Uhh...A Guy With Mob Ties Plead Guilty To Trying To Fix A 2018 NCAA Division I Hoops Game

[Source] - A New York man acknowledged in federal court Thursday that he attempted to bribe a college basketball player to fix a Division I game in December 2018, his attorney said.

Benjamin Bifalco, 25, of Staten Island, New York, pleaded guilty to attempted sports bribery Thursday morning in the Eastern District of New York. Martinelli told ESPN that Bifalco admitted to the court that he offered money to a player in return for making sure his team lost by more than the point spread. According to Martinelli, the player did not accept the offer and the attempt to compromise the game never came to fruition.

So this story broke back in October where it was alleged that this happened. Well, guess what? Not alleged anymore. Dude straight up plead guilty so we can say this happened - that's Journalism 101. Now, it's not the first time we've seen someone trying to fix college hoops games. Hell, it's not the first time we've seen someone tied to the mob try to fix games. Remember Boston College - with Bruce Pearl as a manger on that team? 

But still the fact that this is happening in 2018 is wild to me. Actually, wild is probably the wrong word here. You just watch college hoops and you watch dumb mistakes and chalk it up to being college kids being dumb. But now every single thing will be questioning if it's being fixed - even if the player and team didn't take the money! Hell, the play didn't even hit: 

According to the indictment, which was unsealed in late September, Bifalco encouraged Amato Jr. to place thousands of dollars in bets on the targeted game. Amato sent two texts to defendant Thomas Scorcia, warning that he didn't believe the fix had been solidified. "I'm not touching it personally," Amato told Scorcia, according to court filings.

The indictment noted that the favored team did not cover the spread "and the bets would not have been winning ones."

So much for taking the dog. Wonder if it was a road team. Hate taking road teams in college hoops. But at least they were trying to get the favorite to not cover, love when the dogs are barking. I just really need to know what game they were trying to fix. I need to see what player has morals. 

But then again they were only willing to toss them a few thousand bucks. Brian Bowen was getting over a hundred thousand just to go play for Louisville. Talk about not knowing the market. Of course a team isn’t going to throw it for ‘thousands of dollars' - especially if it's a high-major game. 

If they actually were able to fix the game it'd be straight out of a movie.