Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy began serving a 15 month sentence at a federal prison camp in Florida on Tuesday for felony gambling charges, ESPN.com reported.
A 13 season veteran of the NBA, Donaghy, 41, ignited a media firestorm for the league when he pleaded guilty to a tips-for-playoffs gambling scheme that involved him controlling point spreads and gambling on games for which he was the referee, ESPN reported.
Following the scandal, the NBA commissioned former federal prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz to conduct a review of its officiating programs to eliminate the possibility that the problem was a league-wide one, ESPN said.
Donaghy was sentenced in late July.
While no other referees have been charged in related incidents, two of Donaghy’s high school classmates, James “Baba” Battista and Thomas Martino, also pleaded guilty to the scheme, ESPN reported. Battista received 15 months in the sentence and Martino a year.
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