Gambler had suspicions on ref - witness claimed that others won big in Donaghy's games

[clevfan]

Gambler had suspicions on ref
The witness claimed that others won big in Donaghy's games, his attorney said.

By John Shiffman
Philly Inquirer Staff Writer
Aug 1

A professional gambler has told the FBI that he long suspected that NBA referee Tim Donaghy was tipping off two gamblers separately, the witness' lawyer said yesterday.

The suspicions by the gambler, Peter A. Ruggieri of Glen Mills, stretched back at least two NBA seasons, said his lawyer, Christopher Warren.

Warren said Ruggieri tracked two heavy bettors and noticed that they won big whenever they bet on games Donaghy refereed. One was so hot - "winning 60 to 70 percent" - that whenever he bet, Warren said, other gamblers followed.

Ruggieri is one of several people from Delaware County who have spoken with the FBI, a source said. At least three of them, excluding Ruggieri, have testified before a federal grand jury in New York, the source said.

"The case is based in Brooklyn, but most of the players are from Philly," said another person involved, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

No one has been charged with a crime in the case, and federal authorities in Brooklyn, where the investigation is based, have declined to comment.

During a news conference last week, NBA commissioner David Stern said the FBI approached him in late June about "a referee alleged to be gambling on games."

"We are not positive it's games that he worked, although I understand that some of those are games specifically that he worked," Stern said of Donaghy. "I understand that he is accused of, or likely to be accused of, providing information to others for the purpose of allowing them to profit on betting on NBA games."

Donaghy, 40, who graduated from Cardinal O'Hara High School and Villanova, resigned last month after a 13-year career in the NBA.

His lawyer, former federal prosecutor John F. Lauro, said yesterday that "it would be highly irresponsible for counsel to make any statement at this time."

"I expect to make all of my comments to the court and not to the press," Lauro said.

During his news conference, Stern said Donaghy rated in the "top tier of accuracy" in his officiating.

Warren and others involved said Ruggieri was a relatively minor player with a limited view of the case. Nevertheless, the questions FBI agents asked during his interview last month at Warren's law office in Philadelphia provide a glimpse of the investigation.

Among the questions, Warren said, was: Did Donaghy bet on NBA games?

"His answer was he didn't know," Warren said.

FBI agents did not ask whether other NBA referees might be involved, Warren said.

Ruggieri is a professional gambler who bets in Nevada. He was arrested by the Pennsylvania State Police in 1998 on bookmaking charges. He received probation as part of a pretrial diversion program.

The first gambler Ruggieri tracked to Donaghy was a Philadelphia-area man whom Warren knew only as "Jack." Ruggieri had referred Jack to an offshore betting organization, Warren said.

"Ruggieri noticed that Jack kept winning bets on NBA games," Warren said. "Ruggieri looked harder and noticed that Jack bets on games officiated by Tim Donaghy."

Ruggieri tried to review games Donaghy officiated but couldn't find anything suspicious, Warren said.

The other gambler Ruggieri tracked was reputed Phoenixville bookmaker James "Baa Baa" Battista, a longtime friend of Donaghy's and a fellow O'Hara student. Battista was arrested with Ruggieri during the 1998 bookmaking case, in Delaware County, and also was placed on probation.

Warren said Ruggieri told the FBI that he and other gamblers noticed that Battista was winning 60 to 70 percent of the bets he placed on NBA games, and that those bets were made on games Donaghy refereed.

"The gambling community thought Battista was getting inside info," Warren said.

Battista's lawyer, Jack McMahon, said he was surprised by Warren's comments and Ruggieri's alleged statement to the FBI.

"I take what he says with a grain of salt," McMahon said. "Who knows what his motives are? Self-preservation might be his motive."

Battista "strongly denies any connection to Donaghy and with fixing NBA games," McMahon said.

"Jimmy Battista is a gambler, but there's a huge leap from gambling to basketball-game fixing and getting inside information," he said.

Although the case is being investigated by an FBI organized-crime squad, lawyers for Battista and Ruggieri said published reports linking their clients to the mob were false and scandalous.

Still, McMahon said he expected Battista to be indicted soon with Donaghy on related charges in a federal court in Brooklyn.

When approached by FBI agents last month at his home in Phoenixville, Battista called McMahon, who said he told him to keep quiet for the time being.

For a man under federal investigation and an intense media spotlight, Battista is "doing all right," McMahon said.

"He's a tough guy, a stand-up guy, a family man," the lawyer said. "He's nervous, of course. He'd be foolish if he wasn't."

Of Battista's alleged betting success in NBA games, McMahon said, "Some people are better gamblers than others."

[clevfan]

PHILLY-BOUND FEDS WILL GRILL REF'S PALS

By JANA WINTER in Glen Mills, Pa., and DAN MANGAN in N.Y.
NY POST


August 1, 2007 -- New York-based FBI agents are expected to visit the Pennsylvania stomping grounds of disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy this week to grill buddies and acquaintances about his betting on hoops games, The Post has learned.
The feds' latest visit to a cluster of suburbs 40 miles west of Philadelphia suggests prosecutors are building their case against the ref-gone-bad, his gambling associates and mobsters believed to have exerted pressure on him.

Donaghy, 40, is expected to plead guilty to gambling charges linked to betting on NBA games he refereed.

A lawyer for one of his acquaintances, Peter Ruggieri, denied allegations yesterday that his client - who has a prior gambling-related conviction - introduced Donaghy to a New York gambler with Gambino crime-family connections.

The lawyer, Chris Warren, said Ruggieri met with FBI agents on July 22 in Philadelphia and told them that two years ago, he had referred an acquaintance named Jack to an off-shore bookie to place basketball bets.

Ruggieri, who began piggy-backing on the bets, figured out that all the winning games being bet on by Jack - and later by another man, James Battista -"were ones officiated by Donaghy," the lawyer said.

Asked about that account, Donaghy's lawyer, John Lauro, said, "I think it's irresponsible for a lawyer to comment on this case right now."

[Highwayman]

Four reels, sevens, across three $ jackpots.

Do you have any idea what the odds are?

It's gotta be in the millions, maybe more.

Three fuckin' jackpots in minutes!
Why didn't you call me?

It happened so quick. Three guys won.
I didn't have a chance.

- You didn't see the scam?
- There's no way to determine that.

Yes, there is.
They won!

It's a casino.
People gotta win sometimes.

Ward, you're pissing me off.
Now you're insulting my intelligence.

You know goddamn well somebody had to get into those machines
and set those fuckin' reels.

The probability on one machine is a million and a half to one.

On three machines in a row, it's in the billions.

What's the matter with you?

Didn't you see you were being set up on the second win?

I think you're overreacting.

Listen, you fuckin' yokel. I've been carrying your ass ever since I got here.

- Get your ass outta here.
- You're firing me?

I'm firing you.
No, I'm not firing...

- You might regret this.
- I'll regret it if I keep you.

This is not the way to treat people.

If you didn't know, you're too fuckin' dumb.

If you did know, you were in on it.

Either way, you're out.
Get out. Come on, let's go.

The guy's history as far as I'm concerned.

But you can't fire him. His brother-in-law is County Commissioner.

Everybody with cowboy boots is a fuckin' county commissioner or related to a commissioner.

This is his state.
His uncle's chief judge.

His brother-in-law runs the county commission.

You're in the finances, you're upstairs.

But you are not on the floor.
You don't see what's going on.

I've got thousands of players.
I've got dealers.

They're all looking to rob me blind 24-hours a day.

I have to let them know I'm watching all the details all the time.

There is not one single thing I will not catch.





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