The gambling gangsters needed to spread out the wagers since, the story goes, many back then had limits of $25,000. Hill and Burke were brought into the scheme, after receiving approval from Lucchese family capo Paul Vario. Kuhn was sentenced to 10 years in prison, later reduced to 28 months. He traveled throughout the world, getting paid to play the game that he loved. Thats the real strength of his story, that you pick yourself up and make something of yourself.. Daughter of Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Shaquil Barrett drowns in family pool. I want to be disassociated from it as well. Especially those who, as far back as they can remember, always wanted to be a gangster. (Sadly, Liotta, who was brilliant in Goodfellas and Field of Dreams, among other films, died Wednesday at 67.). Mazzei and Tony Perla were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Admitting he accepted $1,000 for the game only fuels the speculation. I dont know, but people are always going to speculate, he later said. 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The conspirators chose the January 17, 1979, game against Connecticut to implement this plan. When he returned to the United States, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he became a Special Education teacher and high school basketball coach. The scheme was conceived by Rocco Perla and his brother Anthony in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1978. 30 Years After His Exoneration, Former BC Hoops Star Ernie Cobb Is Still Fighting to Clear His Name Pt. [1] I continue to feel like I have to defend myself, all these years later, even after the government tried their case against me and I was found innocent. Gambling can be addictive. display: none; Kuhn's attorney, Gary Zimmerman, said his client recognized the seriousness of his crimes and that his stiff jail sentence 'was a stern warning to other college athletes.'. Almost $6 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry was stolen at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Dec. 11, 1978. Enter Rick Kuhn, a senior forward for the Boston College basketball team during the 1978-79 season. Theres no way you can tell if a referee or player is shaving points, absolutely no way, he once told Sports Illustrated. Hill was listed as a co-conspirator, but was not named as a defendant. Cobb was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 6th Round and cut during training camp. Knowing they were in serious trouble, the players agreed to cooperate. Bowies reputation was immediately sullied and he subsequently lost his job playing pro ball in Europe when the story broke. 197879 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. 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. Sweeney spoke with a very nervous Kuhn afterward. Boston College was favored by twelve to thirteen points, but won the game by only a three-point margin, 8683. I know he lost about fifty thousand dollars.. He wasnt a trial lawyer, so he brought in his colleague, David Golub. Once the FBI arrested Hill the following year though, it all came out. Was it due to great defence or did he have an off night? The court papers said Kuhn of Swissvale, Pa., has agreed to testify against former teammate Ernie Cobb, 27, a basketball player from Stamford, Conn. Cobb has pleaded innocent to a charge of conspiring to commit sports bribery,a charge stemming from the point-shaving scandal. In the 1979 NBA Draft, Magic Johnson was the first overall pick of the Los Angeles Lakersafter leading Michigan State University to the National Championship over Larry Birds Indiana State team. I had told him I'm not interested in doing this. Those later betters on St. John's lost money because they laid more than the eventual nine point margin of victory. But what was I going to do, take it to court?It was here that they began telling Perla we would have to have Cobb. Federal investigators first learned of the point-shaving scheme while looking into Mr. Burke's suspected role in the $5.8 million robbery of the Lufthansa freight terminal a t Kennedy International Airport in December 1978. Molinas had been suspended by the NBA seven years earlier for betting on games in which his team played. Other notable players selected in that draft included Sidney Moncrief, Bill Laimbeer, Bill Cartwright, Mark Eaton and Jim Paxson. Other times, they didnt deliver as promised, which caused some very dangerous and ill-tempered men to lose large sums of cash. What we do know is that money was won and money was lost, and the scam ultimately took down one of Americas most dangerous gangsters. 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. After Cobb was not charged, he thought he was finally past the sordid affair. Self-described Boston College basketball fixer, he confessed the conspiracy to agents investigating the signature crime of his mob crew, the Lufthansa heist immortalized in Goodfellas. Recruited into scheme by Mazzei. and I were the victims of the same circumstances that were beyond our control. He is appealing Mr. Kuhn's conviction, and the defendant will remain free on $50,000 bail pending the outcome of that appeal. The pair reunited once Hill was released in 1978, and Mazzei introduced him to his friend, Tony Perla. He said, these guys were irate. As a freshman, he played sparingly and averaged 4.5 points per game while the Eagles finished with a disappointing 9-17 overall record. The Boston scandal followed next, and wouldnt be the last. Sweeney and Kuhn were best friends at Boston College. Due to his Irish heritage, Burke never received a formal induction into the Lucchese crime family of New York, but he operated as an associate. According to Hill in Wiseguy [2] - Nicholas Pileggis book which became the basis for GoodFellas - Perla had been cultivating Kuhn for over a year. We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. Anyone can read what you share. Said Hill, "He wanted me to fly up to Boston. It was all so positive.. Either way, the mob were unhappy that the plan hadnt worked. In 1978, Hill was introduced to Tony Perla, who told Hill that he had a friend on the Boston College men's basketball team. If the scam was to work, they needed another player. Its from Martin Scorseses GoodFellas, a film widely considered one of the best ever and among the greatest examples of the gangster genre. In 2014, the ESPN-produced 30 for 30 series debuted Playing for the Mob,[6] the story about how Hill and his Pittsburgh associates, and several Boston College basketball players, perpetrated the point-shaving scheme during the 197879 season, an episode briefly mentioned in the movie Goodfellas. Yet its hard to believe it wouldve been had the bets won. 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. I knew that I was suddenly in a situation in which I was already underwater, he said. Learn how your comment data is processed. Alswanger, my high school coach inspired me to rise above my circumstances, he continued. Gambling.com is tracking sport cancellations (and eventual resurgences) on an interactive map below. BOSTON - FEBRUARY 14: Rick Kuhn (#50) during Boston College men's basketball's 1977-1978 season. Julie has contributed to stories on many big sports moments, from the NFL's 100th season to Super Bowls to Justin Verlanders trade to the closing of the Palace of Auburn Hills. Also indicted in US District Court in Brooklyn, New York were: James Burke, a reputed organized crime leader, Anthony and Rocco Perla of Pittsburgh, and Paul Mazzei. After the four-week trial in 1981, Jimmy Burke was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Paul Mazzei and Tony Perla were sentenced to ten. Red Auerbach coached the Celtics to nine NBA championships between 1957 and 1966, and knew all there is to know about basketball. #ada-button-frame { Cuba postpones International Workers' Day parade over fuel shortages. I was doing well academically and the dream of playing professional basketball was getting closer.. SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches following aborted mission, delays. The point-shaving allegations surfaced during an unrelated investigation into the 1978 theft of $5.8 million from the Lufthansa cargo terminal at New Yorks Kennedy Airport. I didnt like dealing with a third party I didnt know and had never metBut the word came back that Cobb was enthusiastic and, dont worry Henry, nothing can screw up now., In the 30-for-30 documentary that ESPN just aired, Henry Hill admits that he never talked to me, said Cobb. Loughery told me that I had the ability to play in the NBA. Bets in this column are given in the format ", Winner is given as either Opp or BC and the margin of victory. Rocco and Tony Perla were giving money to Rick Kuhn. I just thank God there is justice.. If there was a poster of what a student athlete at Boston College is supposed to look like, it was Jim Sweeney.. Ernie, dont lie to me, Alswanger instructed him. 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. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken. I felt like, You put my name out there, so let me clear my name! When they investigated me, I told them straight up about the $1,000 that Rocco Perla had given me. Jimmy said he was finished. Sweeney had no doubts regarding the severity of what he was involved in. The second. 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. He was furious. April 30 (UPI) -- One person is dead and five more are injured after a shooting early Sunday morning at a house party in Lawrence, Mass. Rick Kuhn was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment yesterday for his part in a point-shaving scheme that was hatched during the 1978-79 season, when he played basketball for Boston College. I was like, Yeah, whatever. Sure enough, a few weeks later, he hands my girlfriend an envelope. This is Part II of The Shadow League's feature story on former Boston College basketball player Ernie Cobb. The Perlas had a high school pal they thought might want to earn some extra dollars. Henry Hill avoided going to prison, and he went off into the sunset of the governments Witness Protection Program, said Alswanger. The abbreviated version of events reads like this:the Perlas brought in a Pittsburgh hood named Paul Mazzei, who contacted his friend Henry Hill, an associate of New Yorks Lucchese crime family that had befriended him during a stretch in federal prison. Mazzei, Hill and the Perlas devised a plan to rip off bookies without having players throw games. Kuhn allegedly made $2,500 per fix. Judge Bramwell noted that no witness at the trial had suggested that Mr. Kuhn had been a reluctant participant in the scheme. Edward McDonald was a Federal Prosecutor who interrogated Hill in May 1980. He was determined to prove that he could do the work, which would enable him to further chase his athletic dreams. 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]. When he first stepped on the hallowed parquet floor at the legendary Boston Garden, where B.C. This has gone on for four years. 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. Mr. Kuhn will become eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence. They left, and that was that. 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. Its very hard to detect. Boston College Men's Basketball's 1977-1978 Season. These bookies could handle large bets and lay them off and spread the bets among a number of unsuspecting bookmakers around the country so as not to arouse suspicion. See the article in its original context from. While residents eagerly await March 10 for legalized Massachusetts sports betting, we look back on the breach that mixed gamblers and mobsters with student-athletes in the late 1970s. 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. Heavy shelling in Kherson, Kharkiv destroys residences. On Friday morning, March 23rd, the jury came back with a unanimous innocent verdict for Ernie Cobb, exonerating him of all charges. The 80-minute documentary tells how BC forward Rick Kuhn conspired with two of his hoodlum friends from Pittsburgh to bet against the Eagles. He bet $35,000 on a game with Connecticut and it paid off. [ii] Holy Cross ultimately won by only two points, as Cobb scored eight points in the final minute to bring the Eagles close, and everyone involved lost a substantial amount of money. 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]. Was acquitted of sports bribery charges. The bookies began to smell a rat, and not just the one Hill himself would become 18 months later. April 30 (UPI) -- Cuba has postponed its annual International Workers' Day parade for the third time in more than 60 years as fuel shortages hamstring the country. He was hopeful that hed have another chance to make it in the NBA. You probably recognise that line of dialogue. Also a BC captain, Sweeney claims he reluctantly agreed to be recruited into the scheme. He was the polar opposite of Kuhn, which made him perfect in Hills eyes. Confident from their recent success, the conspirators viewed the February 10 game against Holy Cross as an opportunity to reap the full benefits of their scheme. They contacted a local friend, Paul Mazzei, who was known to have influence within major New York gambling circles. But as a drug-using gangster who feared for his life, its unsurprising that his recollections were inconsistent. Acknowledged taking $500 from conspirators, but claimed he acted under duress and was never charged. There were a lot of rich kids who went to Boston College. The other defendants were all found guilty, with Kuhn, Mazzei and Tony Perla sentenced to 10 years, while Rocco Perla got four. The phone calls flooded in from his friends and family in Boston and Connecticut, with despaired voices on the other end asking, Did you do this? (Photo by Frank O'Brien/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) PURCHASE A LICENSE. Hill had no issue telling people what they wanted to hear, as was seen when he spoke to the FBI in order to save his own skin. A few blocks from Boston College, the place that held so much meaning to him, where hed worked so hard to create his lifes purpose, the symbolism was inescapable when he found that he had a flat tire. Id led the pro league in scoring over there and signed a very nice contract. Bet with your head, not over it. By Brian Carome. May 1 (UPI) -- Pope Francis has revealed that there is an ongoing peace mission involving the Vatican to secure an end to the war in Ukraine. Record-breaking warmth will soon be a distant memory for residents along the West Coast, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. 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. What made it worse was that the champion City College of New York were one of them. And despite friends urging Sweeney to report what was happening, he refused as he didnt want to hurt Kuhn. I was so frustrated at one point that I got on my bike in Stamford, Connecticut and just started riding. In another, he says the fixing began with a big win for the wise guys when Boston College, favored by 12 points, beat Harvard by just three, 86-83. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Law enforcement officials were ecstatic. Who was asking and how much they were paying probably influenced what Hill revealed each time. A Cooperative Kuhn Has Life Threatened. 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. Today, Cobbs relationship with Boston College remains strained. Enter Rick Kuhn, a senior forward for the Boston College basketball team during the 1978-79 season. GDC Media Ltd takes no responsibility for your actions. My girlfriend and I bought a new stereo, television and some furniture. It had to cost around $200,000 at the time to defend me.. A mobster met a drug dealer in prison and their friendship continued after their release. In the movie, Liotta played Hill and DeNiro played Jimmy Conway, whose character was based off Hills real-life mob associate Jimmy Burke. The distinguished paper later retracted the story. 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. For example, if the Eagles were favored by 10, the mobsters would want the players on the take to make sure the team won by nine points or less. He also connected with Hill to power the ring. The scheme was hit or miss early on. This page is not available in other languages. I told him, I think were gonna blow them out, we look really good. May 1 (UPI) -- The 2-year-old daughter of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett has drowned in the pool of their Florida family home, authorities said. The centerpiece of today's hearing was the testimony of Kuhn, who was convicted in 1981 along with four gamblers for conspiracy to commit sports bribery and other crimes stemming from a point-shaving plot at Boston College during the 1978-79 season. They couldnt stop him. Hill stated that, at the time, he and Burke were watching the game on television at Burke's home in Queens, and Burke put his foot through the television in anger at having lost $50,000 ($186,700 today). Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. hoops that blazed a trail, Mills continued. I don't question $1,000, give it to me.. That friend was Rick Kuhn, a 6-foot-5 senior forward on scholarship with the Eagles. I think you could poll a lot of people in the business and the Boston College scandal is off their radar. Im stuck. Just by being there, Id already reached success beyond my wildest dreams. 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. Kuhn was convicted with four other men in November of taking part in the scheme in which six Boston College basketball games were fixed during the 1978-1979 season. In testimony before the President's Commission on Organized Crime, the former player, Rick Kuhn, said he thought college basketball players were most vulnerable to offers from gamblers ''in their junior and senior years, when it becomes reality that they're not going to have lucrative careers as players.'' And while he was willing, he couldnt engineer results alone, so Kuhn suggested they employ his friend Jim Sweeney. NEW YORK -- Former Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn, jailed for his 1981 conviction in a point-shaving scandal, has asked for a reduction of his 10-year prison sentence. I was forthright and honest with them. Rick Kuhn, the former Boston College basketball player who was convicted last November, and sentenced last February for his involvement in the point shaving scandal during the 1978-79 basketball season, told Federal authorities last May that his life had been threatened because of his decision to cooperate in the case, according to The . DISCLAIMER: Online Wagering is illegal in some Jurisdictions. The scheme continued to work successfully in the December 23 game against UCLA. Hed often say that, compared with other stuff they had done, shaving a few points here and there didnt even feel like a crime. 1 killed in shooting at Massachusetts house party. Bruce Pearl, now a successful college basketball coach who studied at BC, says Sweeney was a perfect undergraduate. With Rocco's high school buddy Rick Kuhn entering his senior year at Boston College, where he was expected to be a contributor to the school's basketball team, the brothers figured they. At the close of the two-week trial, Alswanger was the last character witness who took the stand in Cobbs behalf. Sometimes, B.C. But I dont feel any bitterness toward the prosecution. But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. Devin Willocks Father Going After Georgia Bulldogs For $2 Million After Sons Death In SUV Driven By UGA Staffer. However, as noted below, the scheme also worked in games where the Eagles were expected to lose anyway, with them shaving points so that the syndicate could bet on the other team winning by more than the point spread. Sweeney was not charged. The spread was for them to win by seven though, so the bet lost. 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.
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