Tim Donaghy, the rouge NBA ref, pleads guilty in betting scandal

The former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two felonies for illegal betting.

Tim Donaghy, the rouge NBA ref, pleads guilty in betting scandal Tim Donaghy, the rouge NBA ref, submitted a guilty plea today to two felonies, conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting waging information through interstate commerce, stemming from illegal betting on NBA games. Donaghy could spend up to 25 years behind bars and will pay $500,000 in fines. He will be sentenced in a later date, not yet made public.

Tim Donaghy will also provide information about his bookies, which will not be made public and would help the investigators in helping to net some of the underground bookmaking operations. Two other defendants in the case, James Battista and Thomas Marino, are scheduled to surrender to the FBI today.

The former NBA referee hasn't been accused of fixing games and according to the prosecution, he was providing "picks" on the upcoming games, and would be paid if his information is correct. Tim Donaghy also provided insider information to the illegal betting ring about player injuries and officials assigned to the upcoming NBA games. "I was in a unique position to predict the outcome of NBA games. Some of my picks included games I had been assigned to referee," Donaghy told the judge.

Tim Donaghy resigned on July 9th after 13 years as an NBA referee.

Published on 08/15/2007