For the first time, the New York Daily News has captured a photo of NBA rogue referee Tim Donaghy’s bookie, James Battista.
Graffiti Wall Rumor Monger reports thatJames Battista, who attended the same Pennsylvania high school as Donaghy in the early 1980s, is in the eye of the illegal gambling storm that has rocked pro basketball, but he was calmly walking his Shih Tzu when the Daily News tracked him down in an affluent Philadelphia suburb.
“No comment,” Battista said gruffly. “Stay off my property.”
Later, Battista softened somewhat and emerged from his brick Colonial with a bowl of cold water for the reporter’s dog, who was along for the stakeout.
“Let’s handle this like gentlemen. Call my lawyer,” he said.
The FBI is investigating allegations that Donaghy bet on NBA games, including those he officiated in, with Battista and another unnamed bookie.
The NBA has aggressively backed a law that would make online sports betting illegal, hence pushing the activity underground and forcing those with gambling addictions to seek localized “back alley” bookies who are less likely to report suspicious activities such as those Donaghy is alleged to have engaged in.
If NBA Commissioner David Stern wants to avoid a repeat, his league should go beyond its current reliance on law enforcement and legal betting regulators in Nevada and forge new and better relationships with illegal bookmakers who are usually the first to get wind of game-fixing scams, gambling experts told Michael McCarthy of USA Today.
“This guy got around the whole thing by gambling illegally,” says sports analyst Danny Sheridan (who supplies betting lines published in USA TODAY). “Stern talks about bringing in the ‘best minds.’ He doesn’t need the best minds. He needs to talk to the illegal bookmakers. They take most of the bets. They hear about fixes first; not law enforcement. They notify (regulators) in Las Vegas.”
The online gambling industry, which operates primarily from Costa Rica, Antigua, England, Malta and the Kahnawake Reserve outside of Montreal, Quebec, have been fighting for regulation. The sector has gained strong support in political circles with the help of former New York Senator, Alfonse D’Amato and Barney Frank, though D’Amato’s efforts have focused solely on legalizing poker.
Donaghy was expected to surrender to authorities by this weekend.
