By Robin Shulman and Michael Lee
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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.
Donaghy's former colleagues were relieved to see closure. "Though we believe no sentence would ever be able to repair or justify the damage caused by this criminal and scoundrel, we are glad to finally put this behind us," Lamell McMorris, spokesman for the National Basketball Referees Association, said in a statement. "Tim acted in a completely selfish and unforgivable way, and has forever compromised the way people look at sports and officiating. However, NBA referees will continue to officiate with the highest level of integrity and professionalism."
The NBA expects former prosecutor Lawrence B. Pedowitz to release his findings from an independent investigation into the league's officiating program before the 2008-09 season. Pedowitz, who interviewed all current officials but received no cooperation from Donaghy or his attorney, did not give a specific date. "I am conducting additional interviews and hope to obtain additional information from the government. My review is well-advanced but not complete," Pedowitz said in a statement.
Lauro also said in court that Donaghy gave the government information on other referees, and that "approximately one half of the referees in the NBA engaged in gambling." Pedowitz's investigation supported claims that other officials gambled and forced the NBA to loosen its previous rules banning referees from any form of gambling other than betting on horses in the offseason. Stern, however, was adamant that Donaghy was the only official to bet on NBA games.
The league also restructured its referee operations department. Earlier this month, the NBA hired Ronald B. Johnson, a former Army two-star general with no league ties, as senior vice president for referee operations. It also appointed former referee Bernie Fryer as vice president and director of officials, Joe Borgia as vice president of referee operations and Ronnie Nunn as director of development.
"We anticipate that the judge's sentencing decision, together with the changes we have made to our referee operations staff, will enable us to continue with the improvements we are making to our anti-gambling rules, policies and procedures," Stern said in a statement. "With the conclusion of the government's investigation into this matter, we also look forward to the timely issuance of Larry Pedowitz's review of our officiating program. There is little comfort to be gained from the mandatory prison sentence, especially as it affects Mr. Donaghy's children and their mother, but hopefully the healing process can begin in earnest for all."
Although Stern has repeatedly referred to Donaghy as a "rogue, isolated criminal," Foxsports.com reported two weeks ago that Donaghy called referee Scott Foster at least 134 times between October 2006 and April 2007, the same time period when Donaghy provided inside information to gamblers. The NBA dismissed the report.
Donaghy, Battista and Martino must jointly pay the NBA $217,266 in restitution based on another ruling last week. Donaghy has to turn himself in by Sept. 23 to begin serving his sentence. Lauro asked that Donaghy be sent to a minimum-security federal prison in Pensacola, Fla., so that he can be closer to his family, which lives in Bradenton.
Lee contributed to this report from Washington.
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