Donaghy expected to plead guilty

<p>Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy and two men who have been linked to him in a gambling probe are expected to turn themselves in this morning at federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., a source told the Philadelphia Daily News Tuesday night.</p><p>Donaghy, 40, is expected to plead guilty to charges that he bet on games he officiated, a source said. Federal arrest warrants are also expected for James "Baa Baa" Battista, 42, and Tommy Martino, 41, the source said. The charges against Battista and Martino are unclear. They plan to surrender at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.</p><p>All three attended Philadelphia's Cardinal O'Hara High at the same time in the early 1980s.</p><p>Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro, did not respond Tuesday night to several messages left by the Daily News.</p><p>Battista is one of two bookmakers with whom Donaghy allegedly did business. Battista's attorney, Jack McMahon Jr., has said in past interviews that his client plans to defend himself vigorously.</p><p>"I have no comment," McMahon said when reached about the pending indictments.</p><p>Martino was reportedly interviewed by the FBI in June. Martino, a friend of Donaghy's who frequently visited his West Chester, Pa., home, did not return calls. Martino's attorney also did not return calls or e-mails.</p><p>"I can't comment," said Martino's father, Charles, when reached at his home Tuesday night.</p><p>Donaghy resigned in a letter to commissioner David Stern on July 9.</p><p>"We were told this evening he would be pleading tomorrow, but we were given no further information," Mark Broussard, the NBA's director of basketball communications, said.</p><p>Peter Ruggieri, a noted professional gambler, told federal investigators three weeks ago that he picked up a high-percentage betting trend over the last several years from acquaintances who were winning at a 60 to 70 percent rate on games Donaghy officiated, his former lawyer said. He has denied any betting connection to Donaghy.</p><p>One of those acquaintances was Battista.</p><p>Ruggieri is not expected to be indicted, although there is a past connection between Ruggieri, 39, and Battista. They were in a group of six who were prosecuted by the Delaware County District Attorney's office in 1998 for criminal conspiracy and bookmaking. All six received community service and were placed into the county's Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for non-violent offenders.</p><p>Federal agents had descended on the Philadelphia suburbs in recent weeks as they continued their investigation, interviewing at least a dozen individuals, particularly those with ties to Donaghy over the past two years, sources have told the Daily News.</p><p>Many associated with Donaghy have been keeping a low profile lately to avoid being publicly linked to a man NBA commissioner David Stern has described as a "criminal." Even among some of his friends, Donaghy's name has become radioactive.</p><p>The investigation has focused on the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, during which time Donaghy is alleged to have bet on NBA games and provided information that enabled others to profit, including officials' game assignments.</p><p>Federal law-enforcement officials first heard Donaghy's name mentioned in wiretaps involving the Gambino crime family in New York.</p><p>Donaghy had been holed up in his Florida home since the story broke several weeks ago, but word last Thursday was that he had given the slip to reporters who had been staking out his home. His whereabouts since have been unknown.</p>