Donaghy will be a non-issue."
Law enforcement sources told the Associated Press that Donaghy, who lives in Bradenton, Fla., was a troubled gambler.
The FBI first contacted the NBA on June 20 about information that a referee had bet on games he worked. Donaghy worked into the second round of the playoffs in May, landing an assignment in that round's marquee San Antonio-Phoenix series.
Stern said he met with the FBI on June 21, and Donaghy resigned on July 9.
Stern said Donaghy ranked as a "top-tier" official before the FBI contacted the league.
The commissioner said there was no indication the official was manipulating games with fouls or no-calls that would help his gambling friends.
"There wasn't a squawk about this guy," one league official said. "I worked a game with him, and he was very good. My sense was this was a guy trying to move up the ladder, not trying to fix a game."
Pugmire reported from Los Angeles. lance.pugmire@latimes.com
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