Tim Donaghy left the basketball court as a disgraced former N.B.A. referee in July and left a federal court room yesterday as an admitted criminal, a conspirator and a gambling addict.
Donaghy’s downfall and the resulting scandal that has threatened the National Basketball Association’s integrity, came into focus when Donaghy, 40, surrendered to federal authorities and pleaded guilty to two felonies during a hearing at the United States District Court in Brooklyn.
For four years, Donaghy bet on N.B.A. games, including some that he officiated. For at least five months — starting in December 2006 — he advised professional gamblers about which teams to pick, through telephone calls and coded language. And he violated one of the primary tenets for referees by providing the gamblers with information about referee assignments, relationships between referees and players and the health of players.
Those details were disclosed when the charges were unsealed in the 10th-floor court room of Judge Carol B. Amon.
Read more: New York Times
NEW YORK, Aug. 15 — Tim Donaghy, the former NBA referee at the center of a betting scandal that has rocked professional basketball, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two federal conspiracy charges, acknowledging that he used inside information to predict the winners of NBA games and passed on his picks to a professional gambler in return for cash.
Read more: Washington Post
NEW YORK (CNN) — Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was released on $250,000 bail after pleading guilty Wednesday to two felonies related to wagering on games he officiated and supplying inside information on games to others.
“Today’s guilty plea and charges serve as a warning that easy money often comes at a high price,” said U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf.
Two of Donaghy’s alleged co-conspirators — James Battista, also known as “Baba” and “Sheep,” and Thomas Martino — were also arraigned Wednesday for involvement in the gambling ring.
Neither of them entered a plea, and both also have been released on an unsecured $250,000 bond.
Read more: CNN