According to Hill's testimony, he met with Kuhn and cocaptain Jim Sweeney in a hotel room near Boston's Logan Airport in November of 1978 to cement the deal. Theyre no match for us. He told me, Well good, I plan on betting on those games and if you guys win and it turns out like that, Ill take care of you., Man, I was one of the most recognizable athletes on campus and people would come up and talk to me all the time, people I didnt know, Cobb continued. And that kept him in Hills clutches. With Roccos high school buddy Rick Kuhn entering his senior year at Boston College, where he was expected to be a contributor to the schools basketball team, the brothers figured they could make a ton of money. Those later betters on St. John's lost money because they laid more than the eventual nine point margin of victory. The Providence game was played on December 6, 1978, and Boston College was favored to win by six to seven points. Kuhn was thus expected to keep the score below the six- to seven-point margin. The test run for the scheme proved unsuccessful when Boston College's team established an early lead and ultimately won the game by nineteen points. Id led the pro league in scoring over there and signed a very nice contract. The government presented telephone records showing evidence of extensive communications between the conspirators during the 197879 season and records provided by Western Union and various hotels which further corroborated government testimony. Man, I would watch Jo Jo White, Dave Cowens and John Havlicek playing on television, on that same famous floor where Bill Russell and Bob Cousy and all of those great Celtics teams won all those championships, said Cobb. Of course, the damn players had a million excuses, Henry Hill wrote in Sports Illustrateds bombshell story, How I Put The Fix In, which was the magazines cover story on February 16th, 1981. They could have probably gotten away with the fix if they handled certain things better. 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 says that Hill once referenced his girlfriend Maura (now his wife) in one of his threats, asking Sweeney how would your honey feel if she saw your --- hanging in a bracelet? He also says that other mob clichs like references to cement shoes are not just the stuff of Hollywood. He quickly thrived and was recognized as one of the leagues best players. Kuhn told people at Boston College later We have decided to cover the most scandalous of all 30-for-30s, Playing for the Mob. The Boston Globe reported on Friday that Cobb and Bowie are targets of the federal probe into allegations of point-shaving in three Eagles games. While the line may have been as low as 13 at some point, the syndicate had to lay 15, and therefore lost their bet when Rhode Island won by only 13. Rocco and Tony Perla were giving money to Rick Kuhn. Murder by Contract orThe Logical Lethality of The American Dream. This past August, the International Maxibasketball Federation (FIMBA), the governing body for global organized basketball tournaments for age groups beginning at 30, named him as its USA Ambassador. Rick Kuhn, the former Boston College basketball player who was convicted last November, and sentenced last February for his involvement in the point shaving For Cobb, the result was far worse. Purdum, David. I cooperated willingly, and Im glad I did, Sweeney says. The FBI had all the evidence they needed and were going to try and swing that Jimmy Burke played a large role in the scandal in order to convict him. Rocco says Sweeney told him he missed it to avoid a pair of cement shoes. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Netflix wants to hire a flight attendant for one of its private jets, and says pay can reach $385,000, according to a job listing on the streaming service's website. now all well past their primes after serving their time, including the gangster Ray Although Cobb and Sweeney received money and were a part of the scandal, the FBI did not prosecute them in the first round and were primarily focused on getting the mobsters. NEW YORK -- Former Boston College basketball player Rick Kuhn, jailed for his 1981 conviction in a point-shaving scandal, has asked for a reduction of his 10-year prison sentence. SELECT OPTIONS SAVE TO CART DETAILS Restrictions: No commercial uses without permission. Hill flew into Boston, at the behest of Jimmy Burke, late in 1978 to meet with Mazzei, the Perlas, Kuhn and Sweeney at the Logan Airport Hilton and ensure that everything was in place. Mazzei in turn contacted Henry Hill, a Lucchese crime family associate from New York who had befriended Mazzei while both men were serving sentences in a federal prison. II. The Shadow League, 29 May 2017, theshadowleague.com/30-years-after-his-exoneration-former-bc-hoops-star-ernie-cobb-is-still-fighting-to-clear-his-name-pt-ii/. You gotta tell me the truth, because I gotta know how to go on this?. He said he would have done that if the sides were reversed. I didnt think anything of it. The next step in the saga is how these players get connected to the mob. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. They were touting me as the next sub-6-footer to have an impact in the NBA. Hill turned state's evidence in exchange for avoiding prison and possible execution by Burke and the Lucchese family. 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. Hes innocent., When they indicted me, they wanted Peter Vario, the mobster, so they tried us together, said Cobb. 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. Today, Cobbs relationship with Boston College remains strained. It is similar to how they captured Al Capone on tax evasion, the smaller of his many crimes that would ultimately put him away. To allay any suspicions of foul play, they decided to bet on Boston College to win by more than the point spread ("cover the spread") in a game that they were confident the Eagles would win handily. But conspiring to fix college basketball games got him 20 years. Rocco comes up to me and says, Hey, sometimes I bet on games and I wanna know how you think you guys are gonna do against Stonehill and Bentley? said Cobb. Sweeney hears Tony explain that this is the grand finale, Tony claims he never threatened him. The campus was so beautiful. He graduated from Woodworth Public School in 1985 and earned a bachelors degree from University of Sioux Falls. And yeah, I took that money. won the gangsters some serious money by falling short of the spread. My parents have suffered. This is where my focus has been for the last 10 years. 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 I were the victims of the same circumstances that were beyond our control. We had a good old time. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A man who posed as a cannabis billionaire plead guilty Wednesday to securities fraud for lying to investors about his wealth, education and business. Needing an inside man, the brothers wanted to recruit Rick Kuhn, a high school friend of Rocco who was entering his senior year at Boston College and was expected to be a key member of the 197879 Eagles team. Richard Kuhn AIA by BSA Staff Name: Richard Kuhn AIA Job title and company: Design director, Perkins+Will Degree(s): B. Rick Kuhn, James Burke, Rocco and Anthony Perla, and Paul Mazzei now face up to thirty years in prison possibly to twenty The police have Henry Hill as an informant in hopes that he will have information on his boss, Jimmy Burke and other mobsters involved in the Lufthansa robbery, where five million dollars was stolen in the heist. 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. We get footage of the games and the scheme continued, but no one knew just how much the fixers made. hoops that blazed a trail, Mills continued. In 2014, the ESPN-produced 30 for 30 series debuted Playing for the Mob,[6] the story about how Hill and his Pittsburgh associates, and several Boston College basketball players, perpetrated the point-shaving scheme during the 197879 season, an episode briefly mentioned in the movie Goodfellas. In the time of COVID-19, sports fans everywhere are trying to find ways to pass the time. 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.. At trial in 1981, the government's case consisted primarily of the testimony of Hill and three other witnesses: Sweeney and Joseph Beaulieu, both Boston College players, and Barbara Reed, a 23-year-old nurse who lived with Kuhn during the 197879 Eagles season. I hadnt seen Ernie for several years, Jack Hennessey, a psychologist at Boston College that had served as an informal academic advisor during Cobbs days as a student, told the New York Times in April of 1984. 197879 Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal. Interim Application of Copyright and Trademark Registration in Cochin. Its the same crew that had a connection to BC basketball player Rick Kuhn, who hailed from the area. ESPNs 30-for-30 sports documentary series is many of our last hopes at seeing historic events from our favorite sports. He hugged his tearful mother before walking out into the hallway for a few moments. 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. Kuhn was thus expected to keep the score below the six- to seven-point margin. The prosecution contended that the scheme was intended to enable the five men to win large sums of money by betting on the games and beating bookmakers' point spreads. The very next day, the Nets cut me., When the F.B.I. I feel like if I can change one life, like he changed mine, man, it makes everything Ive been through worthwhile., Copyright 2009-2021, All Rights Reserved | The Shadow League. Rick Kuhn was an older player who was friends with Sweeney and a tough, street smart kid with a different upbringing than Sweeney. Contact Me. Kuhn agreed to participate, and brought in his teammate Jim Sweeney.[1]. Theyd taken my passport and I had to stay here and face these charges, said Cobb. He traveled throughout the world, getting paid to play the game that he loved. Hill and Burke were brought into the scheme, after receiving approval from Lucchese family capo Paul Vario. Hes made a prosperous living in the computer and electronics business - his small independent brokerage that sold parts and accessories to manufacturers did over $50 million in annual revenue at its peak - all while playing competitive basketball around the world into his 50s. Mob clichs like references to cement shoes are not just the stuff of Hollywood the! How these players get connected to the mob St. John 's lost money because they laid than... Glad I did, Sweeney says When the F.B.I, but No one just... Things better to pass the time of COVID-19, sports fans everywhere are trying to cultivate relationship. Me the truth, because I got ta tell me the truth, because I ta. 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