NBA Referee Is Under FBI Investigation for Betting on Games
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. Via The New York Post
This is big people, I know plenty of Pistons fans who probably aren't surprised. I personally have a couple of names that I think it may be.
Let's discuss this one in the comments.
posted by Natalie Sitto at 10:17 AM link to this post
25 Comments:
natalie you are right when you said this wont surprise anyone, and why should it.
their is one name that sticks out in my head,
and this wasnt the first time that he has gotten "in trouble"
i dont want to say any names right now.
this is ridiculous knowing that a team might have won even if they werent supposed to over big bucks.
please for the love of god be dan crawford
dan crawford
You can't forget Bennett Salvatore
It has to be Dan Crawford. I mean, there are games that I couldn't watch, and I asked who was reffing...and if it was DC, it was good as a loss even before the ball was tipped. And sure enough for us pistons fan, our record with him as a ref was like 0-100...i really hope this is true....it would certainly explain a lot...
I bet is joey crawford...he likes to fight tim duncan...and techs you for laughin..i think its him or dan
It was Crawford!
I read on one webpage that they think it could be Ken Mauer.
Dan Crawford, It was, isnt he the one who was ref for game 6 of Pistons and cavs, if so, maybe David Stern will Re-do the Eastern conference Finals. LOL.
Cmon guys, like theres only 1. I wouldnt be surprised if it went all the way up to david stern.
Theres no way every year officiating is this bad without key players being corrupt. Its not just 1 ref but atleast a few
Do they think it was Ken Mauer because of his prior Legal (tax) Problems?
It is a shame that this is happening. The job of the referree is subjective anyway but when you can make a little something for yourself it becomes $ubjective. What about the guy in charge of the refs? Where is hand in this? How many others are on the take and just not caught? Was there waging on the number of technical fouls per month/week/team/player at the beginning of last season?
DStern are you on the job or take?
As much as I wish it would be Danny Crawford, the referee in question is........JACK NIES.
I dont know who it is but i knew something funk junky was up and ya
know what i think thats why the pistons lost against the cavs and because they had a tuff time gettin by the bulls!!!! That reff
outta be sued!!!!!!!!!!!
i hope whoever it was refereed at least two of games 3-6 in the eastern conference finals. that would help me sleep better at night. although, how funny would it be if it was Violet Palmer? I dont think people would suspect that.
Oh come on! Can't you see it... this reeks of the "Friends of the Program" all over... Maybe be should send Pete Bell to knock on the referees' doors to scream the truth out of them... it worked with Tony LOL (Sorry, I had to make the Blue Chips joke, it was kinda obligatory LOL).
Seriously, though, Henry Abbott of TrueHoop makes an interesting case of why this would be huge in the NBA. He argued that it has a lot to do with the Charity Stripe. After all, a referee can really affect the score in ways not even a player could, by choosing whose fouls to call.
As per the whodunnit, check TrueHoop on ESPN. There are some interesting referees records and a list of potential suspects... but yeah Joey Crawford has to be there, I mean, seriously, a Tech to Duncan for laughing at the bench? Are you for real? This guy would give Sheed a technical for not getting a technical...
I guess the off-season got even more interesting... Greg Oden, don't bogart the ice-cream old man... the show is about to begin and we're sitting to check it out!!!!!
STEVE JAVIE!!! I GOT OTHER STUFF ON JAVIE IF ITS INDEED HIM.
My friends, it just has to be Joey Crawford. The way he t'd up Tim Duncan for laughing was soo suspicious. It is things like that that make investigations happen. I believe this kind of stuff has been going on for years, and will continue to. Check me at www.clutch3.com
The investigation reportedly has focused on whether the ref, whom multiple sources have told ESPN.com is 13-year veteran Tim Donaghy, made calls that affected point spreads.
There you have it.....Tim Donaghy. Now lets find out if he refereed the ECFs.
damnit....he didnt ref any of the ECFs. Well, here is my theory that i posted on a different msg board:
Go back and watch the Eastern Conference Finals from this past year. That was pretty freaking bad, but i dont think it had anything to do with this one guy fixing games. I think the NBA didnt want the Pistons and the Spurs in the Finals again like in 2005. I really believe that. To me, it was blatant, but it seemed like the announcers and analysts went out of their way not to discuss the officiating. I have been hoping someone would pull a Woodward-Bernstein and come out with a memorandum circulated by the NBA instructing the networks not to discuss the calls that the Cavs were getting while the pistons were getting no calls what-so-ever. I noticed that the one-sided officiating stopped once the Cavs got to the finals. If it wasnt intentional on the part of the NBA, maybe it was the refs grinding an ax against the pistons as retribution for their constant whining. Whether or not the NBA actually encouraged the refs to sway the ECFs to the Cavs to avoid a Spurs-Pistons matchup, I was happy that the Finals ended up being a ratings disaster due to the talent/skill discrepancy between the Spurs and Cavs. I hope that this latest referee scandal will lead the NBA to better police their officials so that the outcome of games and playoff series are not determined by the refs (or the league's PR department).
You know what though. Remember when Sheed was suspended 7 games back in Portland for confronting and threatening ref after a game? Guess who the ref was...Tim Donaghy
i am glad to hear it is not danny crawford, and i think that its ridiculous that any of you even suspected him. he is one of the few that i like and i am sure that several of you are confusing him with joey crawford, the white bald man.
please dont mix the two up because danny is spectacular and joey is an airhead.
Man why wasn't he a ref in game 6 when we lost. i would of give him money if i knew!!!!!!!lol
danny crawford is spectacular alright...a spectactular moron.
dan crawford is a good ref.??? are you kidding me that man is an idiot... i still think he had something to do with detroit losing to cleveland... the cleveland lebron james' are garbage and i am embarassed that we lost to them
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