Donaghy Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison

NEW YORK, July 29 -- Wearing an olive green suit, his voice cracking and trembling, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy apologized Tuesday before receiving a 15-month prison sentence for his involvement in a betting scandal that tarnished the reputation of the league and its game officials.

"I've brought shame on myself, my family and the profession I love," Donaghy told U.S. District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon in a Brooklyn federal courthouse almost a year after he pleaded guilty to conspiring with gamblers and betting on NBA games.

Donaghy, 41, could have received 33 months, but Amon said she considered his cooperation with the government when imposing a much shorter sentence. Donaghy's cooperation was instrumental in the convictions of two former high school classmates, James Battista and Thomas Martino, for their roles in the gambling scheme. Amon sentenced Battista to 15 months and Martino to one year and a day in prison last week.

"Mr. Donaghy was a central figure in the scheme, and without him, there would have been no scheme," Amon said. "The NBA, the players and the fans relied on him to perform his job in an honest and uncomplicated manner."

Donaghy also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, provided he receive mental health treatment for his gambling addiction.

"I have tried to make amends with cooperating with authorities and accepting responsibility and am seeking treatment for my addiction," said Donaghy, who is attending meetings for Gamblers Anonymous. "I ask that you have faith in me to restore my life and take care of my family."

Donaghy closed his eyes while the verdict was read and did not speak with reporters afterward. He resigned in disgrace last summer after a 13-year career with the NBA and he and his wife, Kim, have since divorced after 12 years of marriage.

"Tim has lost everything except the love of his four girls and the care of his family," Donaghy's lawyer, John Lauro, said, noting that since Donaghy and his wife have separated, he "sleeps on a friend's couch at night. . . .

"He has been stripped of every dignity and every semblance of pride."

Lauro said afterward that he and Donaghy were "thrilled" with the sentence. "This is a total validation of the cooperation that Tim provided and the recognition that all the information he told authorities was truthful," Lauro said.

The scandal and subsequent allegations from Donaghy lingered for his former profession throughout last season. During the NBA Finals in June, Donaghy claimed that the league encouraged officials to manipulate results to boost revenue and television ratings, referring to Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.

NBA Commissioner David Stern vehemently denied Donaghy's allegations.