Ref changed bet pals to boost loot, gambler sez
BY MIKE JACCARINO
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...oot_gambl.html
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, July 31st 2007, 4:00 AM
A professional gambler questioned in the probe of disgraced NBA ref Tim Donaghy told investigators that the greedy official switched partners in the midst of his run as a fixer because he wasn't receiving his fair share of the profits.
Peter Ruggieri, 42, of Glen Mills, Pa., sang to authorities that Donaghy first partnered with a fellow professional gambler named "Jack," according to his attorney, Christopher Warren. Jack's last name was not available last night.
But Donaghy soon grew dissatisfied with the money Jack funneled back to him as part of the betting scheme, Ruggieri told investigators, according to Warren. Donaghy then turned to high school chums Jimmy Battista and Tommy Martino.
It's not clear to Ruggieri what sort of information Donaghy passed along to his conspirators - or whether he actually influenced game scores through calls, Warren noted.
That mattered little in professional gambling circles. Throughout Donaghy's involvement, first Jack, and then later Battista, also known as "The Sheep," grew famous for circulating red-hot touts on NBA games that proved correct 60% to 70% of the time, according to Warren.
In both cases, Ruggieri listened to the picks and made money on the bets, Warren said.
About three years ago, Jack approached Ruggieri and asked him for a place to make bets. Ruggieri referred him to an offshore betting operation. At the time Ruggieri thought Jack was unhappy with his bookmaker.
In retrospect, the request, according to Ruggieri's attorney, assumed more sinister connotations.
Within months, Jack began to win at a "tremendous rate." The startling run of success was accompanied by vague touts like, "Pete, Dallas is going to kill 'em tonight," that invariably proved correct.
A short time later, Battista happened on a similarly incredible winning streak. Months later, Ruggieri realized Donaghy had switched partners from Jack and began working with Battista and Martino, who served as a go-between for Donaghy and Battista.
Soon, a word or bet from Battista would send the point spread on a given NBA game flying.
Eventually others realized the common denominator that Ruggieri had already discovered: ex-NBA ref Tim Donaghy, Warren said.
Warren said Ruggieri became so convinced of the Donaghy angle he assumed Battista was merely parroting what Donaghy told him, Warren said.
In 1998, Ruggieri and Battista were arrested as part of a five-man professional gambling enterprise. Martino was not among those arrested. Each man put up money, and the group met each day at one of the members' homes to place bets.
The Pennsylvania State Police arrested the men after a two-month investigation. One member of the group has told The News authorities mistook them for bookmakers. Most participants received fines or probation.
Previously published reports have implicated Ruggieri as Donaghy's connection to the Gambino crime family. Federal investigators learned of Donaghy's skullduggery by eavesdropping on a tapped phone line of a Gambino associate.
Warren insists this connection isn't true, saying, "It's absurd and slanderous. He has no connections whatsoever to the Gambino crime family or any other organized crime family."