Gaming the Game_The Story Behind the NBA Betting Scandal and the Gambler Who Made It Happen by Sean Patrick Griffin

Author:Sean Patrick Griffin [Griffin, Sean Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sports & Recreation, Basketball, True Crime, organized crime
ISBN: 9781569804759
Google: fZGEMAEACAAJ
Publisher: Barricade Books, Incorporated
Published: 2013-04-11T15:23:23+00:00

Footnotes

“Apples” was the (easily decipherable) code the men used for dollars. Thus, “five thousand apples” meant $5,000.

According to the FBI, Battista’s intuition regarding Donaghy betting with Jack Concannon on games Donaghy officiated after December 12, 2006, was well founded. There is disagreement on precisely when Donaghy reunited with Concannon, however, because the FBI says that Donaghy didn’t resume betting on his games with Concannon until February. Importantly, Donaghy admitted to betting with Concannon from February to April 2007, which had ramifications for the Battista-Donaghy-Martino conspiracy.

Martino discussed this situation with the FBI, though he apparently did not discuss how much money was being wagered. The FBI summary states, “a friend of Martino’s whom Martino knew from Costa Rica . . . liked sports gambling so Martino provided [him] with some of the picks made by Donaghy.” The FBI added that the friend “was aware that these picks were coming from Donaghy.”

As of May 2010, the origin of the FBI’s investigation into the NBA betting scandal remains one of the areas authorities with intimate knowledge of the probe are unwilling to discuss. In court filings, the federal government has stated: “In early 2007, the Federal Bureau of Investigation . . . received information that James Battista, a professional gambler, was engaged in betting large amounts of money on NBA basketball games and was receiving assistance from Timothy Donaghy, an NBA referee since 1994, in determining his bets.”

Tommy Martino detailed many of these events for the FBI, including: the circumstances of the Phoenix trip, such as the $10,000 payment, Donaghy’s “girlfriend,” and smoking pot with Donaghy; the payments in D.C. and Toronto; and the name of the online service he used to obtain the services of prostitutes for himself and Donaghy. The New York Post later identified Donaghy’s acquaintance in Phoenix as Cheryl Wolfe-Ruiz, a “divorcee . . . mother of two who owns a sports bar in Phoenix.” Her lawyer said Wolfe-Ruiz “did not have a sexual relationship” with Donaghy.

As of May 2010, no other NBA officials have been charged with criminal wrongdoing, and none other than Tim Donaghy has been found to have wagered on NBA games. Of note, the four referees Jimmy Battista says Donaghy identified during the January 2007 meeting are not precisely those who have been publicly discussed by Donaghy.

Before retiring in 1997, Gerry Donaghy officiated for forty years. A highly regarded referee, he worked nineteen consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Fours, and the 1992 National Championship.

Tommy Martino told the FBI that he picked one game during the months-long scheme.

The FBI wrote the following of the situation, based on interviews with Tommy Martino: “Early on in the scheme, Baba and Martino got new cell phones to use just for the scheme. Because of problems with those phones, Martino just went back to using his regular cell phone.”

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