He just kept swishing them in, 30 or 35 points, I dont remember., Hill went on to say, And they (Kuhn and Sweeney) were still saying, We got to have Cobb. I realized that and so I passed the word through Tony (Perla), At all costs, talk to him. Next thing I heard Cobb was all set, but it was going to take another $2,500 for his share. Prosecutors say man accused in wife's disappearance Googled how to dispose of a body. Rocco has a vague conversation with Cobb over winning certain games, but both sides wont admit to knowing the extent to which he was involved. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Netflix wants to hire a flight attendant for one of its private jets, and says pay can reach $385,000, according to a job listing on the streaming service's website. Hes innocent., When they indicted me, they wanted Peter Vario, the mobster, so they tried us together, said Cobb. My parents have suffered. 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. They couldnt stop him. Kuhn went on to live a quiet life only talking about the scandal to high school students encouraging them to not make the same mistakes. Hes made a prosperous living in the computer and electronics business - his small independent brokerage that sold parts and accessories to manufacturers did over $50 million in annual revenue at its peak - all while playing competitive basketball around the world into his 50s. I was nervous because I didnt know what was going to happen. It had to cost around $200,000 at the time to defend me.. The move on and they all thought the fixes were history. The very next day, the Nets cut me., When the F.B.I. After the investigation was completed, Cobb was not named as a defendant in the initial trial, U.S. vs Burke, which opened to a circus of media attention on October 27th, 1981. Sweeney was not charged. Loughery told me that I had the ability to play in the NBA. He is a participant in the Federal Witness Protection Program and is receiving government protection in exchange for his testimony. 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. This is important because it shows how it was a poorly run operation. Boston College was favored by twelve to thirteen points, but won the game by only a three-point margin, 8683. Web197879 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team. Boston College Accused of Point Shaving, was the big headline on the UPI wire. Convinced that Cobb was innocent after his mentee walked him through everything that had transpired, and certain that he was being used by the federal government to send more organized crime figures to prison, Alswanger began working the phones. Sweeney has mostly shunned requests for interviews and book projects over the years, but decided to put his trust in documentary filmmaker Joe Lavine - a fellow native of Trenton, N.J. - who directed the piece for ESPN. I just had to be alone, Cobb told the reporters afterwards. This is Part II of The Shadow League's feature story on former Boston College basketball player Ernie Cobb. I opened up the door and it was these guys from the F.B.I., said Cobb. 197879 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. I was like, You gotta be kidding me! Jim Sweeney and Rick Kuhns names werent mentioned anywhere. All Kuhn had to do was ensure that the Eagles fell short of the point spread in the games that they bet on. So, in very basic terms, if B.C. was favored to win a game by ten points, Kuhn had to make sure, if the game was in play with the mobsters and the bookies, that they won by less than ten in order for the gamblers to make money. While Hill was being questioned, FBI agents inadvertently mentioned his frequent trips to Boston around the time of the Lufthansa heist. Convicted with Kuhn, 26, of conspiracy to commit racketeering and sport bribery and violation of the Travel Act were James Burke, 50, of New York, a reputed organized crime figure who is serving time for parole violation on a 1974 extortion conviction; Paul Mazzei, 37, of Pittsburgh, in jail on a narcotics conviction, and brothers Anthony Perla, 31, and Rocco Perla, 26, of Pittsburgh. This is an important part of the documentary because it shows the respect they have for one another regardless of the past. Hill gave up everybody including the players involved. [3] Kuhn was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment,[4] later reduced to 28 months. A crime story, about the mafia fixing a college basketball game, alleged innocent college basketball kids, and involves small time bookies in Pittsburgh, its really a story of betrayal and people turning on one another, and all being done in the name of greed. Director Joe Lavine. Burke was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment. I got through it on my own, and I didnt get whacked, is how he sums it up. The February 6 game against St. John's was a "push" (winning back exact bets), as the syndicate neither won nor lost when St. John's prevailed 8576, the exact point spread (nine) the bookmakers had offered.[i]. Two Years Into A Six-Year Contract, The New York Yankees Hope For A Fully Healthy DJ LeMahieu, As Premier League Clubs Court Lindstrom, 22, He Wants To Make History For Club And Country, Paige Spiranac Expands Her Budding Social Media Empire. Edward A. McDonald, who coincidentally had graduated from Boston College in 1968 and who had played briefly on the basketball team, prosecuted the case.[2]. Sweeney claims that hes heard network execs at a sports business conference in Florida express a desire for such a character to pop up with occasional humorous commentary. WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court hears Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools to rule on financial compensation for a deaf student who was not provided proper learning support. 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 took every single practice and every single game seriously, said Cobb. The mobsters are done fixing games with the Boston College players and call them babies for barely getting the job done. A federal jury in Brooklyn yesterday convicted former Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn and four codefendants of conspiring to manipulate the scores of Boston College games during the 1978-79 season. Coupled with the narration being done by Ray Liotta, the actor that played Henry Hill in the movie, adding to the films overall gangster aesthetic. He wasnt a trial lawyer, so he brought in his colleague, David Golub. However, Kuhn saw only limited playing time. Holy Cross was favored to win and, consistent with the scheme, were bet on to win by a margin greater than the seven-point spread. The 197879 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team represented Boston College during the 197879 NCAA men's The FBI finds all the players and begins asking questions. Their strategy was effective Boston College, a five-point favorite, covered the spread with a 9080 win over Connecticut. Tell me what you did and what you didnt do. Said Hill, "He wanted me to fly up to Boston. Out of everything that happened, thats one thing that hurts me tremendously, Cobb said. Kuhn, who ultimately served four years in prison for conspiracy and racketeering, hatched a plan with Hill associates Tony Perla, his brother Rocco Perla, and And look what he did to the lives of those kids. I feel like if I can change one life, like he changed mine, man, it makes everything Ive been through worthwhile., Copyright 2009-2021, All Rights Reserved | The Shadow League. I have an incredible circle of supportive friends and have met some amazing people who have impacted my life in ways that I cant even begin to describe., Mr. But Cobb denied receiving any money and he was not indicted. My family has suffered. He went against his lawyers advice and fought back and managed to win his case. I just thank God there is justice.. The goal for making some real money is to get the character a TV gig with ESPN, NBC Sports, or another major sports network. Rick was born on October 14, 1966, in Jamestown, ND, to Timothy Kuhn and Marretta (Deede) Kuhn. This scandal did not end with the regular basketball season, it continued to affect and alter these players and gangsters lives for years after. The Texas woman who owned the ring thought she had misplaced it, but it was actually stolen and admitted as evidence in a 1986 drug trial. And yeah, I took that money. Cobb, for his part, was tried for conspiracy and acquitted. We were all so excited for him. Kuhn told people at Boston College later Rocco Perla received a four-year sentence and Rick Kuhn was sentenced to a ten-year bid as well, which was later reduced to 28 months. Ernie Cobb played professional basketball in Israel for 17 years, where he learned to speak fluent Hebrew. They need to get another player to help fix games. On the stand during the trial, Rick Kuhns girlfriend, Barbara Reed, with whom he shared an apartment during his senior year at Boston College, testified that she overheard Kuhn and Sweeney discussing the Fordham game, saying that they had to keep the ball away from Cobb because he shot the ball all the time. Whenever the Boston College scandal comes up, he tends to remind people that theres always more than one side to a story, and leave it at that. Even with the not guilty verdict, he still lost all hope of going to the NBA. 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. But its one of the most famous in sports history, to which Sweeneys name will be forever linked. They would also ensure protection for the enterprise in the event that the unsuspecting bookmakers, all of whom had toughs at their disposal to collect unpaid debts, discovered they were being swindled. I cooperated willingly, and Im glad I did, Sweeney says. With Roccos high school buddy Rick Kuhn entering his senior year at Boston College, where he was expected to be a contributor to the schools basketball team, the brothers figured they could make a ton of money. Although Cobb and Sweeney received money and were a part of the scandal, the FBI did not prosecute them in the first round and were primarily focused on getting the mobsters. And he also cultivated interest, in the area's black community, in terms of being engaged and intrigued bywhat was going on with Boston Colleges basketball program. In this case, while the spread was as high as 5, the syndicate was able to lay just 2 points, and therefore pushed when Holy Cross won by 2. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. now all well past their primes after serving their time, including the gangster Ray Boston College's basketball team ended their 197879 season with a 229 record. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Boeing's sustainable flight demonstrator project won a $425 million award Wednesday from NASA, as the company aims to roll out green single-aisle airliners by the end of the decade. 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. The 80-minute documentary tells how BC forward Rick Kuhn conspired with two of his hoodlum friends from Pittsburgh to bet against the Eagles. The narrator explains that the strength of how Henry Hills testimony is would determine if Burke was going to be convicted. Mazzei in turn contacted Henry Hill, a Lucchese crime family associate from New York who had befriended Mazzei while both men were serving sentences in a federal prison. The Nets coaches were telling me, Coach, hes gonna be a great pro., I had a great camp with the Nets and was poised to make the team, said Cobb. Ernie Cobb is also introduced, a senior, team captain, and Boston Colleges top scorer. Enraged by their gambling loss, the Perla brothers, along with Mazzei, Burke, and Hill, decided to recruit additional Eagles players to enhance their control over the outcome of the games. As a backup center with limited effect on a games outcome, he won over the mobsters by bringing Ernie Cobb, the teams leading scorer, and Sweeney, the point guard who controlled the ball for much of the game, into the fold. Im stuck. Needing an inside man, the brothers wanted to recruit Rick Kuhn, a high school friend of Rocco who was entering his senior year at Boston College and was expected to be a key member of the 197879 Eagles team. The December 16 game against Harvard was chosen as the second test for the scheme. At one point, he said accepted $500 from Kuhn, but only to give the illusion of cooperating in the scheme. But Kuhn was a player of limited ability, so he recruited his roommate and best friend, who also happened to be the most important player on the floor, the teams senior point guard, Jim Sweeney. Golub was a brilliant lawyer, and he told me that hed have to interview Ernie first to see if he was gonna take the case on. They could have probably gotten away with the fix if they handled certain things better. Boston College confirmed the investigation on Friday. 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. But that had nothing to do with shaving points., At the time, I was nave, Cobb continued. He graduated from Woodworth Public School in 1985 and earned a bachelors degree from University of Sioux Falls. So I didnt even go on trial with Kuhn and the mobsters that put the whole thing in motion.. He gave me every opportunity to tell my story, says Sweeney of Lavine. Tennessee church holding prayer as FAA investigates plane crash that killed 4 members. I think you could poll a lot of people in the business and the Boston College scandal is off their radar. Bets in this column are given in the format ", Winner is given as either Opp or BC and the margin of victory. I was like, Yeah, whatever. Sure enough, a few weeks later, he hands my girlfriend an envelope. Holy Cross wins by two causing the mobsters to lose hundreds of thousands. Of course, the damn players had a million excuses, Henry Hill wrote in Sports Illustrateds bombshell story, How I Put The Fix In, which was the magazines cover story on February 16th, 1981. was favored to win a game by ten points, Kuhn had to make sure, if the game was in play with the mobsters and the bookies, that they won by less than ten in order for the gamblers to make money. The Globe, quoting an unnamed source in New York, said the three games in which point-shaving was alleged were a Feb.3 game against Fordham, a Feb. 6 game against St. Johns and a March 1 game in the ECAC Regional Playoffs against Connecticut. For Cobb, the result was far worse. Teammate Rick Kuhn, a former minor league baseball player with connections to small-time Pittsburgh mobsters, conspired with the mobsters to initiate the point-shaving I had my own place to live and all the food I wanted to eat. He said he was brought in on the deal for his ability to maximize profits through his contacts in the gambling world. 197879 Boston College Eagles basketball season, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, "Key figures in the BC point shaving scandal", "James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke, Gangster, 64, of 'Wiseguy' Fame", "Kuhn Gets 10-Year Sentence In BC Point-Shaving Case", "Guilt by Wikipedia: How Joe Streater Became Falsely Attached To The Boston College Point Shaving Scandal", 1946 NFL Championship Game bribery scandal, 2009 Melbourne Football Club tanking scandal, 2012 Olympics women's doubles disqualifications, 2002 Winter Olympics figure skating scandal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=197879_Boston_College_basketball_point-shaving_scandal&oldid=1112461833, 197879 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, College basketball controversies in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 September 2022, at 12:41. The government also contended Kuhn tried to recruit other players, including the team's leading scorer, Ernie Cobb, and Hill said in an article in Sports Illustrated -- for which he was paid $10,000 -- that he made payments to Cobb for his cooperation. Jimmy Burke goes berserk and shatters his own TV. The syndicate was able to lay nine points when the game was first available to be bet, and therefore pushed. According to the Boston Globe, Judge Henry Bramwell, who set sentencing for January 8, 1982, told the jury, "I agree with your verdict." On Friday morning, March 23rd, the jury came back with a unanimous innocent verdict for Ernie Cobb, exonerating him of all charges. They contacted a local friend, Paul Mazzei, who was known to have influence within major New York gambling circles. A fitness fanatic who augmented his training by swimming and riding his bicycle very long distances, Cobb hopped on his ten-speed shortly after the indictment was announced and began pedaling. On October 7, View Rick Kuhns profile on LinkedIn, the worlds largest professional community. Sweeney knows hell probably never completely escape the association to the scandal, something he learned to live with years ago. In addition, they were given the opportunity to bet the money they were paid and double their winnings. According to Ernest Volkman, a crime journalist, Hill learned everything from Jimmy Burke and wanted to reward him with a lucrative scheme which became the BC scandal. The campus was so beautiful. Burke instructed Hill to warn the players to keep to their end of the deal because "you can't play basketball with broken hands.". But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. It is quite a ride, so please, enjoy it. I had a relentless type of game.. The Providence game was played on December 6, 1978, and Boston College was favored to win by six to seven points. The teams coach, Tom Davis, kept his job and led the Eagles to a few more strong seasons, including a 1982 Elite Eight appearance, before jumping at a big offer from Stanford and then later moving on to Iowa. You understand? But for many, there is a fierce bitterness that still lingers to this day. Today, any coach would be a goner for sure, cited at the very least for that catchall sin, lack of institutional control. Just ask former Ohio St. football coach Jim Tressel, who lost his job in 2011 thanks to a few players swapping some used cleats for free tattoos at a local parlor. Perla and Kuhn had gone to high school together and were good friends. You may opt-out by. They mentioned the $1,000 that Rocco Perla gave my girlfriend and I told them the truth. The scheme continued to work successfully in the December 23 game against UCLA. Same here, and yet when they did their list of greatest sports scandals a few weeks back (when Miami broke) they didn't have it on there the first day. My moment had arrived. He tried to subsist as a substitute teacher, and even caddied at the Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, the affluent suburbs where hed previously been arrested for stealing bikes as a kid. For all I know, he told them I was in, that it would cost an extra $2,500 per game and he was trying to hustle the gangsters while pocketing the extra money. talked to the Nets, their head coach Kevin Loughery called him in and said, You know why I have to let you go, said Alswanger. But I found out that I wouldnt be allowed to leave the United States because the government was going to bring me to trial.. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken. If youve seen the famous mafia flick, you probably remember Liotta making several references to his Pittsburgh connections, his main partners in a drug ring, among other things. ESPNs 30-for-30 sports documentary series is many of our last hopes at seeing historic events from our favorite sports. This scene gives the audience insight into the type of person Henry Hill was and how hard it was to testify against someone like Burke. We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. Sweeney took out one of those little schedule cards, circled the games he thought we could fool around with, and gave the card to me. The five men could each receive a maximum sentence of 30 years in jail and $45,000 in fines. It was one of the most tremendous feelings Id ever experienced.. BC basketball players Rick Kuhn, Joe Streater and Jim Sweeney were persuaded to fix nine Eagles games during the season. He quickly thrived and was recognized as one of the leagues best players. Joe Beaulieu, the starting center on the 1978-79 Boston College team, also testified he was approached by Kuhn to participate in the plan, but he said he rejected the proposal. It is similar to how they captured Al Capone on tax evasion, the smaller of his many crimes that would ultimately put him away. The Perla brothers were small-time gamblers who saw the upcoming 197879 Boston College Eagles basketball season as a perfect opportunity to earn a lot of money. indictments charged against them. I didnt know what that was all about. He killed people. Theyd taken my passport and I had to stay here and face these charges, said Cobb. Barbara Reed, 25, Kuhn's former girlfriend who was living with him at the time, testified that Kuhn uncharacteristically began buying her presents -- a stereo set, a television set and jewelry -- during the winter of 1978-79. (In some of the Boston College games cited, the Eagles were underdogs and lost by more than the point spread.). A former Boston College basketball player and four other men were charged yesterday with conspiring to fix six basketball games during the 1978-79 season by shaving points. The scheme was hit or miss early on. We werent really checking for B.C. I was shining at the camp. I dont know what went down because I wasnt involved. Alswanger, my high school coach inspired me to rise above my circumstances, he continued. There were times when the work got really hard, when I wanted to give up, when I had to stay up all night reading or studying or writing papers, and shed be right there pushing me, telling me, You cant give up! The fixing begins to wear into Sweeney, who confides in his roommates but never seeks out the proper authority. Zimmerman also asked the court to consider Kuhn's 'crime-free background' and his cooperation with federal authorities in the Cobb case. Bowies reputation was immediately sullied and he subsequently lost his job playing pro ball in Europe when the story broke. 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. Everything Id worked so hard for was coming to fruition.. Hill flew into Boston, at the behest of Jimmy Burke, late in 1978 to meet with Mazzei, the Perlas, Kuhn and Sweeney at the Logan Airport Hilton and ensure that everything was in place. Fourteen hours later, I arrived in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.. Keeping Score: Close Shave. Greenfield Recorder, Greenfield Recorder, 27 Apr. Literature. The audience learns about Boston Colleges rival Holy Cross and its huge significance to the players and the alumni. Sweeney hears Tony explain that this is the grand finale, Tony claims he never threatened him. "It really could be far more serious and more of an annual situation than anyone suspects," said Ralph Miller, basketball coach at Oregon State University. Sweeney, starter and team captain, intentionally fouls himself out of the game. Kuhn's sentence was the heaviest ever imposed on a college player convicted of point shaving. Several college coaches, contacted at the time that news of the investigation broke, said point shaving -- when the favored team tries to win by less than the point spread -- in basketball is almost impossible to detect and that there is no way of telling how much, if any, point shaving goes undetected. Rocco says Sweeney told him he missed it to avoid a pair of cement shoes. The story breaks to the media and the massive investigation followed. I was so thankful, and was willing to work as hard as I possibly could, both in my studies, and in basketball, to be able to get the most I could out of the experience.. This is when the documentary transitions to the Pittsburgh mobsters and how they meet. To allay any suspicions of foul play, they decided to bet on Boston College to win by more than the point spread ("cover the spread") in a game that they were confident the Eagles would win handily. Des., University of Florida; MArch, Harvard GSD Professional interests: My passion lies in all things design but specifically in higher education, cultural and civic projects. The Perla brothers mobilized a betting syndicate to maximize their potential gain from the scheme. Greater Boston. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Walgreens agreed to pay $83 million to settle a lawsuit in West Virginia related to its role in the opioid crisis and its effect on the state, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Wednesday. With the focus limited to the specific players involved, BCs basketball program didnt suffer at all. He continues to be involved in sports and is in an older mens basketball league that competes around the world. The government contended that Kuhn was paid $2,500 per game to manipulate the spread in six games and also was given cocaine and Quaaludes. Theyre no match for us. He told me, Well good, I plan on betting on those games and if you guys win and it turns out like that, Ill take care of you., Man, I was one of the most recognizable athletes on campus and people would come up and talk to me all the time, people I didnt know, Cobb continued. Those later betters on St. John's lost money because they laid more than the eventual nine point margin of victory. He said he would have done that if the sides were reversed. Other notable players selected in that draft included Sidney Moncrief, Bill Laimbeer, Bill Cartwright, Mark Eaton and Jim Paxson. The intense music, clues in the audience that this is where it all comes out. Only on occasion does the scandal come up. It was a tragedy that he never got another chance to play in the NBA., Kevin Loughery never gave me a firm reason why the Nets were letting me go, said Cobb. Man, I would watch Jo Jo White, Dave Cowens and John Havlicek playing on television, on that same famous floor where Bill Russell and Bob Cousy and all of those great Celtics teams won all those championships, said Cobb. Kuhn would be responsible for ensuring, by his play on the court, that Boston College fell short of the point spread. The movie begins by introducing the key Boston College basketball players and the Pittsburgh mobsters. Kuhn, who ultimately served four years in prison for conspiracy and racketeering, hatched a plan with Hill associates Tony Perla, his brother Rocco Perla, and Paul Mazzei to shave points - losing by more than the point spread or winning by less than the point spread - in several BC games between December 1978 and March 1979. Staff. He sold copy machines and paved driveways for an asphalt company, which was ironically the same job his father found when hed relocated from North Carolina to Connecticut some twenty years earlier. Jim Sweeney admits that Kuhn gave him cash. Everybody testified against him. Rick Kuhn, 55, passed away peacefully on September 12, 2022, in his home in West Fargo, ND, surrounded by his family. But by the next summer, in 1980, he sparkled while playing for the New Jersey Nets during the pre-season. Were you shaving points for the mob?. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Columbia University has announced economist Nemat "Minouche" Shafik will become the university's 20th president and the first woman to serve in the role in its 268-year history.
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