NY Post: NBA ref to be arrested for fixing games

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07202007/news/columnists/nba_in_a_fix_columnists_murray_weiss.htm

NBA IN A 'FIX'

By MURRAY WEISS

July 20, 2007 -- THE FBI is investigating an NBA referee who allegedly was betting on basketball games - including ones he was officiating during the past two seasons - as part of an organized-crime probe in the Big Apple, The Post has learned.

The investigation, which began more than a year ago, is zeroing in on blockbuster allegations that the referee was making calls that affected the point spread to guarantee that he - and the hoods who had their hooks in him - cashed in on large bets.

Federal agents are set to arrest the referee and a cadre of mobsters and their associates who lined their pockets, sources said.

"These are dangerous people [the referee] was involved with," a source said.

One source close to the probe counted the number of games on which the ref and his wiseguy buddies scored windfalls in the "double digits."

NBA Commissioner David Stern is aware of the investigation and has a report about the referee on his desk, another source said.

The official, whose name was withheld, allegedly wagered on games during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 NBA seasons.

James Margolin, an FBI spokesman, declined comment on the latest black eye for professional sports.

The sources indicated the referee apparently had a gambling problem, slipped into debt and fell prey to mob thugs.

"That's how he got himself into this predicament" by wagering with mob-connected bookies, one source said.

Professional basketball has remained largely unscathed by allegations of game-fixing, although college basketball has been rocked by several scandals involving point-shaving by players, but not officials.

One of the most recent was a Boston College point-shaving scam arranged in the 1980s by mobster Henry Hill, who bribed several players. Hill later became a government informant, and his life was depicted in the movie "GoodFellas."

Having a referee in their pockets provides a two-fold bonanza to game fixers.

Gamblers would be able to directly cash in by betting on games where they knew the point spread was compromised.

But having a ref in their pocket could prove even more lucrative to crooks in a bookmaking syndicate.

Bookmakers hope to encourage an equal amount of betting on each team and make their money on the "vigorish," which is typically 10 percent of a losing bet.

But armed with the inside information, the bookmaking syndicate could set an artificial point spread that would encourage large "layoff" bets from other bookies carrying too much action on one team, that were likely now to lose.

An FBI organized-crime squad in the bureau's flagship New York office is handling the case, but the referee traveled the country officiating various games on which he allegedly bet.

It was not determined which games were allegedly affected by the referee's actions, or how much money may have been won by him and his cohorts.

The FBI got wind of the scheme while conducting a separate mob investigation.

The most prominent American sport- gambling scandal in recent history involved Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose, who was banned from baseball in 1989 for betting on his own team.

Based largely on testimony of two Rose associates, Ron Peters and Paul Janszen, Major League Baseball determined that from 1985 through 1987, Rose bet on baseball, including 52 Reds games in 1987, at a minimum of $10,000 a game.

All of Rose's bets on Cincinnati were to win.

murray.weiss@nypost.com

 

Damn. Who is it, I'm wondering. I'll laugh my ass off if it's Hue Hollins, or Violet Palmer, since they're both so stunningly bad it's almost painful to watch sometimes.

 

Can you imagine if they find out some ref was fixing playoff games? Holy shit.

 

Just what the NBA needs; another blackeye.

 

This is the way it always happens. Gambler gets in over his head with debt and the bad guys put their hooks in. Every sport and all gamblers who are in position to affect scores and results -- general managers, managers, players, referees -- are susceptible.

 

I've taken a few calls over the years from irate NBA fans claiming games were fixed. Pistons fans (Celtics). Pacers fans (Bulls). Jazz fans (Bulls again). Not so much in the last few years.

But if this pans out, oh my......

 

Sportsbruh:

Oh... they have enough black guys, huh?

 

I second Hue Hollins... would be poetic justice

 

Joey Crawford has to be a possibility.

 

No reference to Arizona State?

"You guys really need to start scoring more," said the FBI at halftime.

I know people gamble. I know refs, players and coaches gamble. I know writers gamble, and I know fans gamble.

Is there anything that can be done about it?

Does the NBA and NFL handle the bank accounts of the refs and players?

Do we legalize gambling and have the federal government monitor it?

Do we pay refs as much as the players? Is there a salary limit for NBA refs like there is in the NFL?

 

This could be a massive development. WOW.