We were looking good as a team and my goal was to be the best player I could possibly be. But I know that its not really in vain, because I know the truth.. Testifying for the government, Sweeney acknowledged meeting with Hill but said that although he agreed to participate in the scheme he never intended to go through with the deal. Sweeney describes his side of the story, claiming he is invited to dinner with Kuhn and Tony, where he meets Henry Hill who threatens to kill him if he doesnt begin fixing games with Kuhn. The syndicate was very happy with this result, and Kuhn was given cash to distribute to the players for their efforts. When the evidence came up at the first trial, it didnt match up, but they still came after me a few years later. When one of his links leads to a purchase of, say, a LeBron James Fathead, he gets a 15% commission. I didnt know what that was all about. like that until he got there. By my junior year, it was show-time, said Cobb. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Walgreens agreed to pay $83 million to settle a lawsuit in West Virginia related to its role in the opioid crisis and its effect on the state, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Wednesday. His testimony continued terribly, he was a nervous wreck, he was rambling about unnecessary information and he couldnt even look in Burkes direction. The audience is left to make their own judgment on how involved Sweeney and Cobb were in the fixes, but Sweeney missing a free throw when he is the best in the nation is some serious evidence of his involvement. For the conspiracy to work, the men knew they would need the cooperation of other players on the team, according to the testimony of Henry Hill, a convicted felon and the key prosecution witness. The Perla brothers mobilized a betting syndicate to maximize their potential gain from the scheme. Sweeney has mostly shunned requests for interviews and book projects over the years, but decided to put his trust in documentary filmmaker Joe Lavine - a fellow native of Trenton, N.J. - who directed the piece for ESPN. No source was given for this claim, with Streater's last appearance for the team occurring in the 197778 season, but this claim remained for more than five years, resulting in a number of media sites including Bleacher Report, ESPN and Yahoo News erroneously naming him as a point-shaver.[5]. There were times when the work got really hard, when I wanted to give up, when I had to stay up all night reading or studying or writing papers, and shed be right there pushing me, telling me, You cant give up! I never lied about that. Dubbed Playing for the Mob, it documents the twists and turns that brought Sweeney and two other BC players into the throes of New York mobster Henry Hill, whose name later became famous when he was portrayed by Ray Liotta in the 1990 hit movie Goodfellas. BC basketball players Rick Kuhn, Joe Streater and Jim Sweeney were persuaded to fix nine Eagles games during the season. Mazzei and the Perlas were particularly hopeful that Hill would enlist the support of his associate, James Burke, to finance the payments to the players and to set up a network of bookmakers who were in on the scheme. Kuhn tells Sweeney that the mobsters in New York and Pittsburgh want this win and that this will be the last fix. You gotta tell me the truth, because I gotta know how to go on this?. The FBI agent is shocked and doesnt believe him, but begins to ask questions. Burkes gang had just successfully pulled off the Lufthansa airport heist at New Yorks JFK airport, where theyd stolen an estimated $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewels, the largest cash robbery in America at the time. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A Memphis-area church is holding prayer services Wednesday for four of its members who were killed in a plane crash in Texas. I felt like, You put my name out there, so let me clear my name! When they investigated me, I told them straight up about the $1,000 that Rocco Perla had given me. He recently earned his Masters Degree in Education and is currently considering pursuing a Ph.D. I feel like Ive led a remarkable life, he said. Sweeney says that he and Maura have almost recouped their costs in launching the character. I thought he might have been a student, because he was young and I saw him hanging around Rick Kuhn all the time. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken. Bookmakers, on seeing the heavy action, moved the line as high as twelve to discourage bets on the favorite (St. John's) and attract more bets on the underdog. Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. His lifes dream of making it to the NBA, which was where he belonged, was taken away from him. The FBI finds all the players and begins asking questions. Sweeney had enough of that over a few months 35 years ago to last a lifetime. . Hill revealed his involvement in the point-shaving scheme, offering to relate the full story if federal officials would guarantee him full immunity and would agree to intercede on his behalf to convince state officials to drop the drug charges pending in state court. He killed people. When the story first broke, it said that Michael Bowie and I were the ones implicated, said Cobb. According to the Boston Globe, Judge Henry Bramwell, who set sentencing for January 8, 1982, told the jury, "I agree with your verdict." When he arrived on campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Cobbs internal mantra was, I gotta stay eligible. With those persistent affirmations dancing through his mind, he took his academic responsibilities seriously from day one. (Rick Kuhn, Photo Credit: bostonglobe.com). For all I know, he told them I was in, that it would cost an extra $2,500 per game and he was trying to hustle the gangsters while pocketing the extra money. Cobb's trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 31 before Judge Leonard Wexler. He was hopeful that hed have another chance to make it in the NBA. The jury of eight women and four men reached its verdict after three days of deliberations and a trial that lasted five weeks. Bowies reputation was immediately sullied and he subsequently lost his job playing pro ball in Europe when the story broke. "Boston College's tradition in athletics rests upon the accomplishments of many thousands of men and women. The Providence game was played on December 6, 1978, and Boston College was favored to win by six to seven points. So I guess the thought process was, Well, if there were criminal activities going on, it had to be the brothers! My name and picture, and Michael Bowies as well, was on the front page of every newspaper in the country.. The characters and events were later immortalized by the actors Ray Liotta and Robert DeNiro in the classic film, Goodfellas. Playing for the Mob: The Story of College Kids Breaking Bad [3] Kuhn was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment,[4] later reduced to 28 months. He said he was brought in on the deal for his ability to maximize profits through his contacts in the gambling world. All because, he says, of those five crinkled $100 bills dropped at his feet one day in the locker room. I just had to be alone, Cobb told the reporters afterwards. Sweeney hears Tony explain that this is the grand finale, Tony claims he never threatened him. In this case, while the line may have opened, or at one time gone to two, because of the heavy betting on Holy Cross, the syndicate had to lay as many as seven points, and therefore lost their bet. The narrator explains that the strength of how Henry Hills testimony is would determine if Burke was going to be convicted. was favored to win a game by ten points, Kuhn had to make sure, if the game was in play with the mobsters and the bookies, that they won by less than ten in order for the gamblers to make money. Jim Sweeney admits that Kuhn gave him cash. She helped tutor me, and encouraged me through some rough spots. Kuhn and two money men were WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court hears Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools to rule on financial compensation for a deaf student who was not provided proper learning support. Hill stated that, at the time, he and Burke were watching the game on television at Burke's home in Queens, and Burke put his foot through the television in anger at having lost $50,000 ($186,700 today). Rick Kuhn was an older player who was friends with Sweeney and a tough, street smart kid with a different upbringing than Sweeney. He gave me every opportunity to tell my story, says Sweeney of Lavine. The conspirators decided that these games presented especially good opportunities because New York bookmakers generally accepted large bets for New York teams. It wasnt an absolute disaster but it was a cousin. As he walked across the scenic campus, marveled at the schools architectural splendor or ate until his hearts content in the dining hall, hed often pause to quietly give thanks for his fortunate circumstances. I saw Ernie score 28 points against the Celtics in one of the final pre-season games when he was with the Nets, said Alswanger, Cobbs former high school coach. Hill reportedly cleared over $100,000 ($373,400 today) and bettors higher up the line were said to have made up to $250,000 ($933,400 today). The scheme continued to work successfully in the December 23 game against UCLA. He talks about the fix and how Jimmy Burke participated even though he wasnt the ringleader. The 197879 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team represented Boston College during the 197879 NCAA men's Kuhn went on to live a quiet life only talking about the scandal to high school students encouraging them to not make the same mistakes. Mazzeis connection to Kuhn was through fellow gangsters Rocco and Tony Pearla. It is heartening, by contrast, that the integrity of our coaching and athletic staff, as well as that of our current team, was never in question. They contacted a local friend, Paul Mazzei, who was known to have influence within major New York gambling circles. Later, Mazzei hears that Kuhn is able to start fixing games. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Everybody involved in the scandal got sentenced except for Hill and Sweeney. It was a tragedy that he never got another chance to play in the NBA., Kevin Loughery never gave me a firm reason why the Nets were letting me go, said Cobb. I was reading about the Boston College point-shaving scandal of the late 70s and I was wondering whatever became of Rick Kuhn in his later life. He just kept swishing them in, 30 or 35 points, I dont remember., Hill went on to say, And they (Kuhn and Sweeney) were still saying, We got to have Cobb. I realized that and so I passed the word through Tony (Perla), At all costs, talk to him. Next thing I heard Cobb was all set, but it was going to take another $2,500 for his share. It was like a paradise to me, coming from where I came from. Golub was a brilliant lawyer, and he told me that hed have to interview Ernie first to see if he was gonna take the case on. This offers a students perspective of how they never thought their team could have been fixing teams. The other two kids made whatever choices they made, but look what was done to Ernie. Dean Smith, basketball coach at the University of North Carolina and the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said last night it is standard procedure for coaches to speak to team members about the possibility of point-shaving overtures and to encourage them to report any efforts to persuade them to manipulate scores. Rocco Perla received a four-year sentence and Rick Kuhn was sentenced to a ten-year bid as well, which was later reduced to 28 months. Apparently, someone called into the online editor the second to inform them of the "miss." He is a participant in the Federal Witness Protection Program and is receiving government protection in exchange for his testimony. He really set the tone in terms of being a strong, dynamic, willful player that wondrous talents like John Bagley, Michael Adams and Dana Barros, all of whom went on to play ball in the NBA after their careers at B.C., followed. Kuhn's sentence was the heaviest ever imposed on a college player convicted of point shaving. At the close of the two-week trial, Alswanger was the last character witness who took the stand in Cobbs behalf. Visser became the NFLs first female beat writer in 1976, when she was assigned by the paper to cover the New England Patriots. While Jim Sweeney is also introduced, hes the other captain from a better upbringing: the poster child for BC. It was one of the most tremendous feelings Id ever experienced.. Director Joe Lavine goes on to feature many references and clips of the movie. would play a few games each year, Cobb was awash with emotions. And now, here I was on that same floor, pumped sky high, giving my defender buckets! It had to cost around $200,000 at the time to defend me.. Holy Cross wins by two causing the mobsters to lose hundreds of thousands. I was forthright and honest with them. The headlines in Boston, and around the country, said that Cobb and fellow senior Michael Bowie, the teams two African-American stars, were the players that were implicated. And as black kids who loved ball in Boston, he represented something for us, giving the younger generation something to aspire toin terms of their basketball skillsbecause he was putting in some serious work.. The Globe, quoting an unnamed source in New York, said the three games in which point-shaving was alleged were a Feb.3 game against Fordham, a Feb. 6 game against St. Johns and a March 1 game in the ECAC Regional Playoffs against Connecticut. A former Boston College basketball player and four other men were charged yesterday with conspiring to fix six basketball games during the 1978-79 season by shaving points. While Hill was being questioned, FBI agents inadvertently mentioned his frequent trips to Boston around the time of the Lufthansa heist. The scheme thus ended on an unsuccessful note. Theyd taken my passport and I had to stay here and face these charges, said Cobb. Sweeney knows hell probably never completely escape the association to the scandal, something he learned to live with years ago. In addition, they were given the opportunity to bet the money they were paid and double their winnings. On the stand during the trial, Rick Kuhns girlfriend, Barbara Reed, with whom he shared an apartment during his senior year at Boston College, testified that she overheard Kuhn and Sweeney discussing the Fordham game, saying that they had to keep the ball away from Cobb because he shot the ball all the time. But its the points that Cobb and teammate Michael Bowie didnt score during the 1978-1979 season which has spawned a federal investigation. In this case, while the spread was as high as 5, the syndicate was able to lay just 2 points, and therefore pushed when Holy Cross won by 2. In the summer of 1978, Rocco Perla and his older brother Anthony, back in Pittsburgh, were the ones who initially conceived the point-shaving scheme that would later rock the college basketball world. Burke was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment. But for Bowie, it was too little, too late. I said, If this dude has cash like that to burn and wants to give me $1,000 because I told him wed destroy Stonehill, sure, Ill take it. Maybe he was trying to cultivate a relationship with me and soften me up for something down the road. Several college coaches, contacted at the time that news of the investigation broke, said point shaving -- when the favored team tries to win by less than the point spread -- in basketball is almost impossible to detect and that there is no way of telling how much, if any, point shaving goes undetected. 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