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Appearing before United States District Court Judge Carol B. Amon in federal court in Brooklyn, Thomas Martino, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in wire fraud. He faces 12 to 18 months in prison at his sentencing July 11. Two charges of perjury and another of conspiracy to transmit wagering information were dropped as part of the plea agreement. His co-defendant, the professional gambler James Battista, is expected to appear in court Monday to enter a similar plea.
Martino admitted to paying Donaghy in exchange for betting tips on N.B.A. games, including those that Donaghy officiated. The charges stated that Donaghy based these tips on information about refereeing that was unavailable to the public, including knowledge about officiating crews for future games, officials’ relationships with one another and with the players, and inside information about the players’ physical condition. Donaghy would relay this information to Martino and Battista — sometimes using coded language — and received payments for picking winners.
“He was pretty accurate,” Martino’s lawyer, Vicki Herr, said when asked about the quality of Donaghy’s inside tips.
Donaghy pleaded guilty in August to charges that he conspired to engage in wire fraud and transmitted betting information over interstate lines, getting as much as $5,000 for correct picks. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Herr said that Martino had “allowed himself to be used by people he considered to be very good friends who he knew all his life.”
“He is anxious to move on, and has taken a step today to put this behind him,” she said.
Martino, Battista and Donaghy were high school classmates in Springfield, Pa.
Although Donaghy said he gambled on games for four years, Martino admitted involvement in the conspiracy for only five months, between December 2006 and April 2007.
“The government agrees that Mr. Martino was a minimal participant in this case,” Herr said, indicating that although the sentencing guidelines called for less than 18 months in jail, she expected to seek probation with no jail time for him.
In an unusual stipulation, Martino’s agreement is contingent on Battista’s guilty plea, and the government could take Martino to trial on the conspiracy count if Battista, who was convicted with five co-defendants of criminal conspiracy and bookmaking in 1998, fails to enter a similar plea Monday.
Although the two counts of perjury against Martino were dropped, he did admit as part of his plea that he had not been truthful in earlier testimony.
Although the door was left open for the N.B.A. to receive restitution from Martino, that is unlikely to happen because it would be difficult to determine how much the fraud cost the league.
Martino admitted to paying Donaghy in exchange for betting tips on N.B.A. games, including those that Donaghy officiated. The charges stated that Donaghy based these tips on information about refereeing that was unavailable to the public, including knowledge about officiating crews for future games, officials’ relationships with one another and with the players, and inside information about the players’ physical condition. Donaghy would relay this information to Martino and Battista — sometimes using coded language — and received payments for picking winners.
“He was pretty accurate,” Martino’s lawyer, Vicki Herr, said when asked about the quality of Donaghy’s inside tips.
Donaghy pleaded guilty in August to charges that he conspired to engage in wire fraud and transmitted betting information over interstate lines, getting as much as $5,000 for correct picks. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Herr said that Martino had “allowed himself to be used by people he considered to be very good friends who he knew all his life.”
“He is anxious to move on, and has taken a step today to put this behind him,” she said.
Martino, Battista and Donaghy were high school classmates in Springfield, Pa.
Although Donaghy said he gambled on games for four years, Martino admitted involvement in the conspiracy for only five months, between December 2006 and April 2007.
“The government agrees that Mr. Martino was a minimal participant in this case,” Herr said, indicating that although the sentencing guidelines called for less than 18 months in jail, she expected to seek probation with no jail time for him.
In an unusual stipulation, Martino’s agreement is contingent on Battista’s guilty plea, and the government could take Martino to trial on the conspiracy count if Battista, who was convicted with five co-defendants of criminal conspiracy and bookmaking in 1998, fails to enter a similar plea Monday.
Although the two counts of perjury against Martino were dropped, he did admit as part of his plea that he had not been truthful in earlier testimony.
Although the door was left open for the N.B.A. to receive restitution from Martino, that is unlikely to happen because it would be difficult to determine how much the fraud cost the league.