Id led the pro league in scoring over there and signed a very nice contract. Hill went into witness protection and died in 2012 of a heart attack. I just knew that not only was I going to make the team, but I was going to be a factor in the NBA. Zimmerman also asked the court to consider Kuhn's 'crime-free background' and his cooperation with federal authorities in the Cobb case. Cleanly summarizing this story feels futile, but well try. Hill claimed to have earned about $400,000, but Rocco Perla said he pocketed thousands of dollars, not tens of thousands, while Mazzei only succeeded once. The campus was so beautiful. 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. Point shaving is a form of fixing. And while he was willing, he couldnt engineer results alone, so Kuhn suggested they employ his friend Jim Sweeney. I think you could poll a lot of people in the business and the Boston College scandal is off their radar. (Photo by Frank O'Brien/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) PURCHASE A LICENSE. But I found out that I wouldnt be allowed to leave the United States because the government was going to bring me to trial.. But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. The second day of the three-day hearing on organized crime's involvement in gambling operations focused on sports betting, particularly in college basketball. Former Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn will go on trial today for his alleged participation in a "point shaving" incident during the 1978-1979 basketball season. 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. 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 Perlas figured Kuhn would be up for making a quick buck, and susceptible to their advances. 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. Sweeney spoke with a very nervous Kuhn afterward. 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. Burke was allegedly the ringleader behind the heist, then the largest to happen on U.S. soil, though he was never charged. "Ive bought him a colour TV and paid for some work on his car.". 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. 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. More regulations and laws results in more eyes scrutinizing each game. We get home, I open it up, and theres $1,000 in there.. 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. Rocco Perla was sentenced to four and Kuhn was released after 28 months. 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. In 1978, Rick Kuhn was in his final season at Boston College,amarginal player with little going for him. While the season of points-shaving unfolded, an even bigger crime went down that year. white basketball player named Rick Kuhn, who has hopes of playing in the NBA. Enter Rick Kuhn, a senior forward for the Boston College basketball team during the 1978-79 season. 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.. 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. 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.. Theres a whole network., The odds were set in Sin City. Henry Hill later played by Ray Liotta in GoodFellas - was serving time for extortion, and befriended a drug dealer called Paul Mazzei. Sweeney was a businessman like me. Burke was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment. His lifes dream of making it to the NBA, which was where he belonged, was taken away from him. We cant forget the bank-rolling bosses. 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. 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. Henry Hill avoided going to prison, and he went off into the sunset of the governments Witness Protection Program, said Alswanger. Required fields are marked *. The Boston College (BC) team of 1978/79 were far from the first to get entangled in a scam. He put his foot through his own television set. Burkes gang had just successfully pulled off the Lufthansa airport heist at New Yorks JFK airport, where theyd stolen an estimated $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewels, the largest cash robbery in America at the time. Kuhn was convicted for his role in the scheme and now lives in southwest Pennsylvania. The spread was for them to win by seven though, so the bet lost. I just thank God there is justice.. 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. May 1 (UPI) -- Elon Musk's SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy rocket with a payload of satellites from the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday after having to abort the mission days earlier. Sweeney has said Kuhn told him this would be the final fix. I dont know, but people are always going to speculate, he later said. display: none; You're going to get us killed, Sweeney recalled. The scheme was hit or miss early on. Did it start out with a loss for the gamblers on Dec. 6, 1978, when Boston College handily beat Providence, 83-64? Mazzei and Tony Perla were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Kuhn agreed to participate, and brought in his teammate Jim Sweeney.[1]. The FBI were unable to prove that fixing had occurred from examining the games. I saw Ernie score 28 points against the Celtics in one of the final pre-season games when he was with the Nets, said Alswanger, Cobbs former high school coach. What made it worse was that the champion City College of New York were one of them. The syndicate was able to lay nine points when the game was first available to be bet, and therefore pushed. I hadnt seen Ernie for several years, Jack Hennessey, a psychologist at Boston College that had served as an informal academic advisor during Cobbs days as a student, told the New York Times in April of 1984. | I just had to be alone, Cobb told the reporters afterwards. May 1 (UPI) -- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is urging Texas Gov. The center is a 6 ft. 8 in. 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.'. The story read, in part, as follows: Ernie Cobb tossed in 1,760 points in a stellar basketball career at Boston College and only two other Eagles scored more. He dreamed of walking away from Boston College at seasons end as one of the schools most revered sons before embarking on what he hoped would be an accomplished, financially rewarding career in the NBA. In one of Hills versions, that game inspired Cobbs recruitment. The initial informa tion came from Henry Hill, a Government informant in the Lufthansa case, who casually toldthe investigators that Mr. Burke had been inv olved in a collegebasketball point-shaving scheme. 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. His snitching stream began then, and during one conversation with law enforcement, he casually mentioned the Boston College scheme. That really happened. 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 . Was acquitted of sports bribery charges. A grand jury indicted Burke, Mazzei, Kuhn, and the Perla brothers. As a freshman, he played sparingly and averaged 4.5 points per game while the Eagles finished with a disappointing 9-17 overall record. I loved it in Israel, the fans loved me and the people were so beautiful. Many details of the scandal remain murky. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. 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. It wasnt until I actually saw him play that I realized how special he was as an offensive talent. Julie loves lakes, bonfires, Dachshunds, coaching Little League and carrying on her Dads fantasy football legacy that he started in 1987 before there was an app for that. Its from Martin Scorseses GoodFellas, a film widely considered one of the best ever and among the greatest examples of the gangster genre. Rocco comes up to me and says, Hey, sometimes I bet on games and I wanna know how you think you guys are gonna do against Stonehill and Bentley? said Cobb. I admitted to receiving that money, and spending it. 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. Knowing they were in serious trouble, the players agreed to cooperate. The shavers only have to win by fewer points than the bookmakers think they will, not throw the game. The fact that I went to court and fought for my name, that I stood up for myself and cleared my name, that I was exonerated and acquitted, its a travesty that Im still associated with this., My name is indelibly linked to it, Cobb continued. At the close of the two-week trial, Alswanger was the last character witness who took the stand in Cobbs behalf. Contribute to The Shadow League today and help us share our narratives. It was one of the most tremendous feelings Id ever experienced.. Heading into his senior season in 1978-1979, as the team captain, Cobb was hoping that he could lead his team to the NCAA Tournament. 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. In imposing what are believed to be the stiffest punishments ever given to a college athlete for fixing games, Judge Bramwell rejected an appeal for leniency by Gary Zimmerman, Mr. Kuhn's lawyer, who had asked the judge to consider an alternative sentence, such as publicservice work. He was a murderer and a horrible human being. He really set the tone in terms of being a strong, dynamic, willful player that wondrous talents like John Bagley, Michael Adams and Dana Barros, all of whom went on to play ball in the NBA after their careers at B.C., followed. The scheme continued to work successfully in the December 23 game against UCLA. Any recount of the BC points-shaving scandal should come with a free CharlieCard for a story with more twists and turns than the citys T system. The test run for the scheme proved unsuccessful when Boston College's team established an early lead and ultimately won the game by nineteen points. Further successful bets followed in games against Fordham and St. Johns. Almost $6 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry was stolen at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Dec. 11, 1978. 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). He recently earned his Masters Degree in Education and is currently considering pursuing a Ph.D. I feel like Ive led a remarkable life, he said. He was sentenced to 10 years in . Mizzougrad96, Aug 31, 2011. 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. He was the polar opposite of Kuhn, which made him perfect in Hills eyes. 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. Edwin McDonald, who prosecuted the case for the Justice Department, said that he had recommended the incarceration of Mr. Kuhn but had not suggested any specific term. His girlfriend, whom hed met during his first week on campus, was an upperclassman that knew how to navigate the schools academic landscape. Learn how your comment data is processed. Or vice versa? ''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.''. 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.'' Their strategy was effective Boston College, a five-point favorite, covered the spread with a 9080 win over Connecticut. But I dont feel any bitterness toward the prosecution. Some had connections to various upper-level gambling circles and some were connected to the mob as we take a look back at one of the biggest betting scandals seen during the 1980's in America. All Rights Reserved. Devin Willocks Father Going After Georgia Bulldogs For $2 Million After Sons Death In SUV Driven By UGA Staffer. They were just doing their jobs. Alswanger, my high school coach inspired me to rise above my circumstances, he continued. Whatever his understanding, Cobb underperformed in the Harvard game, scoring 12 points when he averaged 23. We've analysed the best Fantasy Premier League picks ahead of Game Week 34. All of those guys walkedin his footsteps., He was the African-American guard in the modern era of B.C. Gambling can be addictive. The players involved in the scandal were paid between 500-1000$ each game and were given the chance to double it betting on the games. Theyd taken my passport and I had to stay here and face these charges, said Cobb. BC was a big favourite, five or six points, and they won by one (78-77). 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. Cobb later cleared his name, and Sweeney was never charged. DISCLAIMER: Online Wagering is illegal in some Jurisdictions. Privacy and Cookies Policy And who better than the teams top scorer, Ernie Cobb? See the article in its original context from. Hill and Burke were brought into the scheme, after receiving approval from Lucchese family capo Paul Vario. Rick Kuhn, the former Boston College basketball player convicted with four other men last November of taking part in a point-shaving conspiracy, has told Federal authorities that he was threatened . SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches following aborted mission, delays.
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