Tim Donaghy will forever have a tarnished image thanks to his role in an NBA gambling scandal. Yet the former referee has ironically found work offering advice to bettors since his release from prison in November of 2009.
The 44-year-old is living in a family member's condo in Sarasota, Florida while giving out NBA gambling advice as a consultant. Bettor Danny Berrelli, who runs a sports tout site, is the only person to offer Donaghy work following his 15-month prison sentence.
Donaghy had to refrain from giving actual picks on games after he got in trouble with his probation officer, who told him to knock it off. The former ref says he was nearly perfect selecting winners late in the NBA season. Now he has to "advise" Berrelli without technically giving his pick.
Following the end of Donaghy's probation in late 2012, he plans to get much more involved in the gambling biz.
Donaghy, speaking to WTSP in Tampa, says he hasn't seen any money from his tell-all book "Personal Foul," which was supposed to help set him up financially. He says he's involved in a legal dispute with the book's publisher.
VTI Media will go to court with Donaghy over his book. The publisher claims the government demanded all royalties to pay off Donaghy's $195,000 restitution to the NBA. The former ref claims he should have gotten 85 percent of the book money with just 15 percent going to restitution.
Since he blew the whistle on the betting shenanigans, Donaghy told the station he thinks little has changed in the NBA.
"I thought there was going to be an enormous amount of change in the NBA," he said. "The NBA came out and said everyone plays under the same set of rules."
