The 197879 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal involved a scheme in which members of the American Mafia recruited and bribed several Boston College Eagles men's basketball players to ensure the team would not win by the required margin (not cover the point spread) or win by the required margin (cover the point spread), allowing gamblers in the know to place wagers against that team and win. My moment had arrived. SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches following aborted mission, delays. Rocco comes up to me and says, Hey, sometimes I bet on games and I wanna know how you think you guys are gonna do against Stonehill and Bentley? said Cobb. Can I play slot games for free? Nobody will ever know the full truth, as everyone involved has their own story. Playing for the Mob: The Story of College Kids Breaking Bad Its very hard to detect. He looked like a little choirboy, a legitimate kid, he said. Mr. Zimmerman called the length of the sentence ''outrageous.'' Mr. Sweeney was a key Government witness at the trial, although Mr. McDonald has said that Mr. Sweeney was not granted immunity for his testimony. There were a lot of rich kids who went to Boston College. Rick Kuhn, the former Boston College basketball player who was convicted last November, and sentenced last February for his involvement in the point shaving scandal during the 1978-79 basketball season, told Federal authorities last May that his life had been threatened because of his decision to cooperate in the case, according to The . Anyone can read what you share. And who better than the teams top scorer, Ernie Cobb? Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Former Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn will go on trial today for his alleged participation in a "point shaving" incident during the 1978-1979 basketball season. And yeah, I took that money. A forward for Boston Colleges basketball team, he wasnt the strongest player and was more interested in partying. I walk in the bathroom, and who was in there but Peter Vario, the big-time mobster that was on trial with Ernie, said Alswanger. display: none; Almost $6 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry was stolen at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Dec. 11, 1978. Mazzei, Hill and the Perlas devised a plan to rip off bookies without having players throw games. The story: Three Boston College players -- leading scorer Ernie Cobb, forward Richard Kuhn and Sweeney, the team's point guard -- were fingered by Hill for participating in the point-shaving scheme. I continue to feel like I have to defend myself, all these years later, even after the government tried their case against me and I was found innocent. Kuhn was sentenced to 10 years in prison, later reduced to 28 months. H e refused comment yesterday on whether any attempt had been made to get Mr. Kuhn to cooperate in this investigation for consideration s in his sentencing. The fifth man convicted, Paul Mazzei, 37, of Pittsburgh, is imprisoned for a narcotics violation and is scheduled to be sentenced for the point-shaving scheme Feb. 12. Tony and his brother Rocco were pals with Rick Kuhn. Out of everything that happened, thats one thing that hurts me tremendously, Cobb said. (Rick Kuhn, Photo Credit: bostonglobe.com). He is appealing Mr. Kuhn's conviction, and the defendant will remain free on $50,000 bail pending the outcome of that appeal. The Globe would later admit that they were wrong in reporting that Bowie was involved, after he was not implicated nor investigated by the federal government for any role in the scandal. They had Kuhn approach Ernie Cobb, the leading scorer on the team, but it has never been proven if Cobb agreed to cooperate. The initial informa tion came from Henry Hill, a Government informant in the Lufthansa case, who casually toldthe investigators that Mr. Burke had been inv olved in a collegebasketball point-shaving scheme. Yet its hard to believe it wouldve been had the bets won. And while he was willing, he couldnt engineer results alone, so Kuhn suggested they employ his friend Jim Sweeney. The headlines in Boston, and around the country, said that Cobb and fellow senior Michael Bowie, the teams two African-American stars, were the players that were implicated. I was like, Yeah, whatever. Sure enough, a few weeks later, he hands my girlfriend an envelope. Investigation Is Continuing. The Boston Globe story was initially investigated and written by a young Boston College alumnus named Leslie Visser, who would go on to become a very accomplished, groundbreaking journalist and role model for women who aspired to work in the field of sports media. The sources for this article include interviews he gave in 1981, 1985 and 2014, and while the framework of this story is reliable, the specific details change. But what was I going to do, take it to court?It was here that they began telling Perla we would have to have Cobb. As a freshman, he played sparingly and averaged 4.5 points per game while the Eagles finished with a disappointing 9-17 overall record. Anyone can read what you share. But I found out that I wouldnt be allowed to leave the United States because the government was going to bring me to trial.. He named Cobb, Kuhn and Sweeney as being involved, so the FBI visited the trio in early morning raids. Julie Walker has written, edited and designed words at five Michigan newspapers and websites. All say that when watching the games, its impossible to determine if muffed plays were done purposely or just honest mistakes. The court papers said Kuhn of Swissvale, Pa., has agreed to testify against former teammate Ernie Cobb, 27, a basketball player from Stamford, Conn. Cobb has pleaded innocent to a charge of conspiring to commit sports bribery,a charge stemming from the point-shaving scandal. At trial in 1981, the government's case consisted primarily of the testimony of Hill and three other witnesses: Sweeney and Joseph Beaulieu, both Boston College players, and Barbara Reed, a 23-year-old nurse who lived with Kuhn during the 197879 Eagles season. A look at who the key figures were in the Boston College point shaving scandal: Kuhn was a BC player at the center of the controversy. As such, its impossible to be certain which game was the first they attempted to fix. Early on, before the season got underway, Cobb says that he was approached by a man from Pittsburgh named Rocco Perla, who hed seen hanging around campus with his teammate, senior forward Rick Kuhn. At the trial, the Government argued that Mr. Kuhn and two other Boston College players that season, Ernie Cobb and Jim Sweeney, had been paid to manipulate the team's margins of victory or defeat. Your email address will not be published. Rocco Perla approached Cobb about working for them, and says it was explained clearly what was expected of him; Cobb says thats not so, and that their conversations were vague. Oh, yeah. My girlfriend and I bought a new stereo, television and some furniture. That friend was Rick Kuhn, a 6-foot-5 senior forward on scholarship with the Eagles. Was acquitted of sports bribery charges. So the scam continued. Nothing in sports comes with a guarantee, though. I dont know what went down because I wasnt involved. While residents eagerly await March 10 for legalized Massachusetts sports betting, we look back on the breach that mixed gamblers and mobsters with student-athletes in the late 1970s. I was back at home, visiting for the summer and about to return to Israel, Cobb said. After his junior campaign, where he converted 52% of his shots, an inordinate number for a small perimeter shooter, and averaged 22.8 points per game, he was recognized as one of the most lethal scorers in the country. She knew the terrain in terms of what I needed to be doing, said Cobb. He killed people. I was having a lot of success, we were turning around the fortunes of the program and I was getting a lot of press in the Boston Globe and area newspapers. like that until he got there. But as a drug-using gangster who feared for his life, its unsurprising that his recollections were inconsistent. The pair reunited once Hill was released in 1978, and Mazzei introduced him to his friend, Tony Perla. After a four-week trial, each conspirator was convicted on charges of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) conspiracy, conspiracy to commit sports bribery, and interstate travel with the intent to commit bribery. The shavers only have to win by fewer points than the bookmakers think they will, not throw the game. Henry Hill later played by Ray Liotta in GoodFellas - was serving time for extortion, and befriended a drug dealer called Paul Mazzei. Mr. H ill subsequently identified the other figures involved, includ ing Mr. Kuhn. He said, these guys were irate. Racing tipster James Boyle is back with more horse racing tips, covering key meetings in the UK & Ir Football fans are searching for 'Rasmus Hojlund next club odds' and we've looked at the betting. Federal prosecutor who investigated the case and BC graduate. Also indicted in US District Court in Brooklyn, New York were: James Burke, a reputed organized crime leader, Anthony and Rocco Perla of Pittsburgh, and Paul Mazzei. An obvious lesson here: Crime doesnt pay. On June 23rd, 1983, more than four years after hed played his final game at Boston College, Ernie Cobb was indicted and charged with taking cash bribes to alter the outcomes of games against Harvard, Rhode Island and Fordham. I needed a string of bookmakers, maybe 10 or 15. If the limit is $25,000, then anything above that, they call somebody else and get them to take it. The Boston scandal followed next, and wouldnt be the last. In the summer of 1978, Rocco Perla and his older brother Anthony, back in Pittsburgh, were the ones who initially conceived the point-shaving scheme that would later rock the college basketball world. Today, Cobbs relationship with Boston College remains strained. He hugged his tearful mother before walking out into the hallway for a few moments. Loughery told me that I had the ability to play in the NBA. Kuhn, 28, was one of five people found guilty of conspiracy to engage in racketeering and other charges that stemmed from a point-shaving scheme hatched for the 1978-79 school season. The scheme continued to work successfully in the December 23 game against UCLA. GDC Media Limited. The Perla brothers proposed a simple scheme: they, along with Kuhn, would select certain basketball games where the projected point spread separating Boston College from its opponent was expected to be significant. It was like a paradise to me, coming from where I came from. He bet $35,000 on a game with Connecticut and it paid off. And in that article in Sports Illustrated, Henry Hill says, The word came back that Cobb was enthusiastic. The key phrase there is The word came back. I dont know what Rick Kuhn was telling Henry Hill or the Perla brothers. Golden State Warriors Draymond Green Feels Former Teammate Harrison Barnes To This Day Dont Like Me For KD Coming Here. Democrats, Republicans remain split on debt ceiling plan. In imposing what are believed to be the stiffest punishments ever given to a college athlete for fixing games, Judge Bramwell rejected an appeal for leniency by Gary Zimmerman, Mr. Kuhn's lawyer, who had asked the judge to consider an alternative sentence, such as publicservice work. On August 12, 2008, an anonymous user edited the Wikipedia article on the scandal, naming former player Joe Streater as an accomplice in the point-shaving, recruited by Kuhn alongside Sweeney. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. As nobody had any inkling that point shaving had occurred, that shouldve been the end of it. If betting sites set the spread believing a team will by win seven points, the fixers bet against them and the corrupt team tries to win by six or fewer. Speaking in 2014, Cobb said: the ethical thing to do at 50 years old is different than what you would do at 16 or 20. In testimony before the President's Commission on Organized Crime, the former player, Rick Kuhn, said he thought college basketball players were most vulnerable to offers from gamblers ''in their junior and senior years, when it becomes reality that they're not going to have lucrative careers as players.'' ESPN's latest 30 for 30 film tackles the Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. The Perlas had a high school pal they thought might want to earn some extra dollars. The aim is to manipulate spread betting, rather than deliberately losing. DISCLAIMER: Online Wagering is illegal in some Jurisdictions. Burke was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. He says he took it under duress though, with Kuhn telling him he needed him to be involved, whether he liked it or not. Rocco Perla was sentenced to four years' imprisonment. won the gangsters some serious money by falling short of the spread. I dont know if they recognize it, but B.C. Those later betters on St. John's lost money because they laid more than the eventual nine point margin of victory. You realize that you cant play if you dont do this. He stopped in my office with his bike with the flat tire and borrowed $20 to get it fixed and to get home. All of Henry Hills and the Perla brothers information was coming from Rick Kuhn, and who knows what he was saying to them to cover his own skin., (Jim Sweeney, Photo Credit: tampabay.com), Kuhn and Sweeney got in over their heads, Cobb continued. I had a relentless type of game.. The spread was for them to win by seven though, so the bet lost. Its from Martin Scorseses GoodFellas, a film widely considered one of the best ever and among the greatest examples of the gangster genre. Kuhn would be responsible for ensuring, by his play on the court, that Boston College fell short of the point spread. Im stuck. Hill had no issue telling people what they wanted to hear, as was seen when he spoke to the FBI in order to save his own skin. I feel like if I can change one life, like he changed mine, man, it makes everything Ive been through worthwhile.. The trio worked together to pick games on Boston College's schedule where. [3] Kuhn was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment,[4] later reduced to 28 months. Kuhn said he spent much of the game on the bench, unable to affect the outcome. The investigation will reportedly include reports by The Commercial Appeal of Memphis and Sports Illustrated magazine that the school's basketball coach, Dana Kirk, offered $10,000 to relatives of the all-American Keith Lee while recruiting the 6-foot-10-inch forward four years ago. I had my own place to live and all the food I wanted to eat. Leopards dont change their spots. Kuhn and Sweeney knew exactly what I was there for, Hill later told Sports Illustrated. A look at who the key figures were in the Boston College point shaving scandal: Rick Kuhn Read full article Get 6 Months of Unlimited Access for $1 Laura Segall for the Boston Globe Ernie. Ex-convict at center of scheme, was connected to Kuhn by one of the players high school friends. He made other African-American ballers feel like they could go there and really showcase what they could do on a national level.
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