Rick was born on October 14, 1966, in Jamestown, ND, to Timothy Kuhn and Marretta (Deede) Kuhn. After winning a few and losing a few, Hill and his gang came to view Cobb and Sweeney as unreliable game-fixers and eventually gave up the scam. He said Hill told him he was backed by powerful interests in New York, and he was afraid of what might happen to him if he refused to cooperate. Purdum, David. 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. But what was I going to do, take it to court?It was here that they began telling Perla we would have to have Cobb. Jimmy said he was finished. It was like a paradise to me, coming from where I came from. After the investigation was completed, Cobb was not named as a defendant in the initial trial, U.S. vs Burke, which opened to a circus of media attention on October 27th, 1981. The film begins by showcasing the classic movie Goodfellas and how this story is all wrapped up in the real-life events that inspired the movie. On the stand during the trial, Rick Kuhns girlfriend, Barbara Reed, with whom he shared an apartment during his senior year at Boston College, testified that she overheard Kuhn and Sweeney discussing the Fordham game, saying that they had to keep the ball away from Cobb because he shot the ball all the time. They could have probably gotten away with the fix if they handled certain things better. He graduated from Woodworth Public School in 1985 and earned a bachelors degree from University of Sioux Falls. (Rick Kuhn, Photo Credit: bostonglobe.com). They treated me great. But for Bowie, it was too little, too late. 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. Apparently, someone called into the online editor the second to inform them of the "miss." By my junior year, it was show-time, said Cobb. Kuhn's attorney, Gary Zimmerman, said his client recognized the seriousness of his crimes and that his stiff jail sentence 'was a stern warning to other college athletes.'. Dean Smith, basketball coach at the University of North Carolina and the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said last night it is standard procedure for coaches to speak to team members about the possibility of point-shaving overtures and to encourage them to report any efforts to persuade them to manipulate scores. Hill turned state's evidence in exchange for avoiding prison and possible execution by Burke and the Lucchese family. I cooperated willingly, and Im glad I did, Sweeney says. won the gangsters some serious money by falling short of the spread. I had a relentless type of game.. Later, Mazzei hears that Kuhn is able to start fixing games. Testifying for the defense, Boston College basketball Coach Tom Davis said at no point during the 1978-79 season did he notice any of his players giving anything less than a 100 percent effort. The Perla brothers were small-time gamblers who saw the upcoming 197879 Boston College Eagles basketball season as a perfect opportunity to earn a lot of money. Sweeney took out one of those little schedule cards, circled the games he thought we could fool around with, and gave the card to me. He made other African-American ballers feel like they could go there and really showcase what they could do on a national level. The goal for making some real money is to get the character a TV gig with ESPN, NBC Sports, or another major sports network. They mentioned the $1,000 that Rocco Perla gave my girlfriend and I told them the truth. They contacted a local friend, Paul Mazzei, who was known to have influence within major New York gambling circles. While Jim Sweeney is also introduced, hes the other captain from a better upbringing: the poster child for BC. Rocco has a vague conversation with Cobb over winning certain games, but both sides wont admit to knowing the extent to which he was involved. This offers a students perspective of how they never thought their team could have been fixing teams. 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. Kuhn tells Sweeney that the mobsters in New York and Pittsburgh want this win and that this will be the last fix. hoops that blazed a trail, Mills continued. When he was implicated in the scandal, I was shocked.. Result is the outcome of the syndicate's bets. Sweeney, who went on a year later to win the Naismith Award as college basketballs top player under six feet tall, says he was initially recruited into the fix by Kuhn without his knowledge and that he never intentionally threw an errant pass, missed a shot or did anything else to alter a game. But its the points that Cobb and teammate Michael Bowie didnt score during the 1978-1979 season which has spawned a federal investigation. 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 Richard Kuhn AIA by BSA Staff Name: Richard Kuhn AIA Job title and company: Design director, Perkins+Will Degree(s): B. Boston College's basketball team ended their 197879 season with a 229 record. We get footage of the games and the scheme continued, but no one knew just how much the fixers made. I didnt know what that was all about. They left, and that was that. The scheme thus ended on an unsuccessful note. Its gonna be no contest. Cmon, you can do it. She was a remarkable individual that helped me so much, in terms of establishing the study and work habits that allowed me to be successful in the classroom.. Columbia University names Nemat Shafik as first woman president. He continues to be involved in sports and is in an older mens basketball league that competes around the world. Out of everything that happened, thats one thing that hurts me tremendously, Cobb said. Art. Boeing's fuel-efficient aircraft design wins $425 million award from NASA. WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court hears Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools to rule on financial compensation for a deaf student who was not provided proper learning support. Sweeney agreed to cooperate claiming he was forced to help with the fix, Kuhn came clean about the whole operation, and Cobb was cut from the Nets after the FBI visited him despite him not having any real information. Hill brought in his mentor, Jimmy Burke, to finance the operation and set up a network of bookies who could advance the financial potential of the scheme. Sports. On October 7, I took every single practice and every single game seriously, said Cobb. Hill and Tony Perla claim that they were all doing cocaine and Kuhn and Sweeney begin marking games that they are favored in and talking about all the money they will make. The Providence game was played on December 6, 1978, and Boston College was favored to win by six to seven points. Boston College Accused of Point Shaving, was the big headline on the UPI wire. Tell me what you did and what you didnt do. With Sweeney making it out with no sentence, the mystery still remains of how involved he really was. They couldnt stop him. Kuhn told people at Boston College later But it wasnt a coincidence that one day, the F.B.I shows up asking me about gambling, and the next day Im no longer with the team. 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. In practice, he was the lunatic who his teammates sucked their teeth and rolled their eyes at when he told the coaches that they needed to run more sprints after an exhausting practice. Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Columbia University has announced economist Nemat "Minouche" Shafik will become the university's 20th president and the first woman to serve in the role in its 268-year history. Rick Kuhn, 25, 6'5", 225-pound former high school star at Swissvale Area High southeast of Pittsburgh from 1970 to 1973. The mobsters are done fixing games with the Boston College players and call them babies for barely getting the job done. I just had to be alone, Cobb told the reporters afterwards. 197879 Boston College Eagles basketball season, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, "Key figures in the BC point shaving scandal", "James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke, Gangster, 64, of 'Wiseguy' Fame", "Kuhn Gets 10-Year Sentence In BC Point-Shaving Case", "Guilt by Wikipedia: How Joe Streater Became Falsely Attached To The Boston College Point Shaving Scandal", 1946 NFL Championship Game bribery scandal, 2009 Melbourne Football Club tanking scandal, 2012 Olympics women's doubles disqualifications, 2002 Winter Olympics figure skating scandal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=197879_Boston_College_basketball_point-shaving_scandal&oldid=1112461833, 197879 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, College basketball controversies in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 September 2022, at 12:41. Bets in this column are given in the format ", Winner is given as either Opp or BC and the margin of victory. 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. All Kuhn had to do was ensure that the Eagles fell short of the point spread in the games that they bet on. My girlfriend and I bought a new stereo, television and some furniture. When Henry Hill started threatening Kuhn and Sweeney, promising that they couldnt play with broken limbs, the players, according to Hill, claimed that they were doing their best, but the scheme would never work unless Ernie Cobb was in on the fix. The fixers changed the original plan and bet on Holy Cross, but the players were told this right before the game. All because, he says, of those five crinkled $100 bills dropped at his feet one day in the locker room. He is a participant in the Federal Witness Protection Program and is receiving government protection in exchange for his testimony. 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. I was forthright and honest with them. Hill gave up everybody including the players involved. Kaskade, DJ Diesel (Aka Shaquille ONeal) Among The Headliners At This Years Indy 500 Snake Pit, Real Madrid Vs. Liverpool Is Already Make Or Break, The American Express Draws Flashy Field Despite Un-Elevated Status, Jake Paul And Tommy Fury Agree To Fight (Again) On Feb. 25. Who Is The NBA GOAT: Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Or Kareem? Fellow player Michael Bowie begins to ask questions, but Sweeney argues that they are still winning. 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. The problem was Cobb. They were touting me as the next sub-6-footer to have an impact in the NBA. Joe Beaulieu, the starting center on the 1978-79 Boston College team, also testified he was approached by Kuhn to participate in the plan, but he said he rejected the proposal. Cobb was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 6th Round and cut during training camp. At this point in the film, we stray away from the actual point-shaving and more into the consequences and investigation after the fact. It had to cost around $200,000 at the time to defend me.. Ernie, and anybody who truly knew him, who knew about his character and what type of young man he was, we were all heartbroken. He dreamed of walking away from Boston College at seasons end as one of the schools most revered sons before embarking on what he hoped would be an accomplished, financially rewarding career in the NBA. And yeah, I took that money. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images Rocco Perla was sentenced to four years' imprisonment. Kuhn's sentence was the heaviest ever imposed on a college player convicted of point shaving. now all well past their primes after serving their time, including the gangster Ray They kept saying that they liked the idea of just shaving points and not blowing the games." It is quite a ride, so please, enjoy it. The Boston College case arose out of the Lufthansa investigation. Class ring returned to Texas woman after missing for decades. Hill was listed as a co-conspirator, but was not named as a defendant. He was determined to prove that he could do the work, which would enable him to further chase his athletic dreams. He really was margin of victory for avoiding prison and possible execution by Burke and the of. 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