Gambling Scandal Strikes Again Northwestern Players Face Federal Charges
On the eve of college basketball’s showcase event, the sport was rocked by another point-shaving scandal Thursday, this time at Northwestern - a school known more for brains than betting lines.
Federal indictments charged former Wildcats starters Kenneth Dion Lee and Dewey Williams and two others with fixing the outcome of three basketball games during the 1994-95 season. A former Wildcats football player was accused in a separate indictment of running a bookmaking operation on the Northwestern campus.
It was the latest in a string of gambling cases involving college basketball players since the point-shaving scandal of 1951, which involved schools such as Kentucky, CCNY and NYU. And it came when the spotlight on college basketball was brightest - two days before the Final Four in San Antonio.
“It’s a bomb ready to explode. It can happen to anybody,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “You wouldn’t even know about it until it happened.”
Other recent basketball point-shaving scandals hit Arizona State and Tulane. Two years ago, 13 Boston College football players were suspended for betting on college and pro football and major league baseball games.
“We should not be surprised this is occurring,” said Cedric Dempsey, executive director of the NCAA. “Gambling is as big an addiction on our campuses as alcohol, and it reflects what is going on in our society.”
But Northwestern is known more for academic success than sports. Although the Wildcats made the Rose Bowl as Big Ten football champions three seasons ago, they rarely have produced winning basketball teams. The 1993-94 club that went to the NIT is the school’s last basketball team with a winning record, 15-14.
Under the indictments announced at a news conference, Lee and Williams were charged with point-shaving, while Kevin Pendergast and Brian Irving were charged with conspiring to fix the outcome of the three games - at home against Wisconsin and Penn State, and on the road against Michigan.
Pendergast is a former kicker at Notre Dame who led the Irish in scoring in 1993, said Notre Dame sports information director John Heisler.
Pendergast and Irving, who both now live in California, were accused of betting on Northwestern’s opponents and persuading others to follow suit at casinos in Reno, Nev., Las Vegas and elsewhere, according to the U.S. attorney.
The Wildcats lost each game by at least 14 points and failed to cover the point spread against the Badgers and Nittany Lions. Northwestern finished the season 5-22 under coach Ricky Byrdsong.
The government said Pendergast paid Lee $4,000 to fix the Penn State game. Prosecutors would not disclose how much more was involved in the alleged payoffs, other than to say the players got nothing for the Michigan game because they failed to beat the point spread.
The government said $20,000 was wagered on that game by the two accused gamblers, but would not say how much more money was involved.
“Unfortunately, student-athletes are vulnerable to the temptations and pressures associated with gambling and greed,” U.S. Attorney Scott Lassar said. “That, however, does not condone unlawful conduct.”
The U.S. attorney’s office discovered the alleged point-shaving during an ongoing investigation that was prompted by Northwestern’s own internal investigation in 1994, said Randy Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney. He said he could not give details of how the players shaved points.
“Right now, there’s nothing that is concrete on it, except if you look at some of (the players’) performances, they don’t live up to their season averages,” he said.
Lee, a guard, averaged 12 points and Williams, a center-forward, averaged 8.1 that season, but they each averaged 6.3 points in the three games. Lee scored just two points against Penn State.
Lee had been suspended by the school for six games during the ‘94-‘95 season for betting on football not involving Northwestern, prosecutors said. They said it was only weeks after his return to the team that he began the conspiracy to shave points.
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said Northwestern’s investigation of Lee that led to the suspension found no evidence of point shaving.
Prosecutors said a reserve basketball player, Matthew Purdy, also agreed to participate in the scheme and was named as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Former football player Brian Ballerini was charged with accepting bets on sporting events from other Northwestern athletes, including Lee. The charges against Ballerini include an accusation he threatened to harm Lee if he did not pay a gambling debt.
Lassar said Ballerini and Lee were cooperating with prosecutors and were expected to plead guilty.
None of those named in the indictments were available for comment. Prosecutors said they believed Lee lived in Louisville, Ky., and Williams in Chicago, but they did not know what they do for a living.
NCAA gambling specialist William Saum said illegal sports betting is a problem “on virtually every college campus in America.”
He said Northwestern acted swiftly and properly when it first learned of the possibility of illegal gambling. He said no sanctions were planned against the university.
The games in question were on Feb. 15, Feb. 22 and March 1, 1995. In the first game, in which Wisconsin was favored by 13-1/2 points, the Badgers beat Northwestern 70-56 after trailing 28-21 at the half.
In the next game, Penn State was favored by 14 points and won 89-59. In the third, Michigan was favored by 25-1/2 and won 81-64.
Rick Taylor, Northwestern’s athletic director, said the school only learned of the charges on Thursday.
He said point-shaving “purely and simply is betrayal - betrayal of self, teammate, family, coaches, university and the very game itself.”
xxxx Key players How Kenneth Dion Lee and Dewey Williams performed in their final season at Northwestern in 1994-95: Lee: Averaged 12 points in 21 games, 10 of which he started. He was the team’s top 3-point shooter, hitting 39 of 108 (.361) . Williams: Averaged 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds a game, starting all 27 games.