Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, recently released from jail after serving most of a 15-month sentence for taking bribes to provide tips on games, said in an interview that he had received death threats from organised crime.

Donaghy had pleaded guilty to two felony charges and admitted to gambling on National Basketball Association games for four years, including games he officiated.

In an interview with the CBS television programme "60 Minutes," he said after three years of gambling, the Gambino crime family learned of his activity and threatened Donaghy's wife and children if he did not tell them who to bet on.

"They told me that I needed to give them the picks. And if I didn't that it's a possibility that somebody would go down and visit my wife and kids in Florida," Donaghy said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.