By STEFANIE COHEN, FRED KERBER and CHUCK BENNETT
June 10, 2008
Top NBA executives rigged playoff series to pack arenas and pump up TV ratings by ordering officials to shamelessly make calls that benefited favored teams, disgraced ex-ref Tim Donaghy charged in bombshell court papers today.
"Tim gave information on how top executives of the NBA sought to manipulate games using referees to boost ticket sales and television ratings," lawyer John Lauro wrote in a letter to Brooklyn federal Judge Carol Bagley Amon, detailing how his client has cooperated with feds since being busted last year.
Donaghy, a compulsive gambler who bet on games he officiated and provided inside tips to his partners, pleaded guilty last August to wire fraud and gambling.
He faces up to three years in federal prison when he is sentenced on July 14. He is detailing how league execs used referees to manipulate games, and is hoping his cooperation will get him off with just probation.
"Tim explained that league officials would tell referees that they should withhold calling technical fouls on certain star players because doing so hurt ticket sales and television ratings," Lauro wrote.
It also emerged yesterday - in another letter filed by Lauro - that the NBA is seeking $1 million from Donaghy to pay for its "internal investigation."
"The NBA, however, provides no support whatsoever for this demand," Lauro wrote.
NBA commissioner David Stern called all of Donaghy's allegations "baseless," and accused him of purposely filing his papers the same day as an NBA Finals game to drum up publicity.
He called the claims a "continuing flow of allegations from, don't forget, an admitted felon."
Donaghy's allegations of referee misconduct does not name specific teams, but clearly points to the 2005 Western Conference playoffs between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. Dallas lost the first two games while accusing Yao Ming, Houston's star center, of committing illegal screens.
By Game 3, refs started calling more fouls against Yao, limiting his game time. Dallas went on to win the series 4-3.
