Referee gets 15 months prison in NBA betting scandal

Disgraced US basketball referee Tim Donaghy, who admitted to betting on games he officiated and passing on information to bookies, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison. Donaghy, 41, a National Basketball Association official for 13 seasons,...

Disgraced US basketball referee Tim Donaghy, who admitted to betting on games he officiated and passing on information to bookies, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Donaghy, 41, a National Basketball Association official for 13 seasons, pleaded guilty last August to wire fraud conspiracy to defraud the NBA and to transmitting gambling information across state lines in a scandal that sparked league reforms.

"I'm very sorry... I brought shame on myself, my family, and to the profession that I love," Donaghy told the court.

Donaghy had admitted taking cash pay-offs from gamblers in exchange for inside information, such as the physical condition of certain players and which referees would officiate games.

Last week, two co-defendants, both high school friends of Donaghy, were sentenced respectively to 15 months and one year and one day in prison for their roles in the scheme.

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