http://www.realgm.com/images/nba/4.2...ate/spacer.gif Rogue Ref May Blow Whistle
July 22, 2007 - 8:25 am New York Daily News -
Federal authorities believe the referee at the center of the betting and game-fixing probe rocking the NBA
will cooperate with investigators -
and possibly name other officials or players involved in the scandal, law enforcement sources told The
New York Daily News.
Saddled with large gambling debts, Tim Donaghy allegedly used mobbed-up bookies to place thousands of dollars in bets on games over the past two seasons, including contests he officiated, the sources said.
Two of the bookies are expected to be arrested this week after Donaghy, who has resigned from the NBA, surrenders to authorities in
New York as early as Tuesday, the sources said.
New details of the growing scandal emerged yesterday and painted a troubling picture of the 40-year-old Donaghy. The so-called family man, who hid his frightening temper and shady associates from public view, has been arrested twice for erratic and threatening behavior.
Sources told The
New York Daily News that federal authorities first heard Donaghy's name on a wiretap during investigations into the Gambino crime family over the past year.
A
Philadelphia wiseguy wanna-be is believed to have threatened to use his contacts in the Gambino family to hurt Donaghy if the ref - already known as a heavy gambler - did not share inside information and help fix games, sources said.
That gangster also claimed he would expose Donaghy's serious debts if he did not cooperate with the bookies, who allegedly won thousands of dollars with the referees' help, sources said.
