1978-79 Boston College point shaving scandal
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The 1978-79 Boston College Basketball team ended its season with a 22-9 record. Two years later, on November 23, 1981, starting center Rick Kuhn was convicted of point shaving in six of the team's games. Four associates of Kuhn, including mafia boss Jimmy Burke were also convicted as masterminds of the scheme.
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[edit] The fix
The Boston College scheme was born when New York mobster Henry Hill met Paul Mazzei, a small time crook from Pittsburgh, in prison in the mid-1970s. They both had a history of bookmaking, and together dreamt up the idea of a point shaving scheme. Once out of prison, Mazzei went home to Pittsburgh where he met Kuhn, who was home for the summer. Mazzei eventually convinced Kuhn to shave points as a way to make money quickly and easily.
Kuhn immediately expressed interest in the scheme, and promised to try to get his friend Jim Sweeney, the Boston College point guard, to participate with him. Mazzei contacted Hill and told him that the 1978-79 B.C. season was the opportunity to hatch the plan they dreamt up in prison. As long as players came on board, the plan was for Mazzei and his associates to organize the players while Hill and his associates would set up a network of bookmakers with which to place the wagers.
Back in college, Kuhn talked about the scheme with Sweeney, who agreed to meet with Kuhn’s associates. On November 16, the organized crime associates of Hill and Mazzei met up in New York to discuss the details of the scheme, including Hill’s bookmaker connections, anticipated games to fix, and player payouts, which would be $2,500 per player per game. That night, the men took a shuttle to Boston and met with Kuhn and Sweeney, who agreed to shave points in the Providence game. The fix was born, and the group would wait until the Providence game to implement it.
[edit] The games
- December 6, 1978 against Providence. B.C. was favored by 7 and won by 13. All bets were lost as B.C. covered the point spread.
- December 16, 1978 against Harvard. B.C. was favored by 12 and won by 3, resulting in a win for the bettors.
- December 23, 1978 against UCLA. B.C.is 15 point underdogs, and loses by 18.
- January 10, 1979 against University of Rhode Island. 11 point underdogs; B.C. loses by 13.
- January 20, 1979 against Holy Cross. B.C., favored by 5, wins by 2.
- February 10, 1979 against Holy Cross. Holy Cross is initially favored by 2. After heavy betting against B.C., Holy Cross is favored to win by 7 at the start of the game. They win by 2, and the bettors lose.
[edit] The investigation
For two years following the season, the scheme remained a secret. But on April 27, 1980, Hill was arrested and charged with six drug-related conspiracy charges. Hill informed prosecutor Ed McDonald that he had information related to the Lufthansa Heist, which he organized with Burke. In exchange for information related to the Lufthansa Heist, McDonald offered Hill immunity for all his past crimes. McDonald's primary target in the investigation was Burke, but he was unable to corroborate evidence and convict Burke for his role in the Lufthansa heist.
The investigation did not result in a conviction for Burke's role in the Lufthansa heist, but the interrogation of Hill did reveal information related to the Boston College point shaving scheme. McDonald used this information as an alternate way to prosecute Burke and his associates. Hill explained the entire scheme, and the FBI corroborated Hill's testimony by interrogating players and analyzing phone, bank, and hotel records. They also used Sweeney as a witness against the defendants in order to corroborate Hill’s story.
[edit] The fallout
After the investigation, Burke, Kuhn, Mazzei, Rocco Perla and Tony Perla were indicted on July 18, 1981, and charged with conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, sports bribery, and use of interstate travel to aid in racketeering enterprises. Law enforcement officials who investigated the scandal admit that without the help of an insider to the conspiracy, they would have never learned of the scheme.
On November 23, 1981, the defendants were convicted of all the charges. Kuhn was sentenced to a 10 year prison sentence, the stiffest penalty ever given to an athlete in a point shaving case. The other co-conspirators were also given 10 year prison sentences.
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