Is that the theme from "The God Father" I hear playing in the background? No mention if there was a BBQ horse's head served....
Insider: Ref pal just bagman in old gamble ring
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...old_gambl.html
At Tim Donaghy's home in Florida, there was no talk of the federal probe as friends gathered for a pizza and wine party by his backyard pool.
Friends said the ref doesn't talk about the case against him and told buddies he doesn't know when he will be charged.
"We're here for moral support," said one pal named Vito. "We're just trying to be good friends."
The gambling buddy of disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy was little more than a runner for a small-time suburban Philadelphia betting ring, a member of the operation said yesterday.
James Battista, who was nicknamed "Baa Baa" and "The Sheep," did little more than place bets for the ring of five buddies busted in 1998, the insider claimed.
"He wasn't the brightest bulb in the Christmas tree," he said of Battista, who is at the center of an FBI investigation as one of Donaghy's alleged bookies.
Donaghy, a 13-year veteran NBA referee, is suspected of betting on pro hoops games and tipping off gamblers to confidential information.
Battista, 42, is two years older than Donaghy, but they were close friends growing up playing Catholic League basketball.
Battista was one of five buddies suspected of forming a gambling operation out of a room in one of their homes a decade ago.
State cops suspected the group was taking bets, but the insider insisted they were strictly gamblers. They would spend hours looking for an edge in baseball games, usually based on which pitcher might be on a hot streak or which umpires might be working a particular game.
Battista was far from the brains of the bunch, and his role was limited to that of a glorified bagman, the source said.
"He would follow the guys who knew what they were doing," said the ring member. "He's not a bookmaker, he never was a bookmaker. He's a professional gambler."
All five bettors were nabbed after Pennsylvania State Police uncovered the ring during a probe into a much bigger betting ring.
But they mostly escaped with probation, and the insider scoffed at published reports that one of the men was a conduit to the Gambino crime family.
Insider: Ref pal just bagman in old gamble ring
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...old_gambl.html
At Tim Donaghy's home in Florida, there was no talk of the federal probe as friends gathered for a pizza and wine party by his backyard pool.
Friends said the ref doesn't talk about the case against him and told buddies he doesn't know when he will be charged.
"We're here for moral support," said one pal named Vito. "We're just trying to be good friends."
The gambling buddy of disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy was little more than a runner for a small-time suburban Philadelphia betting ring, a member of the operation said yesterday.
James Battista, who was nicknamed "Baa Baa" and "The Sheep," did little more than place bets for the ring of five buddies busted in 1998, the insider claimed.
"He wasn't the brightest bulb in the Christmas tree," he said of Battista, who is at the center of an FBI investigation as one of Donaghy's alleged bookies.
Donaghy, a 13-year veteran NBA referee, is suspected of betting on pro hoops games and tipping off gamblers to confidential information.
Battista, 42, is two years older than Donaghy, but they were close friends growing up playing Catholic League basketball.
Battista was one of five buddies suspected of forming a gambling operation out of a room in one of their homes a decade ago.
State cops suspected the group was taking bets, but the insider insisted they were strictly gamblers. They would spend hours looking for an edge in baseball games, usually based on which pitcher might be on a hot streak or which umpires might be working a particular game.
Battista was far from the brains of the bunch, and his role was limited to that of a glorified bagman, the source said.
"He would follow the guys who knew what they were doing," said the ring member. "He's not a bookmaker, he never was a bookmaker. He's a professional gambler."
All five bettors were nabbed after Pennsylvania State Police uncovered the ring during a probe into a much bigger betting ring.
But they mostly escaped with probation, and the insider scoffed at published reports that one of the men was a conduit to the Gambino crime family.
