Juggity
09-04-2012, 04:05 PM
During the 2010-11 season (Kawhi's final season with the SDSU team) the FBI was investigating whether men's basketball players accepted bribes to fix games, as they had at another San Diego college (USD). The leader of the conspiracy to fix games at USD, a man named Steve Goria, apparently had his sights set on SDSU, but either never reached out, or was never able to convince any SDSU players to fall in line.
Kawhi and company were just too classy to accept bribes, I guess.
Attempt to fix SDSU basketball games failed (http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/sep/02/attempt-to-fix-sdsu-basketball-games-failed/)
FBI agents were paying close attention to San Diego State University’s basketball team during the 2010-11 season, as most of the city was, but not because the Aztecs were in the midst of a 34-3 record and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
FBI agents thought SDSU games might be fixed.
An examination of hundreds of pages of federal court documents in the University of San Diego sports bribery case reveals that the Toreros weren’t the only men’s college basketball team in town agents were monitoring.
Physical and electronic surveillance, GPS tracking devices on cars, phone logs, infiltration of the team by an undercover agent, even recruitment of a player to be a confidential informant — all were discussed or enacted by the FBI during SDSU’s historic 2010-11 season.
And in the hours after the 10 defendants in the USD case were arrested in April 2011, federal agents interviewed several SDSU players. But none was indicted because federal authorities don’t think they did anything wrong.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI declined in recent weeks to comment on the record because the USD case is ongoing.
The three main defendants in that case pleaded guilty last month to bribing Brandon Johnson, the school’s all-time leading scorer, to fix games during the 2009-2010 season and then profiting from them at Las Vegas casinos. Court documents indicate the defendants wanted to expand the gambling operation the following year to include the Aztecs.
But two defense attorneys who worked the case in its early months said no SDSU games were ever illicitly altered — either because the players were never actually solicited or because they were and refused.
“I had the opportunity to review all the discovery in the case,” said Michael Berg, who represented Steve Goria, the leader of the conspiracy, before Goria switched attorneys. “There is absolutely nothing to tie any current or former player from SDSU to any point shaving or game fixing. To say otherwise is not only wrong, it’s slanderous.”
Fixing SDSU games was a “pipe dream,” said attorney Vikas Bajaj, who initially represented T.J. Brown, a former USD assistant coach. “Otherwise, there would have been arrests.”
SDSU officials declined comment and referred to a statement issued when the case first broke 17 months ago. It confirmed several Aztecs players were interviewed by federal agents because they had "a social acquaintanceship with one or more of the defendants" but added: "At no time during this process were any of the San Diego State student-athletes the focus of the investigation or accused of any wrongdoing."
The information about the SDSU players is in the government’s applications to wiretap the cellphones of Goria and Brown, who authorities say was the intermediary between the bettors and Johnson. FBI special agent Nicholas Cheviron prepared four affidavits outlining the government’s case and the reasons for the wiretaps, copies of which were obtained by UT San Diego.
The investigation of Goria and his associates began with marijuana trafficking and an illegal sports gambling operation, then moved to sports bribery when a confidential informant reported the group had “fixed” men’s basketball games at USD during the 2009-10 season. In June 2010, according to the informant, Goria outlined their plans for the upcoming season.
"Goria stated they have 'locked in' USD, but recently learned of four additional players who attend San Diego State University," Cheviron wrote in the first of four affidavits, filed on Dec. 6. 2010. "Goria said they would be able to make tremendous amounts of money, especially by betting with two different schools."
Phone records showed five SDSU players were contacted by Brown in the fall of 2010, some as infrequently as once or twice, others more than 10 times. The names of the players are redacted in the court documents.
The 2010-11 season is widely regarded as the greatest in SDSU’s history. The Aztecs went from never having been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 or having won an NCAA Tournament game to climbing as high as No. 4 in the rankings and advancing to the Sweet 16 in the tournament. Only Chase Tapley remains from that starting five; the other four played professionally last season, including Kawhi Leonard, with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
As the season began, the affidavits said, the bettors “are believed to be waiting for SDSU to lose a game prior to attempting to fix a game.” That didn’t happen until Jan. 26, 2011, when the 20-0 Aztecs lost at Brigham Young University.
At 9:04 p.m. that night, according to an intercepted message on a wiretapped cellphone, Goria texts Brown: “Now we can do something that they lost.”
Twelve minutes later, Brown responded: “For sure. Done deal.”
Two days later, Brown said in another text to Goria that he was “working on sdsu for next week.”
The affidavits are unclear whether Brown approached Aztecs players about fixing a game or was merely calling them because he knew them as part of the city’s college basketball community. Brown worked as an assistant manager at the Gaslamp Quarter club, and several SDSU player were involved in a fight there in November 2010.
“Brown’s contacts with SDSU players could be related to sports bribery,” one affidavit said, “however the contacts could very well also be innocent in nature.”
Another said: “At this time, we are unaware of any social relationships or innocent basis for these five players to have contact with Brown.”
The government pursued the SDSU angle through January and February 2011.
The affidavits discussed conducting surveillance at SDSU players’ homes and trying to identify their cars “to utilize GPS tracking devices.” There also is talk of introducing an informant within the team or converting a player as a confidential source, but both ideas are dismissed as “premature.”
In the end, the documents give no indication that any games were fixed.
An SDSU spokesman said the dangers of gambling or associating with gamblers is “the first item” covered in the first meeting of the year with every team. The Aztecs men’s basketball team also would have been exposed to the NCAA’s increased educational efforts on the issue.
All teams that make the NCAA Tournament in basketball are required to watch an interactive website — dontbetonit.org — before their opening game. Teams that reach the Sweet 16 must attend a 30-minute presentation from NCAA staff and FBI agents.
“I don’t think we could be nearly as bold or brazen to say that if student-athletes were approached (about fixing games) and refused, it’s because they heard a presentation from us,” said Rachel Newman Baker, the NCAA’s managing director of enforcement who oversees gambling activities. “But that’s the reason we do it, to raise their awareness to the issue.
“Whether you’re SDSU or Duke, anybody at that level could be susceptible to something like this. To hear that a student-athlete might have been approached and did the right thing, that is very encouraging. That’s great to hear.”
The affidavits do talk about one SDSU game bet on by Richard Garmo and Paul Thweni, both of whom pleaded guilty to fixing games at USD and profiting from them. The two bet $500 on Utah, which was a 17½-point underdog against SDSU in their Feb. 8, 2011, game at Viejas Arena.
According to intercepted calls and text messages, Brown suggested the Aztecs might struggle to cover the point spread because two players were sidelined with injuries. The Aztecs, however, won handily, 85-53.
“My boys were mad about that they bet the game,” Goria texts to Brown the next day.
“I said it wasn’t a for sure thing but a good pick,” Brown texts back. “I told u I’d only put my name to it if I had the conversation which I didn’t. I didn’t know or think ppl were gonna be goin large on that. I would have said it’s a gamble.”
Kawhi and company were just too classy to accept bribes, I guess.
Attempt to fix SDSU basketball games failed (http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/sep/02/attempt-to-fix-sdsu-basketball-games-failed/)
FBI agents were paying close attention to San Diego State University’s basketball team during the 2010-11 season, as most of the city was, but not because the Aztecs were in the midst of a 34-3 record and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
FBI agents thought SDSU games might be fixed.
An examination of hundreds of pages of federal court documents in the University of San Diego sports bribery case reveals that the Toreros weren’t the only men’s college basketball team in town agents were monitoring.
Physical and electronic surveillance, GPS tracking devices on cars, phone logs, infiltration of the team by an undercover agent, even recruitment of a player to be a confidential informant — all were discussed or enacted by the FBI during SDSU’s historic 2010-11 season.
And in the hours after the 10 defendants in the USD case were arrested in April 2011, federal agents interviewed several SDSU players. But none was indicted because federal authorities don’t think they did anything wrong.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI declined in recent weeks to comment on the record because the USD case is ongoing.
The three main defendants in that case pleaded guilty last month to bribing Brandon Johnson, the school’s all-time leading scorer, to fix games during the 2009-2010 season and then profiting from them at Las Vegas casinos. Court documents indicate the defendants wanted to expand the gambling operation the following year to include the Aztecs.
But two defense attorneys who worked the case in its early months said no SDSU games were ever illicitly altered — either because the players were never actually solicited or because they were and refused.
“I had the opportunity to review all the discovery in the case,” said Michael Berg, who represented Steve Goria, the leader of the conspiracy, before Goria switched attorneys. “There is absolutely nothing to tie any current or former player from SDSU to any point shaving or game fixing. To say otherwise is not only wrong, it’s slanderous.”
Fixing SDSU games was a “pipe dream,” said attorney Vikas Bajaj, who initially represented T.J. Brown, a former USD assistant coach. “Otherwise, there would have been arrests.”
SDSU officials declined comment and referred to a statement issued when the case first broke 17 months ago. It confirmed several Aztecs players were interviewed by federal agents because they had "a social acquaintanceship with one or more of the defendants" but added: "At no time during this process were any of the San Diego State student-athletes the focus of the investigation or accused of any wrongdoing."
The information about the SDSU players is in the government’s applications to wiretap the cellphones of Goria and Brown, who authorities say was the intermediary between the bettors and Johnson. FBI special agent Nicholas Cheviron prepared four affidavits outlining the government’s case and the reasons for the wiretaps, copies of which were obtained by UT San Diego.
The investigation of Goria and his associates began with marijuana trafficking and an illegal sports gambling operation, then moved to sports bribery when a confidential informant reported the group had “fixed” men’s basketball games at USD during the 2009-10 season. In June 2010, according to the informant, Goria outlined their plans for the upcoming season.
"Goria stated they have 'locked in' USD, but recently learned of four additional players who attend San Diego State University," Cheviron wrote in the first of four affidavits, filed on Dec. 6. 2010. "Goria said they would be able to make tremendous amounts of money, especially by betting with two different schools."
Phone records showed five SDSU players were contacted by Brown in the fall of 2010, some as infrequently as once or twice, others more than 10 times. The names of the players are redacted in the court documents.
The 2010-11 season is widely regarded as the greatest in SDSU’s history. The Aztecs went from never having been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 or having won an NCAA Tournament game to climbing as high as No. 4 in the rankings and advancing to the Sweet 16 in the tournament. Only Chase Tapley remains from that starting five; the other four played professionally last season, including Kawhi Leonard, with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
As the season began, the affidavits said, the bettors “are believed to be waiting for SDSU to lose a game prior to attempting to fix a game.” That didn’t happen until Jan. 26, 2011, when the 20-0 Aztecs lost at Brigham Young University.
At 9:04 p.m. that night, according to an intercepted message on a wiretapped cellphone, Goria texts Brown: “Now we can do something that they lost.”
Twelve minutes later, Brown responded: “For sure. Done deal.”
Two days later, Brown said in another text to Goria that he was “working on sdsu for next week.”
The affidavits are unclear whether Brown approached Aztecs players about fixing a game or was merely calling them because he knew them as part of the city’s college basketball community. Brown worked as an assistant manager at the Gaslamp Quarter club, and several SDSU player were involved in a fight there in November 2010.
“Brown’s contacts with SDSU players could be related to sports bribery,” one affidavit said, “however the contacts could very well also be innocent in nature.”
Another said: “At this time, we are unaware of any social relationships or innocent basis for these five players to have contact with Brown.”
The government pursued the SDSU angle through January and February 2011.
The affidavits discussed conducting surveillance at SDSU players’ homes and trying to identify their cars “to utilize GPS tracking devices.” There also is talk of introducing an informant within the team or converting a player as a confidential source, but both ideas are dismissed as “premature.”
In the end, the documents give no indication that any games were fixed.
An SDSU spokesman said the dangers of gambling or associating with gamblers is “the first item” covered in the first meeting of the year with every team. The Aztecs men’s basketball team also would have been exposed to the NCAA’s increased educational efforts on the issue.
All teams that make the NCAA Tournament in basketball are required to watch an interactive website — dontbetonit.org — before their opening game. Teams that reach the Sweet 16 must attend a 30-minute presentation from NCAA staff and FBI agents.
“I don’t think we could be nearly as bold or brazen to say that if student-athletes were approached (about fixing games) and refused, it’s because they heard a presentation from us,” said Rachel Newman Baker, the NCAA’s managing director of enforcement who oversees gambling activities. “But that’s the reason we do it, to raise their awareness to the issue.
“Whether you’re SDSU or Duke, anybody at that level could be susceptible to something like this. To hear that a student-athlete might have been approached and did the right thing, that is very encouraging. That’s great to hear.”
The affidavits do talk about one SDSU game bet on by Richard Garmo and Paul Thweni, both of whom pleaded guilty to fixing games at USD and profiting from them. The two bet $500 on Utah, which was a 17½-point underdog against SDSU in their Feb. 8, 2011, game at Viejas Arena.
According to intercepted calls and text messages, Brown suggested the Aztecs might struggle to cover the point spread because two players were sidelined with injuries. The Aztecs, however, won handily, 85-53.
“My boys were mad about that they bet the game,” Goria texts to Brown the next day.
“I said it wasn’t a for sure thing but a good pick,” Brown texts back. “I told u I’d only put my name to it if I had the conversation which I didn’t. I didn’t know or think ppl were gonna be goin large on that. I would have said it’s a gamble.”