GRADKOWSKI NAMED IN TOLEDO POINT SHAVING INVESTIGATION

[Total Square]

One of the other names that has surfaced during the investigation, sources confirmed, is Bruce Gradkowski, the Rockets' starting quarterback in the 2003-05 seasons who now is a backup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Authorities have not spoken about Gradkowski's possible connection, but sources say investigators are examining his playing time in a number of games under scrutiny as they follow up on an allegation that Manni had offered a Toledo player $10,000 to sit out particular games.

ESPN - An ESPN.com investigation: The Toledo point-shaving case - ESPN

[Total Square]

it is a great article

[(sportman)]

You know that pollack was throwing games....

No doubt...

[clevfan]

Article published Wednesday, August 29, 2007

TOLEDO BLADE EXCLUSIVE


Gradkowski denies role in point-shaving scandal

By JOE VARDON
BLADE STAFF WRITER


TAMPA, Fla. — The former University of Toledo quarterback who ran the Rockets’ offense when a point-shaving scheme allegedly took place, told The Blade there was “never anything going wrong at Toledo.”

Bruce Gradkowski, who left UT following the 2005 season as the school’s all-time leading passer and currently plays for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, admitted to The Blade that he knew a Detroit-area gambler connected to the point-shaving scandal, but said “I’ve never witnessed anything suspicious.”

The FBI charged UT running back Harvey “Scooter” McDougle Jr. in March with conspiring with Ghazi “Gary” Manni, a 50-year-old of Iraqi descent who lives in Sterling Heights, Mich., to fix the outcomes of Rockets football and basketball games from the fall of 2003 through 2006.

The FBI alleged that Mr. McDougle bet on a UT football game, engaged in point-shaving, and recruited other university football and men’s basketball players to fix the outcomes of games. In exchange, the complaint alleged, the players received cash, cars, and were entertained by Mr. Manni at a Detroit casino.

Mr. McDougle was the only person charged in the case. Those charges were dropped April 18, but attorneys on both sides say the investigation is ongoing.

Neither Mr. Gradkowski nor any other UT athlete was named specifically by the FBI as co-conspirators or participants in the scheme, but his name was often whispered by people close to Mr. Manni and Mr. McDougle as someone who might have been involved.

In earlier interviews with The Blade, Mr. McDougle’s father, Harvey McDougle Sr., wondered “why did [the FBI] only charge my son? Why didn’t they charge [Mr.] Manni? And why isn’t anyone talking to Bruce?”

And men who work with Mr. Manni at King Cole Foods, a grocery store in Detroit, have repeatedly said to “go talk to No. 7.”

Mr. Gradkowski, who wore No. 7 for the Rockets but now wears No. 5 for the Buccaneers, spoke at length with The Blade about the alleged point-shaving scheme, saying that to his knowledge the FBI’s accusations were false.

“When I was there, the leaders we had on the team I don’t think would let that happen,” Mr. Gradkowski said. “I feel like [Rockets football] coach [Tom] Amstutz, the way he teaches discipline, character, and work ethic, it’s a solid program and I hate to see all the criticism they get. But, it’s a tough situation.

“I know the guys I played with would never jeopardize winning or losing because of something like that. No matter what was said and what not, it’s tough.”

But Mr. Gradkowski did admit to having met Mr. Manni, and said several of his teammates also knew him.

Similar information was previously provided to and published by The Blade from Mr. McDougle and former UT basketball star Keith Triplett.

Mr. Gradkowski said he couldn’t remember how he met Mr. Manni and didn’t know the man gambled on sports until the FBI pressed charges against Mr. McDougle last spring.

“I’m not even sure,” Mr. Gradkowski said when pressed about how he met Mr. Manni. “It’s so hard. I have such a big family, that it’s just hard to say how people get involved with someone. You meet someone and you don’t have a clue who he is and you get to know him before you know anything else.”

Another former UT star and current NFL player Lance Moore, who now plays for the New Orleans Saints, also told The Blade this month that he knew Mr. Manni.

“I met him through other people. I don’t know that it was everyone [who knew Manni]. People get introduced to a lot of people in sports, he’s one of those guys that a lot of people kind of met,” said the wide receiver and punt returner.

Mr. Moore also said that his roommate in college, former UT offensive lineman David Odenthal, had a father or uncle who was friends with Mr. Manni.

Mr. Odenthal, who now lives in Germany, did not respond to an e-mail from The Blade seeking comment.

Last month, UT President Dr. Lloyd Jacobs said that the point-shaving allegations against Mr. McDougle were, if true, an “isolated incident” and was “not a product of the ethos of [UT’s athletic] department.”

Since Dr. Jacobs made those remarks, numerous former UT athletes have told The Blade that they and their teammates all knew Mr. Manni, who is said by his friends to be a “professional gambler.”

Asked if Dr. Jacobs knew about Mr. Manni’s relationships with UT athletes when he made his earlier statements, UT spokesman Tobin Klinger said: “You’re asking me to speculate on what the president was thinking at the time, and I am not in a position to do that right now. And, like I said, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on an investigation that is ongoing.”

[clevfan]

published August 30, 2007

Ex-Rocket Gradkowski, teammates knew gambler; QB says he never heard about alleged point-shaving

By JOE VARDON
BLADE STAFF WRITER


TAMPA - Bruce Gradkowski said he knew the Detroit-area gambler.

So did Lance Moore, Keith Triplett, and, Harvey "Scooter" McDougle, Jr.

According to these former University of Toledo athletes, many of their teammates also knew Ghazi "Gary" Manni, who the FBI links to an alleged point-shaving scandal at UT from 2003 through 2006.

But Mr. Gradkowski, the former Rockets' star quarterback who now plays for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, told The Blade that he never heard of any point-shaving scheme while he played at UT.

His last season with the Rockets was in 2005.

"I'm not sure who all knows [Mr. Manni] or how that got about, but one thing I do know is there's a solid program at Toledo," Mr. Gradkowski said after practice last week at the Buccaneers' training facility in Tampa. "I don't care how many people know this guy, it's a solid program still.

"And in my mind, there [was] never anything going wrong at Toledo," the quarterback said.

The FBI charged Mr. McDougle, 22, in March with conspiring with Mr. Manni, a 50-year-old of Iraqi descent who lives in Sterling Heights, Mich., to fix the outcomes of Rockets football and basketball games.

The FBI alleged that Mr. McDougle bet on a UT football game, engaged in point-shaving, and recruited other university football and men's basketball players to fix the outcomes of games. In exchange, the complaint alleged, the players received cash, cars, and were entertained by Mr. Manni at a Detroit casino.

Mr. McDougle, who was the only person charged in the case, previously told The Blade he was innocent of the charges.

"What bothers me is [the FBI] seriously thought I was taking all this money and stuff and was shaving points," Mr. McDougle said last month. "There were a lot of things in [the affidavit] that weren't really going on, and that's the crazy part."

Mr. McDougle is still a student at UT, but has been suspended from the team since the FBI filed the charges.

The charges against Mr. McDougle were dropped April 18, but attorneys on both sides say the investigation is ongoing.

Dawn Clenney, an FBI spokesman in Detroit, said yesterday "there is a possibility, yes, that more charges could be filed." She declined to say whether those charges would be filed against Mr. McDougle, Mr. Manni, or other UT athletes.

Neither Mr. Gradkowski nor any other UT athlete was named specifically by the FBI as co-conspirators or participants in the alleged scheme, but the former Rockets quarterback's name has often been mentioned over the last few months by people close to Mr. Manni and Mr. McDougle.

In earlier interviews with The Blade, Mr. McDougle's father, Harvey McDougle, Sr., wondered, "Why did [the FBI] only charge my son? Why didn't they charge [Mr.] Manni? And why isn't anyone talking to Bruce?"

Mr. Gradkowski's father, Bruce, yesterday told The Blade that his son was not involved in any point-shaving scheme.

Mr. Gradkowski, Sr., also denied allegations that his son was the anonymous player mentioned in the FBI affidavit as being offered up to $10,000 by Mr. Manni to sit out particular games.

Speaking with The Blade from Tampa, Mr. Gradkowski, Sr., said his son only sat out one full game during his three seasons as the Rockets' starter and was held out of that game because "he had a concussion."

The game he was speaking of was UT's 44-14 loss at Fresno State on Sept. 27, 2005.

The quarterback took a blow to the head the week before in the first half of a 42-17 victory over Temple. He returned to the game in the third quarter and led the Rockets to two more touchdowns before he was pulled for the rest of the game.

According to Mr. Gradkowski, Sr., UT team physician Dr. Roger Kruse made the decision to hold the Rockets' star out of the Fresno State game.

"I was in the hotel room when the doctor said, 'I'm not going to put you in uniform because you will end up working your way into the game, and you're not ready,' " Mr. Gradkowski, Sr., recalled.

Even though the Tampa Bay backup quarterback said he knew nothing about point-shaving at UT, he is one of many former Rockets athletes who said they knew Mr. Manni.

But Mr. Gradkowski could not recall how or where he met Mr. Manni and said he didn't know the Detroit-area man frequently gambled on sports.
'Don't have a clue'


"You meet someone and you don't have a clue who he is and you get to know him before you know anything else," the former Rocket said.

Mr. McDougle previously told The Blade he met Mr. Manni through another teammate, but he declined to give that teammate's name.

Mr. Triplett, a former UT basketball standout whose last season was 2004-05, told The Blade earlier this month he met Mr. Manni about three years ago through a local friend who "didn't even play sports." He said he and Mr. Manni talked about "street [stuff]" and not about sports.

Mr. Moore, who was a key wide receiver for UT when he left after the 2004 season and currently plays for the NFL's New Orleans Saints, said he met with Mr. Manni "a few times."

"I met him through other people," Mr. Moore said. "I don't know that it was everyone [who knew Mr. Manni]. People get introduced to a lot of people in sports; he's one of those guys that a lot of people kind of met."

Mr. Moore also said that his roommate in college, former UT offensive lineman David Odenthal, had a father or uncle who was friends with Mr. Manni.

Mr. Odenthal, who now lives in Germany, did not respond to an e-mail from The Blade seeking comment.

Mr. Gradkowski, Sr., said yesterday that Mr. Odenthal was also a roommate of his son's for one year. The younger Mr. Gradkowski also roomed with Mr. Moore and former UT running back Trinity Dawson, according to Mr. Gradkowski, Sr.

The FBI affidavit says that Mr. Manni was introduced to a UT football player in the fall of 2003 at a Toledo cell phone store often frequented by UT athletes.
Met other athletes


Mr. Manni then met other UT athletes through that initial football player, according to the affidavit, and Mr. Manni would evaluate the players he met to see if they would participate "in a point-shaving scheme in return for money or other things of value."

Federal agents began electronic surveillance on Mr. Manni's home phone in November, 2005, that lasted through December, 2006.

It was during that time, the affidavit said, when it was discovered "Gary, McDougle, and other co-conspirators were participating in a scheme involving the payment of money and other things of value to University of Toledo athletes" to influence the final score of particular games.

Mr. Manni has refused to talk to The Blade about the alleged scheme, except to say that Mr. McDougle "didn't do anything wrong." But associates of Mr. Manni who work with him at King Cole Foods, a Detroit grocery store, said he was a "generous person" to a UT athlete and became someone "other UT athletes wanted to know."
'Trying to help'


One King Cole employee, who declined to give his name but spoke with great detail about the personal lives of UT athletes and Mr. Manni, said Mr. Manni was "just a friendly guy who was trying to help the little guy."

"If someone comes up here and says they're hungry, Gary gives them food," he said. "If they say they can't pay their rent, he pays their rent. Is there anything wrong with that?"

When the King Cole employee was asked how Mr. Manni got to know UT athletes, he said the Detroit gambler met them at many functions.

"If you read the reports, they keep talking about a cell phone store," the man said. "But he met them the way anyone meets people. If you're playing a game at a casino next to someone, you might strike up a conversation."

"I'll tell you this. Gary threw a birthday party for someone on UT's campus, and a bunch of athletes were there."

When asked for specifics about the birthday party, the man said, "that's all I'm gonna say."

[Highwayman]

Bucs QB's name linked to probe



Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Bruce Gradkowski's name has surfaced during a federal points-shaving investigation at the University of Toledo, according to a report.

Gradkowski and several Toledo teammates knew the Detroit-area gambler at the center of the investigation, the Toledo Blade reported Thursday, but the quarterback said he had never heard of any point-shaving schemes while in college.

The FBI charged Toledo student Harvey "Scooter" McDougle, 22, of Detroit in March with conspiring with Ghazi "Gary" Manni, 50, of Sterling Heights, Mich., to fix Rockets football and basketball games from 2003 to 2006. The charges were dropped in April, but sources say the investigation is ongoing.

"I'm not sure who all knows [Manni] or how that got about, but one thing I do know is there's a solid program at Toledo," Gradkowski told the newspaper. "I don't care how many people know this guy, it's a solid program still. And in my mind, there [was] never anything going wrong at Toledo."

Gradkowski said he didn't recall how he met Manni or know that the acquaintance frequently gambled on sports.

"You meet someone and you don't have a clue who he is and you get to know him before you know anything else," the quarterback said.

The FBI alleged that McDougle bet on a football game, engaged in point-shaving and recruited players to fix the outcomes of football and basketball games. In exchange, the complaint alleged, the players received cash and gifts. McDougle, who was the only person charged, has maintained his innocence.

Dawn Clenney, an FBI spokesman, told the paper that more charges could be filed.

No Toledo athletes were named by the FBI as participants in the alleged scheme, but Gradkowski's name has been mentioned by people close to Manni and McDougle. Gradkowski's father denied allegations that his son was the anonymous player mentioned in the FBI affidavit as being offered up to $10,000 by Manni to sit out games.




FOX Sports on MSN - NFL - Bucs QB's name linked to probe

[clevfan]

http://www.majorwager.com/forums/mes...stigation.html

[broadway]

Anyone on the program at the time in question will automatically be a suspect

[Uncle B]

Gruden defends Gradkowski..

Bucs Head Coach John Gruden scoffed at second-year quarterback Bruce Gradkowski being mentioned in an ESPN.com article about a football and men’s basketball points-shaving investigation at Toledo, where Gradkowski played from 2003-05.

“I don’t watch ESPN,” Gruden said. “I don’t believe half of the (expletive) people on the channel. If Bruce Gradkowski is throwing games at Toledo, why in the hell does he lead the NCAA in passing percentages? That is a crock. You know, these reports make me sick.

“I don’t believe there is any truth to it, and I’ll go to my grave believing that. I hope that ESPN3 or 4 or whatever has some real sources behind this story. It has nothing to do with the kid.”Gradkowski declined comment.

[Bitter Bruin]

I love Gruden...that guy is tremendous.