Battista Jimmy - Gaming the game: the story behind the NBA betting scandal and the gambler who made it happen

Published by Barricade Books Inc.
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Suite 309
Fort Lee, NJ 07024

www.barricadebooks.com

Copyright 2011 by Sean Patrick Griffin
All Rights Reserved.

NOTE: All photographic stills that appear in this book are drawn from the personal collection of Sean Patrick Griffin and Jimmy Battista unless otherwise noted. They are reprinted here with full permission.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gaming the game : the story behind the NBA betting scandal and the gambler who made it happen / by Sean Patrick Griffin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-56980-444-5
ISBN-10: 1-56980-444-3
1. Basketball--BettingUnited States. 2. BasketballCorrupt practicesUnited States. 3. BasketballMoral and ethical aspectsUnited States. 4. Battista, Jimmy. I. Title.
GV887.7.G74 2011
796.323640973--dc22
2010045393
ISBN 13: 978-1-56980-444-5
1-56980-444-3

1
Manufactured in the United States of America

For Kelly and Connor

A S AN AVID sports fan, I thought I was relatively familiar with the National Basketball Association (NBA) betting story when I decided to research this scandal in March 2008. Like most of the public, it seems, I had paid little attention to Jimmy Battistas role in the conspiracy. Certainly, media coverage was dominated by stories on Tim Donaghy, with an understandable preoccupation with the issue of the referees influence on the outcomes of games. He adamantly denied fixing games, a claim which was supported by several media assessments and by an official NBA report. With that preeminent issue seemingly aside, at least as it pertained to Donaghy, I thought there was little point in focusing on him. The referee, of course, wouldnt be privy to the sorts of things that matter in a betting conspiracy such as this and I quickly discovered pro gambler Battista was far more noteworthy on a host of levels. Only Battista could discuss what he did with the information Donaghy provided, how much money was being placed directly as a result of Donaghys calls, where that money went and why, and how this data affected international betting lines and related activities. The career hustler and bettor knew how everything in that universe worked, and could provide insights beyond what few people know about big-time sports gambling. Battista is also the best source to assess referee Donaghys claims that he didnt influence NBA games he bet. Because of his role in the scandal, and as a result of his relationship with Donaghy and others close to him, the gambler is also someone who could discuss whether there were other referees involved. Furthermore, Battista would better know why he popped up in a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe of New York Citys Gambino crime family, sparking the entire NBA betting fiasco. In fact, if my suspicions were correct, he would be able to explain the broader relationship between gangsters and the sports-betting community. Battista would also be a valuable resource to discuss what role inside information plays in gambling. If the man known in big-time gambling circles as The Sheep was willing to talk, in addition to setting the record straight on the NBA scandal, two topics of much conjecture could be examined from the inside . Jimmy Battista, I concluded, was the one who would best serve my interests, the one whose story would fill in existing gaps and others unknown.

* * *

At the urging of his wife, his family, and his close friends, Jimmy Battista entered the White Deer Run addiction treatment facility in March 2007 to conquer his long battle with drugs. He resolved not only to give up the cocaine and prescription pills, but the professionthe obsessionthat precipitated his abuse in the first place. The feared and respected gambler was giving up betting for good, and his timing was incredibly fortuitous. Just weeks after his successful completion of the inpatient program and return home from the Lehigh Valley sticks, the FBI paid him a visit to disclose their interest in him regarding a variety of issues. Had he simply continued his normal and illicit activities, Battista would have unknowingly placed himselfand countless othersin more dire legal jeopardy than ultimately was the case. The uncanny combination of luck (or fate) and rehabilitation stirred Jimmy, and the subsequent court proceedings, media speculation, and imprisonment pushed him to the brink. The self-professed former bookmaker, bettor, and drug addict wanted and needed to tell his story.

* * *

As evidenced by its subtitle, Gaming the Game is essentially two stories in one: the life and times of pro gambler Jimmy Baba Battista; and the inside story of the NBA betting scandal (for which he was the architect). The former story entails Battistas rise within the sports betting world, and these narratives often include insights into the people, places, and things many of us never knew existed. Very little of this books content is public knowledge, and individuals who have agreed to share details of their activities (often including hard data to support their tales) in order to explain the sociology of big-time sports betting have interests to protect. As such, certain names, dates, locales, and other identifiers have been altered, none of which takes away from our understanding of how this gambling underworld operates. Concerning the latter story (i.e., those narratives explicitly dealing with the NBA betting scandal), however, considerable effort has been made to offer the most detailed and accurate account to date. Thus, the scandal-specific characters and chronology are offered without alteration so that follow-up research can be conducted.

The NBA Betting Scandal

Judge Carol Bagley Amon U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) who oversaw the NBA betting scandal cases against Tim Donaghy, Jimmy Battista, and Tommy Martino.

Jimmy Baba Sheep Battista lifelong resident of Delaware County, PA (Delco), just outside Philadelphia; architect of the 2006-07 NBA betting scandal; professional gambler; one of the worlds most consequential movers; former book-maker and runner.

Jack Concannon Delco native; insurance company owner and recreational gambler who had known Jimmy Battista for years; placed bets for NBA referee Tim Donaghy on NBA games for a few years before Donaghy switched to betting with Battista in December 2006 after Donaghy was supposedly stiffed by Concannon on his winnings; returned to betting on NBA games for Donaghy in February 2007 (at which point Donaghy was also betting with Battista).