Im going off on the basketball court, scoring like crazy, the gamblers are losing their shirts, and they start talking about, We have to have Cobb. Anybody thats ever seen me play knows that I was only stuck in one gear, and that was super-charged-turbo! The Perla brothers proposed a simple scheme: they, along with Kuhn, would select certain basketball games where the projected point spread separating Boston College from its opponent was expected to be significant. Mr. Kuhn will become eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence. He was the polar opposite of Kuhn, which made him perfect in Hills eyes. Sports Promos. Tony and his brother Rocco were pals with Rick Kuhn. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Confirm your email address in the email you will receive shortly. I loved it in Israel, the fans loved me and the people were so beautiful. 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]. And look what he did to the lives of those kids. It wasnt an absolute disaster but it was a cousin. But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. Visser became the NFLs first female beat writer in 1976, when she was assigned by the paper to cover the New England Patriots. The bookies began to smell a rat, and not just the one Hill himself would become 18 months later. He says he took it under duress though, with Kuhn telling him he needed him to be involved, whether he liked it or not. Heavy shelling in Kherson, Kharkiv destroys residences. I feel like if I can change one life, like he changed mine, man, it makes everything Ive been through worthwhile.. Thats why I got into education and coaching. 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. He said, these guys were irate. When he returned to the United States, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he became a Special Education teacher and high school basketball coach. GDC Media Limited. If you missed Part I, you can read it here. I was like, Yeah, whatever. Sure enough, a few weeks later, he hands my girlfriend an envelope. I opened up the door and it was these guys from the F.B.I., said Cobb. Hill got picked up on drug trafficking charges in 1980. I got through it on my own, and I didnt get whacked, is how Sweeney looks back on the matter now, which is probably the healthiest view to take. Please play Responsibly. 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. 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). Sweeney had no doubts regarding the severity of what he was involved in. That includes Rick Kuhn, the former minor league baseball player who started the scandal and who . I was doing well academically and the dream of playing professional basketball was getting closer.. I watched reel-upon-reel of the 1978/79 season, and was not able to determine that this errant pass was done on purpose or that missed shot was done because of the fix, he said. Ernie Cobb played professional basketball in Israel for 17 years, where he learned to speak fluent Hebrew. ESPNs Playing for the Mob, a 30 for 30 documentary narrated by Liotta, interviews all the living participants, including former coaches and law enforcement officials. I just had to be alone, Cobb told the reporters afterwards. The spread was for them to win by seven though, so the bet lost. He looked like a little choirboy, a legitimate kid, he said. 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 second day of the three-day hearing on organized crime's involvement in gambling operations focused on sports betting, particularly in college basketball. The scheme was hit or miss early on. Tell me what you did and what you didnt do. Jack Molinas engineered a larger scheme in 1961, which resulted in 37 arrests of students from 22 colleges. 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. A look at who the key figures were in the Boston College point shaving scandal: Kuhn was a BC player at the center of the controversy. I had a relentless type of game.. The Perla brothers mobilized a betting syndicate to maximize their potential gain from the scheme. When he did play in games that were supposed to be rigged, Kuhn said he did not concentrate on the point margin until ''the last five minutes of the game, when it was really important.'' 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. #ada-button-frame { 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. May 1 (UPI) -- First Republic Bank was sold Monday to JPMorgan Chase, as regulators seek to calm a turbulent banking sector that has now seen three U.S. banks fail in less than two months. If there was a poster of what a student athlete at Boston College is supposed to look like, it was Jim Sweeney.. . 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. If you missed Part I, you can read it here. At the close of the two-week trial, Alswanger was the last character witness who took the stand in Cobbs behalf. 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]. He took advantage of an opportunity that surfaced when a pro team from Israel offered him a spot on their roster. In this game, UCLA was favored to win over the Eagles by a fifteen to eighteen-point spread, so the syndicate bet on them to win by a margin greater than the point spread. '', See the article in its original context from. So, in very basic terms, if B.C. The scheme was conceived by Rocco Perla and his brother Anthony in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1978. Sweeney was a self-confessed bookworm from an exclusive Jersey prep school, where he was all state in three sports. While the season of points-shaving unfolded, an even bigger crime went down that year. 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? Perla believed that Kuhn was the type of guy who would "do business." 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. You're going to get us killed, Sweeney recalled. And yeah, I took that money. We were all so excited for him. 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. You gotta tell me the truth, because I gotta know how to go on this?. Almost $6 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry was stolen at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Dec. 11, 1978. Learn how your comment data is processed. But my high school coach got his friends to take my case, pro bono. Out of everything that happened, thats one thing that hurts me tremendously, Cobb said. In 1949/50, 33 players across seven teams shaved points. But its the points that Cobb and teammate Michael Bowie didnt score during the 1978-1979 season which has spawned a federal investigation. 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. He told me to keep playing and working hard and that one day I might get another chance., When the story first broke in January of 1981, Cobb was in shock. The syndicate was very happy with this result, and Kuhn was given cash to distribute to the players for their efforts. [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. In papers made public Monday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, Kuhn's attorney argued his client's sentence was 'excessive,' and should be reduced because Kuhn has been cooperating with prosecutors in the case. Day Five of the Punchestown Racing Festival boasts another afternoon of top-class horse racing. Hed often say that, compared with other stuff they had done, shaving a few points here and there didnt even feel like a crime. Sweeney was not charged. 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. Acknowledged taking $500 from conspirators, but claimed he acted under duress and was never charged. Federal prosecutor who investigated the case and BC graduate. Cobb says he received $1,000 in an envelope but said he didnt really know what it was for. Do you recognize him? And my answer every time was, No! I didnt recognize any of those mobsters because I had never met them. Kuhn said the gamblers did not keep their promise to pay him $2,500 for every game, some of which Boston College lost. We had a good old time. 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! When he finished with his testimony, he made a beeline straight for the restroom. So I didnt even go on trial with Kuhn and the mobsters that put the whole thing in motion.. Sent Weekly. It was like a paradise to me, coming from where I came from. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. He named Cobb, Kuhn and Sweeney as being involved, so the FBI visited the trio in early morning raids. The FBI didnt have to prove the games were fixed, only that there was a conspiracy to manipulate the scores. Cmon, you can do it. She was a remarkable individual that helped me so much, in terms of establishing the study and work habits that allowed me to be successful in the classroom.. Rick Kuhn, the 28-year-old former Boston College basketball player who is serving a 10-year prison term for participating in a point-shaving conspiracy, has asked the sentencing judge to. This page is not available in other languages. First Republic seized by regulators and sold to JPMorgan. 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. But it wasnt a coincidence that one day, the F.B.I shows up asking me about gambling, and the next day Im no longer with the team. Whatever his understanding, Cobb underperformed in the Harvard game, scoring 12 points when he averaged 23. He stopped in my office with his bike with the flat tire and borrowed $20 to get it fixed and to get home. But in the first game the scheme was tested, against Providence College, Boston College won by nearly double the point spread. 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. We werent really checking for B.C. Our story begins in the mid-1970s at a penitentiary in Lewisburg. Fourteen hours later, I arrived in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.. hoops that blazed a trail, Mills continued. Visit MassGaming if you or someone you know has a gambling problem. A grand jury indicted Burke, Mazzei, Kuhn, and the Perla brothers. I was having a lot of success, we were turning around the fortunes of the program and I was getting a lot of press in the Boston Globe and area newspapers. As he walked across the scenic campus, marveled at the schools architectural splendor or ate until his hearts content in the dining hall, hed often pause to quietly give thanks for his fortunate circumstances. And in that article in Sports Illustrated, Henry Hill says, The word came back that Cobb was enthusiastic. The key phrase there is The word came back. I dont know what Rick Kuhn was telling Henry Hill or the Perla brothers. 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. Rick Kuhn - Point Guard for the Mob Boston College point shaving scheme was conceived by Rocco Perla and his brother Anthony (Tony) in Pittsburgh during the summer of 1978. But I never agreed to fix any games or shave any points. When he told Alswanger about the indictment, his old high school coach spoke sternly with him, as he'd done sometwelveyears earlier when Cobb had just returned home fromthe juvenile detention facility. The Mobsters https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/26/sports/rick-kuhn-recalls-point-shaving-case.html. Other times, they didnt deliver as promised, which caused some very dangerous and ill-tempered men to lose large sums of cash. Enter Rick Kuhn, a senior forward for the Boston College basketball team during the 1978-79 season. As such, its impossible to be certain which game was the first they attempted to fix. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. I had my own place to live and all the food I wanted to eat. And as some of his wagers were unsuccessful, the bookmakers became less suspicious and allowed him to stake more. What made it worse was that the champion City College of New York were one of them. Mr. Sweeney was a key Government witness at the trial, although Mr. McDonald has said that Mr. Sweeney was not granted immunity for his testimony. 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. Hes a good person. Burke was allegedly the ringleader behind the heist, then the largest to happen on U.S. soil, though he was never charged. Think of Ray Liottas character in Goodfellas. Picture him reporting to Robert DeNiros character in the film. The Perlas figured Kuhn would be up for making a quick buck, and susceptible to their advances. Can I play slot games for free? They mentioned the $1,000 that Rocco Perla gave my girlfriend and I told them the truth. Kuhn allegedly made $2,500 per fix. 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. Hill turned state's evidence in exchange for avoiding prison and possible execution by Burke and the Lucchese family. Also involved were bookmakers across the East Coast. It had to cost around $200,000 at the time to defend me.. They knew how to shave, because when I tried to explain to them, they said, Naw, we know all that shit.. Many details of the scandal remain murky. Result is the outcome of the syndicate's bets. I never got to realize my dream of playing in the NBA, but Ive been all over the globe and have experienced so many different and beautiful cultures. It would also increase the likelihood of scandals like the BC one, they say. Hill mentioned the point shaving scam, which the FBI were completely unaware of. It was more than 30 years ago, but considering Henry Hill's involvement, I'm surprised this scandal isn't at the top of the list of biggest sports scandals ever. like that until he got there. Boston College Men's Basketball's 1977-1978 Season. All say that when watching the games, its impossible to determine if muffed plays were done purposely or just honest mistakes. I thought he might have been a student, because he was young and I saw him hanging around Rick Kuhn all the time. My girlfriend and I bought a new stereo, television and some furniture. The Boston Globe reported on Friday that Cobb and Bowie are targets of the federal probe into allegations of point-shaving in three Eagles games. A BC captain, Cobb was implicated in the scheme but denies fixing games. Bowies reputation was immediately sullied and he subsequently lost his job playing pro ball in Europe when the story broke. 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. The campus was so beautiful. "The kid wants to do business," said Tony. The government presented telephone records showing evidence of extensive communications between the conspirators during the 197879 season and records provided by Western Union and various hotels which further corroborated government testimony. Cuba postpones International Workers' Day parade over fuel shortages. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/06/sports/rick-kuhn-sentenced-to-10-years.html. 1 killed in shooting at Massachusetts house party. As it was, BC were beaten 98-96 and the money was lost, thanks to Cobb scoring eight points in the final minute. The same channels would be used for the passing of the point spread from Burke and Hill to the players. Nobody will ever know the full truth, as everyone involved has their own story. The distinguished paper later retracted the story. At that point, I was looking forward to a trial, said Cobb. 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. Cobb was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 6th Round and cut during training camp. 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. Hill brought in his mentor, Jimmy Burke, to finance the operation and set up a network of bookies who could advance the financial potential of the scheme. Being at Boston College, when I first got there, was so amazing, said Cobb. I was focused in the moment. With his name swirling down the vortex of the mob cesspool from the moment the story broke, Ernie Cobb found it difficult to make a living. display: none; (Sadly, Liotta, who was brilliant in Goodfellas and Field of Dreams, among other films, died Wednesday at 67.). Jim Sweeney admits that Kuhn gave him cash. The Boston College (BC) team of 1978/79 were far from the first to get entangled in a scam. II. Overall, more legality increases transparency, making it more difficult for shady characters to hide. Over all, he said, the scheme failed. ''A substantial argument can be offered,'' Judge Bramwell said, ''that a substantial term of incarceration imposed on this defendant will be recalled in the future by another college athlete who may be tempted to compromise his performance.''. Sweeney allegedly only took one envelope with $500 but maintains he didnt really participate. The Boston Globe story was initially investigated and written by a young Boston College alumnus named Leslie Visser, who would go on to become a very accomplished, groundbreaking journalist and role model for women who aspired to work in the field of sports media. The very next day, the Nets cut me., When the F.B.I. We get home, I open it up, and theres $1,000 in there.. 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. 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. Ed Guevara, a former FBI Special Agent, recalls viewing hours of footage. Required fields are marked *. He put his foot through his own television set. Their strategy was effective Boston College, a five-point favorite, covered the spread with a 9080 win over Connecticut. Kuhn, Mazzei and Tony Perla were convicted and sentenced to 10 years. Rocco and Tony Perla were giving money to Rick Kuhn. Rocco Perla was sentenced to four and Kuhn was released after 28 months. Mr. Kuhn, who is 26 years old, showed no emotion and would not comment after Judge Henry Bramwell of United States District Court in Brooklyn had imposed concurrent terms of 10 years for violation of Federal racketeering statutes and five years each for conspiracy and interstate gambling. [3] Kuhn was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment,[4] later reduced to 28 months. As the wallets, Burke and Co. ultimately became the schemes kingpins. I dont know if they recognize it, but B.C. He was a murderer and a horrible human being. 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. Kuhn, whose 10-year prison sentence for his part in the 1978-79 Boston College scheme was reduced to four years after he testified against a teammate, will be released from federal prison in. Based on the 30for30 ESPN documentary on this scandal, Kuhn's story changed multiple times regarding this. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Boston College Accused of Point Shaving, was the big headline on the UPI wire. See the article in its original context from. Hill revealed his involvement in the point-shaving scheme, offering to relate the full story if federal officials would guarantee him full immunity and would agree to intercede on his behalf to convince state officials to drop the drug charges pending in state court. The sources for this article include interviews he gave in 1981, 1985 and 2014, and while the framework of this story is reliable, the specific details change. Boston College confirmed the investigation on Friday. In this case, while the line may have opened, or at one time gone to two, because of the heavy betting on Holy Cross, the syndicate had to lay as many as seven points, and therefore lost their bet. Ultimately, nothing happened. The conspiracy unraveled in 1980 after Hill was arrested by New York State authorities on drug trafficking charges and was subsequently implicated in the Lufthansa heist, which occurred while the point-shaving scheme was underway. The December 16 game against Harvard was chosen as the second test for the scheme. Terms and Conditions Mazzei and Tony Perla were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Yet when Sweeney retold his story for ESPNs Playing For The Mob documentary in 2014 [3] he claimed to be stringing Hill along. He said he was approached in the summer before his senior year. Unlike Kuhn, Sweeney had a clean-cut image. Racing tipster James Boyle is back with more horse racing tips, covering key meetings in the UK & Ir Football fans are searching for 'Rasmus Hojlund next club odds' and we've looked at the betting. In a point-shaving scandal that sticks in the memories of many, three Boston College players became embroiled in a betting scheme conceived by gamblers Henry Hill, Rocco and Tony Perla, and Paul Mazzei. Chicago mayor calls on Texas to cease sending migrants to the city. The characters and events were later immortalized by the actors Ray Liotta and Robert DeNiro in the classic film, Goodfellas. Standard editorial rights. Cobb was acquitted of any wrongdoing, despite Kuhn giving Cobb's girlfriend an allegedly unsolicited envelope with $1,000. Either way, the mob were unhappy that the plan hadnt worked. I was nervous because I didnt know what was going to happen. The aim is to manipulate spread betting, rather than deliberately losing. Id call Rick (Kuhn), Id tell him the point spread on the Boston College game, and Rick would say if theyd have a chance or not.. All Rights Reserved. In addition, they were given the opportunity to bet the money they were paid and double their winnings. He killed people. Hill also had to get approval from his bosses; Jimmy Burke, later played by Robert De Niro in GoodFellas using the surname Conway, and Paul Vario, portrayed by Paul Sorvino. In early February, Boston College was scheduled to play two New York State teams, Fordham and St. John's. The 197879 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal involved a scheme in which members of the American Mafia recruited and bribed several Boston College Eagles men's basketball players to ensure the team would not win by the required margin (not cover the point spread) or win by the required margin (cover the point spread), allowing gamblers in the know to place wagers against that team and win. 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. I took every single practice and every single game seriously, said Cobb. Of course, of course I was upset, but what could I do? In Sports Illustrated's expos, Hill claimed it was against Harvard on December 16. I watched the boys throw the ball out of bounds, and it was gorgeous, he said. They reintroduced the original strategy, which proved successful for the February 3 Fordham game when Boston College, a ten-point favorite, won by seven points. Cobb eventually cleared his name and Sweeney was never charged. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. When I got back and told Jimmy and Paulie about the scheme, they loved it, Hill recalled in Wiseguy. The game was televised so Hill and Burke watched together, having staked $85,000 between them. Who was asking and how much they were paying probably influenced what Hill revealed each time. So the scam continued. In one of Hills versions, that game inspired Cobbs recruitment. He wasnt a trial lawyer, so he brought in his colleague, David Golub. Henry Hill later played by Ray Liotta in GoodFellas - was serving time for extortion, and befriended a drug dealer called Paul Mazzei. And who better than the teams top scorer, Ernie Cobb? His snitching stream began then, and during one conversation with law enforcement, he casually mentioned the Boston College scheme. 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. I admitted to receiving that money, and spending it. He now coaches high school basketball in Arizona. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken.
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