Gambling Scandal At Mac School ?

[MeanGreen61]

A Post from the Sun Belt board.

Feds charge player in University of Toledo point-shaving scheme

March 30, 2007

By DAVID ASHENFELTER and GEORGE SIPPLE

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

A running back for the University of Toledo Rockets has been charged with recruiting fellow athletes to shave points and fix games on behalf of a Macomb County gambler.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit said the player, Harvey “Scooter” McDougle Jr., 22, a senior, recruited football and basketball players to participate in the scheme spearheaded by a Sterling Heights man identified only as “Gary.”

Gary’s recruitment of players allegedly included inviting the athletes to gamble and dine at Greektown Casino in Detroit.

The complaint said one player was offered $10,000 to sit out a football game. Other players received cash, groceries, merchandise and other gifts, the complaint said.

McDougle told the FBI that he received a car, telephone and other things of value from Gary, but insisted that he never changed the way he played to affect the outcome of games.

McDougle, of East Cleveland, Ohio, was expected to make a brief appearance today in U.S. District Court in Detroit. He could not be reached for comment. There was no immediate comment from school officials.

No other players were identified in the complaint, so it is unclear how many players or teams at Toledo were involved in the scheme, or whether teams at other schools are being investigated.

There was no indication in the complaint that players threw any games because of the scheme.

In November 2005, the Detroit FBI began intercepting phone calls to and from Gary’s residence to find out about his illegal gambling and sports bribery operation and who it involved. The wiretaps stopped in December 2006. Gary was identified only as an Iraqi male.

The complaint said Gary, McDougle and others bribed Toledo athletes to influence the final score of specific games, so Gary and the others could bet on the games with illegal sports bookmakers.

Gary met the players through a Toledo cellular phone store where university athletes shopped. He eventually was introduced to a Rockets football player at the store, who introduced Gary to other school athletes.

In the months that followed, Gary invited the players to Detroit, where he wined and dined them at restaurants and invited them to gamble at casinos.

Once he evaluated the players, he would ask them to participate in a point shaving scheme in exchange for cash and gifts.

On Dec. 2, 2005, the complaint said, FBI agents saw McDougle and other Toledo players meet with Gary at a Detroit restaurant before heading to the VIP area of the Greektown Casino.

The complaint said Gary would ask trusted players to recruit other players for the scheme.

Players who agreed to participate were told about the betting line, the point spread for a particular game. If the team were a three-point favorite, anyone who bet on the Rockets would win if the Rockets won by four points or more.

Anyone who bet on the opponent could still win if the opponent lost by three points and less, the complaint said.

“Once Gary and the players knew the line, they would decide if they could beat the spread,” the complaint said. “If they were picked as an underdog by 10 points, they would decide if they could beat the 10 point spread. If they were picked as a favorite by a certain number of points, the players would decide if they would most likely win by that much.”