NBA Ref Guilty of Relaying Insider Information

By Pamela Mortimer

Confidential reports have shown that NBA referee Tim Donaghy, 41, has confessed to betting on games and providing inside information to professional gamblers during the NBA’s 2006-2007 season. Phone records also show that Donaghy made a large number of phone calls to a fellow referee although it is not known what was discussed during the calls. The other referee, Scott Foster, 41, has not made any statements to the media regarding the issue.

The phone records show Donaghy placed 126 calls Donaghy made to his bookie and 134 calls to Foster between October 2006 and April 2007. There were also 150 calls made to Thomas Martino, an alleged middleman between Donaghy and a bookie named James Battista.

Most of calls lasted "no more than two minutes" and took place before and after the games Donaghy officiated. While calls to other referees aren’t unusual, the number of calls made to Foster is what caught the attention of investigators. Donaghy’s average number of calls to fellow referees is 13. Also suspicious is the fact that Donaghy and Foster didn’t work together the entire season.

NBA Commissioner David Stern insists that Donaghy was a "rogue, isolated criminal" who acted on his own, "without the cooperation of any other referees or league officials."

Donaghy has accused the NBA of being "rife with corruption," and has made accusations that some league executives are guilty of game-fixing during the playoffs. Stern has not altered his statement and claims that Donaghy is trying to make a plea for a reduced sentence.

Calls between Donaghy, Foster and other principals, were made immediately before and after 54 of the 57 games Donaghy officiated from the beginning of the 2006-2007 season. The calls stopped in mid-March, when Donaghy says he quit the gambling operation.

According to statements made when Donaghy pleaded guilty last August, the referee was paid every time he offered a winning tip. Donaghy’s job was to provide picks for teams whether or not he was working as a referee on that particular game. Donaghy was initially paid a fee $2,000 for each winning pick. As his winning streak hit eight out of the first ten, the amount was raised to $5,000 per winning pick. Donaghy’s record was 27-10 for the season.

Donaghy is scheduled for sentencing on July 29. He faces a maximum of 33 months in jail.