'Real Sports' interviews Donaghy associate
Photo credit: AP | FILE -- Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy exits Brooklyn federal court following his sentencing in New York. (July 9, 2008)
Jimmy Battista, a pivotal figure in the betting scandal involving former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, talks to Bryant Gumbel for tonight's "Real Sports'' in his first interview on the subject.
Battista, a high school acquaintance of Donaghy, tells of the two launching their strategy, along with a third man, Tommy Martino, in Philadelphia in December 2006.
"I sucked him in, and I'll say that, because that's what it was," Battista says. "How I got him in was that he didn't have to pay on the losses. I just paid him on the wins. If he lost, don't worry about it. I got it. You win, how many apples are in the basket? Cha-ching."
The first game the group bet was a Celtics-76ers game in which the Sixers were favored by 11/2. "He tells me, 'Boston is gonna crush 'em,' " Battista said. "That's all I need to know."
The Celtics won by 20; Donaghy was one of the officials.
"I would give him $2,500 for the first two games that worked out," Battista said. "Then I upped it to $5,000 a game."
