Who was asking and how much they were paying probably influenced what Hill revealed each time. won the gangsters some serious money by falling short of the spread. 1 killed in shooting at Massachusetts house party. Cool and wet conditions return to California, West Coast. He bet $35,000 on a game with Connecticut and it paid off. The abbreviated version of events reads like this:the Perlas brought in a Pittsburgh hood named Paul Mazzei, who contacted his friend Henry Hill, an associate of New Yorks Lucchese crime family that had befriended him during a stretch in federal prison. College basketball's 30 biggest cheaters that tainted the game The players involved in the scandal were paid between 500-1000$ each game and were given the chance to double it betting on the games. | Knicks Win Their First Playoff Series In 10 Years But Can They Stay Back On Top In The Big Apple? The stories from all participants have changed in various interviews and often contradict each other. The Perlas figured Kuhn would be up for making a quick buck, and susceptible to their advances. A grand jury indicted Burke, Mazzei, Kuhn, and the Perla brothers. The scheme continued to work successfully in the December 23 game against UCLA. I called my buddy Frank Melzer, who was an attorney, said Alswanger. 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. 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. Day Five of the Punchestown Racing Festival boasts another afternoon of top-class horse racing. This is Part II of The Shadow League's feature story on former Boston College basketball player Ernie Cobb. Forty-four years later, the full truth about the Boston College points-shaving scandal is still unknown. Investigation Is Continuing. Kuhn was released after serving 28 months, and rarely speaks about what happened. Gambling can be addictive. 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. Think of Ray Liottas character in Goodfellas. Picture him reporting to Robert DeNiros character in the film. But by his sophomore year, when he was inserted into the starting lineup, it was apparent that the 5-foot-11 scorer brought a dimension to the Boston College squad that it sorely needed when he averaged 17.4 points per game. 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. ESPN's latest 30 for 30 film tackles the Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. The Eagles managed to lose by 22 points, 10381, with the syndicate winning its bet. Today, Cobbs relationship with Boston College remains strained. All say that when watching the games, its impossible to determine if muffed plays were done purposely or just honest mistakes. Burke instructed Hill to warn the players to keep to their end of the deal because "you can't play basketball with broken hands.". I just had to be alone, Cobb told the reporters afterwards. He said, these guys were irate. Mr. Kuhn, a reserve forward on the 1978-79 Boston College team, and four other men were convicted last November of a plot to manipulate the scores of six games that season to provide betting. Perla and Kuhn had gone to high school together and were good friends. 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. 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. Other times, they didnt deliver as promised, which caused some very dangerous and ill-tempered men to lose large sums of cash. Suspecting that some bookmakers might be getting wise to the scheme, the conspirators temporarily revised their strategy after the UCLA game. He wasnt a trial lawyer, so he brought in his colleague, David Golub. Boston College Men's Basketball's 1977-1978 Season. After perhaps his greatest moment during the preseason, when he had that outstanding game against the Celtics right before the regular season tipped off, Cobb was relaxing in his hotel room when he heard a knock at the door. 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. I opened up the door and it was these guys from the F.B.I., said Cobb. In the summer of 1978, Rocco Perla and his older brother Anthony, back in Pittsburgh, were the ones who initially conceived the point-shaving scheme that would later rock the college basketball world. 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. The NBA season tips off on Tuesday, October 18 and we've got some essential stats for you. I feel like if I can change one life, like he changed mine, man, it makes everything Ive been through worthwhile.. Anyone can read what you share. A mobster met a drug dealer in prison and their friendship continued after their release. 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. 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. Its very hard to detect. But as a drug-using gangster who feared for his life, its unsurprising that his recollections were inconsistent. Truth About Boston College Points-shaving Scandal May Never Be Known If there was a poster of what a student athlete at Boston College is supposed to look like, it was Jim Sweeney.. Kuhn was thus expected to keep the score below the six- to seven-point margin. Sign up to receive The Shadow League Newsletter in your inbox. However, Kuhn did receive ''several thousand dollars'' for his efforts, according to Edward A. McDonald, the attorney in charge of the Organized Crime Strike Force for the Eastern District of New York, which conducted the investigation in 1981. 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. They had Kuhn approach Ernie Cobb, the leading scorer on the team, but it has never been proven if Cobb agreed to cooperate. Sweeney was not charged. Unlike Kuhn, Sweeney had a clean-cut image. 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. NEW YORK -- The ex-girlfriend of a former Boston College basketball player accused of trying to rig games testified that her former boyfriend and another player once joked about how they. Whatever happened to Rick Kuhn? | Page 2 | SportsJournalists.com Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. The Globe would later admit that they were wrong in reporting that Bowie was involved, after he was not implicated nor investigated by the federal government for any role in the scandal. Kuhn recounted that in the summer of 1978, a Pittsburgh bookmaker he knew, Anthony Perla, offered him $2,500 a game if he could ''see to it'' that in games Boston College was favored to win, the margin of victory did not exceed the point spread. The Perla brothers had a connection to the Eagles through forward Rick Kuhn, who was a high school friend of Rocco. Using Kuhn for an introduction, the men also lured in point guard Jim Sweeney. He put his foot through his own television set. It was one of the most tremendous feelings Id ever experienced.. Sweeney was a businessman like me. And while he was willing, he couldnt engineer results alone, so Kuhn suggested they employ his friend Jim Sweeney. 1978-79 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team 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! I am trying to reach Mr. Cobb maybe you have contact still. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. The conspirators chose the January 17, 1979, game against Connecticut to implement this plan. The scheme was hit or miss early on. would play a few games each year, Cobb was awash with emotions. Of course, of course I was upset, but what could I do? 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. You want to tell people what they want to hear, then you want to go away.. I was nervous because I didnt know what was going to happen. Required fields are marked *. Live Betting. 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. Im stuck. They kept saying that they liked the idea of just shaving points and not blowing the games." Alswanger, my high school coach inspired me to rise above my circumstances, he continued. 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. I was forthright and honest with them. But I dont feel any bitterness toward the prosecution. 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. Kuhn and Hill say hes lying. You realize that you cant play if you dont do this. (Sadly, Liotta, who was brilliant in Goodfellas and Field of Dreams, among other films, died Wednesday at 67.). Red Auerbach coached the Celtics to nine NBA championships between 1957 and 1966, and knew all there is to know about basketball. Nobody will ever know the full truth, as everyone involved has their own story. Boston College confirmed the investigation on Friday. Hes a good person. Molinas had been suspended by the NBA seven years earlier for betting on games in which his team played. 197879 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. Rocco Perla was sentenced to four and Kuhn was released after 28 months. 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. #ada-button-frame { TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. The other vital parties were the bookmakers, and it was very much a plural, as Hill explained. His girlfriend, whom hed met during his first week on campus, was an upperclassman that knew how to navigate the schools academic landscape. The investigation will reportedly include reports by The Commercial Appeal of Memphis and Sports Illustrated magazine that the school's basketball coach, Dana Kirk, offered $10,000 to relatives of the all-American Keith Lee while recruiting the 6-foot-10-inch forward four years ago. At the trial, the Government argued that Mr. Kuhn and two other Boston College players that season, Ernie Cobb and Jim Sweeney, had been paid to manipulate the team's margins of victory or defeat. 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. 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. Over all, he said, the scheme failed. I have an incredible circle of supportive friends and have met some amazing people who have impacted my life in ways that I cant even begin to describe., Mr. [1]. Rick Kuhn was an older player who was friends with Sweeney and a tough, street smart kid with a different upbringing than Sweeney. The other defendants were all found guilty, with Kuhn, Mazzei and Tony Perla sentenced to 10 years, while Rocco Perla got four. Man City treble odds are in demand and Parimatch are offering new customers a price boost on it. Chicago mayor calls on Texas to cease sending migrants to the city. 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. James Burke, 51, a reputed organized-crime figure from the Howard Beach section of Queens, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment and fined $30,000; Anthony Perla, 31, and his brother Rocco, 23, both of Braddock Hills, Pa., were given terms of 10 and 4 years, respectively. Theres no way you can tell if a referee or player is shaving points, absolutely no way, he once told Sports Illustrated. 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.''