In June 2007, the FBI informed the NBA that one of its referees, Tim Donaghy, was the subject of a probe into illegal gambling. Within months, the public knew the broad outlines of a scheme involving Donaghy betting on games he officiated with a co-conspirator, longtime Donaghy acquaintance and professional gambler Jimmy Baba Battista. They were joined in the scandal by a mutual childhood friend, Tommy Martino. By November 2008, each man had pleaded guilty to charges relating to the conspiracy, and was in federal prison. The story was over. Or so it seemed to be. Researched with dozens of interviews, court documents, betting records, referee statistics, and unique access to witness statements and confidential law enforcement files, GAMING THE GAME looks inside the FBI's investigation and beyond to provide the definitive account of the scandal. Jimmy Battista's remarkable decades-long bookmaking and betting career is examined, including and especially his role as architect of the widely publicized scandal. Battista, who - unlike his co-conspirators - never spoke with federal authorities, reveals for the first time the intricate details of the scheme, most of which only he knows. **
Review
"Offers a fascinating look into the Donaghy scandal ... intriguing" ― Philadelphia Daily News
"A book you can bet is worth reading... fascinating...a complete effort" — Delaware County (PA) Daily Times
"An exhaustively researched book threatening to overturn some comfortable assumptions about the NBA's referee scandal ... [Gaming the Game] delivers the intrigue you'd expect from thrillerrime thriller." — ESPN.com's True Hoop
"If you've ever wondered what the REAL story was behind Tim Donaghy and the NBA betting scandal, this is a must read...If you're interested in sports betting, you won't be able to put [Gaming the Game] down" — Bettors World
"compelling [and] many leveled...the research behind Gaming the Game is impressive...Griffin’s knowledge of the crime scene in and around Philadelphia illuminates Gaming the Game...He's a fluid, crisp writer and an A-1 historian of crime [who] combines an eye for human detail with the ability to convey broad social themes." -- Blogger News Network
"[Griffin] straddles the line between academic and storyteller, cop and journalist...[Gaming the Game] will blow your mind." —Philadelphia Magazine
"impeccably researched...insightful...[Griffin's] street-wise writing sounds anything but academic...After reading 'Gaming the Game,' you'll never watch an NBA contest the same way again."
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"a tremendous read...fascinating...gripping...a must read for any bettor serious about the global marketplace...by far the most believable [account of the NBA betting scandal]" -- Covers.com
"compelling [and] many leveled...the research behind Gaming the Game is impressive...Griffin‚s knowledge of the crime scene in and around Philadelphia illuminates Gaming the Game...He's a fluid, crisp writer and an A-1 historian of crime [who] combines an eye for human detail with the ability to convey broad social themes."-- Blogger News Network
"An outstanding read that might make you change the way you view professional sports." -- Beyond the Bets
About the Author
Sean Patrick Griffin, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice at Penn State Abington, is the author of two books on African-American organized crime including Black Brothers Inc., The Violent Rise and Fall of Philadelphia's Black Mafia from which BET based an episode of its "American Gangster" series, and has been optioned to be made into at least one motion picture by Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way Productions for Warner Brothers Studios. He resides in a suburb of Philadelphia.