The Shady Shot-Caller with Ryan Stanger

Summary

Scam Goddess – "The Shady Shot-Caller with Ryan Stanger"

Date: January 14, 2020
Host: Laci Mosley
Guest: Ryan Stanger

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Episode Overview

This episode of Scam Goddess dives into sports-related scams, online blackmail, and, as always, a roundup of scammer shenanigans both historic and modern. Joined by comedian and podcaster Ryan Stanger (Action Boys podcast), host Laci Mosley blends storytelling, comedy, and commentary as she breaks down the infamous NBA referee betting scandal alongside recent email scam confessions from listeners. The episode balances hilarious banter, personal anecdotes, and in-depth fraud analysis, providing both laughs and lessons for the "Con-gregation."

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ryan Stanger's Relationship With Scams

[03:28]

• Stanger fondly recalls the sleight-of-hand schemes featured in movies like Grifters and shares a personal connection: an acquaintance’s mother was conned in a lottery scam targeting elderly Hispanic women.
• Both Stanger and Laci break down the psychology of these scams and the ways scammers prey on vulnerable communities, especially the elderly.

"It's that despo meter you talk about." – Ryan Stanger [06:28]

2. Cultural & Everyday Scams

[07:58]

• The discussion touches on pop culture figures (Stan Lee allegedly being scammed in his later years) and the grim reality of elder abuse.
• Both riff on how scams appear everywhere, from supposed inheritance schemes ("Nigerian" style in-person cons) to suspiciously aggressive nurses.

3. Listener Scam: The Tinder Blackmail Con

[08:30] – [20:26]

• Laci reads and dissects a wild listener-submitted story: A man ("Solomon") is catfished on Tinder, tricked into sending a revealing photo, then immediately receives a series of staged calls. Posing as police, the scammer claims the recipient was an underage girl, and her enraged father demands hush money for a "broken laptop."
• Both hosts analyze red flags: over-specific details, manufactured time pressure ("30 minutes to make a decision" [18:36]), and the emotional manipulation intended to push victims into paying.

"Scammers are always giving too much information because they want to make you feel at ease." – Laci Mosley [16:56]

• Ryan and Laci highlight the vulnerability of "lonesome, horny, heterosexual men from Tinder," who are often too ashamed to report such scams.

4. Historical Hoodwink: Tim Donaghy & The NBA Betting Scandal

[24:41] – [55:16]

• Laci presents the case of Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee who, over several seasons, conspired with low-level mobsters to fix games and profit from bets. The summary covers:
  • Donaghy's background in a "referee dynasty" and his growing greed (from small bets to betting on 30–40 games per season [34:22])
  • Colorful criminal associates, nicknamed “Baba Sheep,” “Rhino,” and “Joey Vito”
  • The mechanics of the scam: leveraging insider info, organizing bets through shadowy figures, and ultimately growing sloppy as drug use and mob involvement escalated
  • The fallout: federal investigation, Donaghy’s imprisonment, his snitching and jailhouse survival tactics, and his post-prison attempts to recast himself as a whistleblower

"You could try to stop being a hater, but that's probably too hard… I feel like a referee is a hater job." – Laci Mosley [27:26]

"How you gonna write a book talking about the culture of fraud? You made that culture. You the fraud." – Laci Mosley [56:41]

• Comedic riffs on related "hater professions" (meter maids, flight attendants, even doctors) pepper the retelling.

Notable Scammer Moments

• Tim’s wife discovering “an orange-sized wad” of $100 bills in his referee jacket ([36:45])
• The comical mobster "code": "Here's the deal. When you do something wrong, don't tell anybody. That's how you get busted." – Baba [44:58]

5. Scammer of the Week: Girl Scout Leader Embezzlement

[57:33] – [61:26]

• Laci and Ryan close with a "scammer of the week": Patricia Cassian, a California Girl Scout troop treasurer, was arrested for embezzling $88,000 from Girl Scouts and an additional $30,000 from a cancer center.
• The hosts riff on the audacity of stealing from nonprofits and the classic red flag of anyone volunteering to "handle the money for free."

"She probably has been robbing people forever. You can't have a volunteer to work with money, you have to pay that person." – Laci Mosley [59:55]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [06:28] – "It's that despo meter you talk about." – Ryan Stanger
• [10:09] – "They getting hammered. It's malt liquor, y'all." – Laci Mosley, on the disguised nature of White Claw
• [13:42] – "Now he's Jerry from Subway. Now he can only eat fresh." – Laci Mosley, on the panic of being accused of a sex crime
• [16:56] – "Scammers are always giving too much information because they want to make you feel at ease." – Laci Mosley
• [27:26] – "I feel like a referee is a hater job." – Laci Mosley
• [36:45] – "She uses her thumb and forefingers making an O the diameter of an orange..." – Laci Mosley, quoting Tim Donaghy's wife
• [44:58] – "Hey, here's the deal. When you do something wrong, don't tell anybody. That's how you get busted." – Baba
• [56:41] – "How you gonna write a book talking about the culture of fraud? You made that culture. You the fraud." – Laci Mosley
• [59:55] – "You can't have a volunteer to work with money, you have to pay that person." – Laci Mosley

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – 03:12: Banter, guest intro, live podcast stories, segue into scams
• 03:28 – 06:15: Stanger’s introduction to scam culture, movie influences, lottery scam
• 08:30 – 20:26: Listener story – The Tinder/underage "dick pic"/police blackmail scam
• 24:41 – 55:16: Historic Hoodwink – NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s betting scandal
• 57:33 – 61:26: Scammer of the Week – Girl Scout troop embezzlement
• Throughout: Ongoing riffs about hater jobs, scamming psychology, and sports

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode is high-energy, improvisational, and irreverent—full of sharp observations, comedic digressions, and relatable pop-culture references. Both hosts bring a mix of streetwise skepticism and affection for the absurd, making the mechanics of each scam accessible and entertaining.

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Scams often prey on the desperate, isolated, or uninformed; red flags always include urgency, threats, and oversharing of personal narrative.
• Real-life scams echo “movie logic” more often than we expect—sleight of hand, authority figures, and elaborate setups abound.
• Shame is a scammer’s sharpest weapon; reporting and sunlight are the best disinfectants.
• When someone volunteers to handle the money for free, beware!
• "Hater professions" make good scammer backstories.

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Stay schemin’!

Transcript

[A]

Scams C, Robbery and Frauds. Scams C, Robbery and Fraud. Scam Goddess. What's up, congregation? It's your girl, Scam Goddess. Back with another exciting installment of Scam Goddess. Yeah, I named the show after me. Y' all know, guys, I'm super excited for my. It's very mean to name a show after me. It's your host, Lacey Mosley. I guess I should give y' all my government name. You know, I don't like to give that out. And my special guest today, I'm super duper excited for Red Stinger. And I want to say Stanger.

[B]

You say whatever you want. I'm not going to correct you on it.

[A]

That's how it's pronounced.

[B]

It's technically, I guess my family pronounces that way. But I've been saying Stanger. There's controversy around it. It has come up before.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah, on different podcasts and stuff. But I do introduce myself as Stanger at this point.

[A]

Yes. And you do Bangarang. You do the Action Boys podcast, which recently was in Chicago.

[B]

Yeah, we just. I just got back. We did a live show in Chicago.

[A]

That's so cool.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Did you have a good time?

[B]

Very fun. Very weird.

[A]

Did you get any weird gifts?

[B]

Weird gifts? Guy gave us a bunch of cash.

[A]

What? That's not a weird gift. That's my favorite gift.

[B]

No, I mean, it was weirdly delightful, but we covered.

[A]

How much cash. Can you tell me? It's like, you don't have to.

[B]

No, I don't care. It was like, 150 bucks. We did this movie one time. We reviewed dumb action movies on that podcast. And then we'll spin that out into other movies that people just. That people like. I don't know. And so we did this movie called Donnie Brasco. Have you ever seen that before?

[A]

No, I haven't.

[B]

Well, it's kind of it. It dovetails into this podcast a little bit because it's about, you know, wise guys and, you know, the mob's always running scams.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And anyway, Al Pacino plays this mobster in it, and he's mentoring an undercover police officer played by Johnny Depp. And he's just. Pacino's just kind of goofball. He's not a badass mobster. He's like a goofball low on the totem pole. But Depp needs information from him, so he treats him with a lot of reverence, and then that kind of inflates his ego. His ego? Yeah. And so he's trying to Tell him how a wise guy holds, like, how a wise guy holds his money in a role. And he says, you put the big bills on the outside and the small ones in the middle. So some guy just said, gave us a big wad of bills with, like, $100 bill on the outside and a bunch of ones.

[A]

Ooh. So that's a great scam. So did you get excited? At first you're like, did this man just give us a roll of hundreds?

[B]

I. I guess I was. I thought I was like, what is this fucking fake money? I didn't know what was going on. And then we were like, we even. It's not even like a joke. We reference a lot on the podcast. We had to do a lot of, like, detective work to figure out, like, oh, I guess he's referencing Donnie Brasco. I don't know.

[A]

I love that you even cared. I would have taken the money and run. I'm like, thank you so much. Don't know what this is for. Not going to ask.

[B]

Right. We ended up with it and then, you know, tried to do a bunch of backwards math on it. But, yeah, that was the weirdest gift we got outside of, like, just weird costume shit and T shirts and shit.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

You'll see. You'll see. Have you done this one live yet?

[A]

I haven't done this live yet.

[B]

Yeah, you'll see. It's fun.

[A]

I'm excited at some point.

[B]

Yeah. People have been listening to you for hours and hours, and they know you, you know, and you don't share that context with.

[A]

They know what I tell.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

But. All right, so wait, what's your relationship with scams?

[B]

Oh, man. I was thinking about this in prep for the show, and I mean, I love it. There's a couple. Like, when I was a kid, there was this movie called Grifters. Did you ever see that?

[A]

I've heard of Grifters.

[B]

I mean, it's probably come up on this, and they used to. They would do these elaborate Griffs, small and big, to people. And, like, I loved it because I think John Cusack played one of the grifters. And so he would going to buy something and flash somebody like 100, and then he was able to switch it to smaller bill, and then they would give him change for the hundred. Like, he would do all this, like, slide a hand. Yeah. And I like the word grifter. And then I. One of my good friends, her. Her, like, boyfriend's mom got scammed big time by these people. That were doing a fake lottery scam. Have you read about this? They just got caught.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

And I don't know if it's the same group. This is, this is a little dark for this show because it's not like a. It's like they were preying on elderly Hispanic women.

[A]

And it was a wow specific of a demo specific.

[B]

I think it had worked for them in the past. It was like a three person lottery scam. And they would find people walking, flag them down and. And maybe you can help me figure this out. They would, they would, like one woman would ingratiate herself to the mark, I guess is what they would call it, and say that she had a winning lottery ticket and she needed. In order to cash that lottery ticket, she needed more cash for some reason. It's mixed in.

[A]

This is very Nigerian. Yes, I like it. You know, like, you gotta wire me the taxes and I'm gonna send you $100,000 for no reason.

[B]

But this fucking shit's in person. So they're like preying on these nice older people. And so then it was like, we don't know. And this is what I want your help with. I don't know what excuse they used. And even the police said it was intentionally dicey, like intentionally confusing to kind of keep the people off balance. And then another guy would pretend like he was just happening upon them and be like, hey, what's, what's going on? And they're like, oh, I need this money to get this lottery ticket that's winning. He said, well, I have a bunch of money. So he would flash a bunch of money. Yeah. So that was that kind of like, oh, well, this guy's putting up all this money. And then it was like, give, you know, we'll pool our money together so we can get this ticket and I'll give you like a little money, you know, on top of that for your troubles. And then they would get these women to go to the bank and pull out a bunch of cash. And it happened to my friends, you know, mother, basically, mother in law. Yeah. And like it was like they got like 25 grand or something.

[A]

Holy shit.

[B]

Terrifying.

[A]

That's a lot of money. Yeah, I don't think I'm giving that much money to my relatives, let alone a stranger on the street. I wish, I wish somebody with my last name will call me asking for some 25 grand, let alone a person on the street.

[B]

I know.

[A]

Although I love the guy who walks by because. Yeah, that is a part of some scams is there'll be someone to make you feel like it's more normal. I don't know, even pony up a little bit of money because it's like, what I'm ponying up right now. Like, I'll get returns on, so it doesn't matter.

[B]

It's that depo meter you talk about.

[A]

Despo meter.

[B]

Despo meter. So Granny.

[A]

Granny's out here, you know, probably her grandkids ain't calling her. I told you, I'll call your grandparents because they're getting robbed.

[B]

Yeah,

[A]

she was just out here trying to walk her cat.

[B]

Yeah, no, it's trying to walk the cat.

[A]

Don't even want to be walked.

[B]

No, the cat hates being walked. Cat just wants to lay around.

[A]

I just want to get outside now. Come on.

[B]

Yeah, the cat was on the side of the scammers. It's like, take this bitch's money. I don't give a fuck.

[A]

I'm just trying to go back to the crib, okay? I got some friskies waiting at home.

[B]

Yeah. I just want to lay around all

[A]

day and the side of a couch to fuck up.

[B]

Okay. So there's that, and then there's also. I always think about Stan Lee in his life, like, as an old man getting scammed. It was more like elder abuse. Like, he had some caretaker, and we talk about it on the Action Boys. Like, some caretakers, like, got him to sign over life rights or something to some of his comics. I don't. I'd say out of my timeline, I don't know the specifics on this, but I do love that, like, some orderly named Chad now controls Spider Man. That's not what happened.

[A]

I would love if that. I would love if that's why the Sony thing wasn't working out. It was just like, nah. Chad got the paperwork. Now, he used to be a registered nurse. He ain't pulling up at the hospital no more. Now he drive a Phantom.

[B]

Yeah. He's giving fucking notes on the new Spider man movies. Guy's a goddamn nervous.

[A]

Everything's starting to get real nerve specific in Spider Man.

[B]

A lot of white sneakers. It's just like, what? Why? It was like, Chad says they're the most comfortable.

[A]

Now Spider man walks around in orthopedics.

[B]

Yeah. Everybody's fucking eating jello and shit.

[A]

It works. Yeah, I like it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yay. We see the same movie over and over again. We need some flavor.

[B]

Something different. Yeah. Got a hospital angle. Hell, yeah.

[A]

Sometimes I have people reach out. Every episode, I ask people to reach out with either scams or They've ret. Cause I don't wanna fuck up your bag. Or times that you've been scammed. I'm so sorry. We will laugh, but I will feel bad for you or just any information that you wanna share about scams and if you have a scam or you've been running a scam or a scam's been run on you. Scamgoddesspodmail.com email us your stories. Guys, this week we have one that. This one really struck me.

[B]

You got that Gmail account. That's good. Yes. You were the first.

[A]

The first person on Gmail. This one really struck me in the heart. I'm lying, so make sure I don't say any real names. Okay? So they've asked for this person to be called Solomon. Okay, I'm gonna skip all the nice stuff you said about the podcast, but thank you so much. We'll call this guy Solomon. So Solomon was visiting me from out of state and really wanted to go meet a girl or two and relive our college years. While he was visiting, he was constantly on Tinder, chatting to any and every girl that he matched with there was. I've heard this is how men do Tinder. How, like, women will, like, swipe left on people they don't want, but a lot of guys will go on Tinder just like. Right, right, right, right, right. Just like, to up the odds.

[B]

It's a numbers thing for sure.

[A]

Just absolutely insane.

[B]

Yeah, that's a lot. A lot of balls in the air.

[A]

So chatting to every girl that he matched with. Real thirsty out here. Parched, you could say there. I added that there was one girl in particular that he was taken with. A cute, petite redhead who seemed to be really into him. Also, Solomon and I pregamed at my apartment and then went up to hit a few bars. I love that you're pre before you go to bars.

[B]

Yeah. Bad sign. Yeah.

[A]

So throughout, like, drink the liquor at the bar, bruh. Like, you don't need to come to the bar lit.

[B]

Splurge. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

You can buy a $14 drink every now and then.

[B]

Fucking Solomon came out to relive the old days.

[A]

He did. So he was taking shots.

[B]

Yeah. Spend some money.

[A]

They were probably breaking that Four Loko out or, you know, now White Claw. Ah. Took that right out of my fucking brain. White Claw is the new. It's a classier, like, four loko for your 30s.

[B]

Yeah. People pretend like they drink it ironically, but that shit's just.

[A]

They getting hammered. It's malt Liquor, y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

I'm sorry to spoil you, but like y' all out here drinking malt liquor, you might as well put it in a paper bag and stand out in front of 7:11. It's that mouth.

[B]

Yeah. Lean into it. That's cool that you're doing that.

[A]

So throughout this time, he's glued to his phone. He chatted up this girl all night. Eventually, the two lovebirds started texting. Later at the bar, she sends Solomon a risque pic suggesting that she's ready to show her breasts, maybe more. How does a pic suggest that? Maybe I'm gonna show you my titties. Maybe. Maybe, like, one hand over the titties or something. It's like they about to come out.

[B]

I think so. I think that's the move. Coming soon. T shirt.

[A]

Oh, yeah, the T shirt and the short.

[B]

Yeah, that shows the under boobs. But it could be written coming soon on the T shirt.

[A]

What?

[B]

Like, I don't know.

[A]

I mean, titties coming soon.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All of a sudden, she's a movie announcer coming to your phone.

[B]

Titties this summer. Titties coming to Solomon's phone.

[A]

That's what I want. Truly. So she sends him this risque pic, and then in exchange, she wants a picture of his dick. Now, as a. As a cisgendered, mildly heterosexual woman, I know that in my dealings with men, I have never requested to see a picture of their penis.

[B]

No.

[A]

As I'm getting older now I'm like, maybe I do want to see. Like, let me get a preview. See if I want to waste my time.

[B]

Yeah. I guess it's more just grim curiosity for women. Right. Just to see, like, what are we dealing with?

[A]

Women have ever been like, send me that dick. It just comes to us.

[B]

Yeah. I think there. Well, you could probably speak to this more than I could like it. Ha. It would. The context, like, how whipped up you are. Guys can, like, see female genitalia anytime, any place. It's fine. We're happy to see it. Right. Same for you people.

[A]

Genitalia is beautiful. It's just like, dicks are. Sorry, Ryan. But they're. They're nasty to look at.

[B]

I walk around in a men's locker room. I know a lot of times I think, like, a goat had wandered into the room. It's just like an old guy bending over.

[A]

Oh. Oh. I remember I went to a nude beach once, and it was just. It's all old people at nude beaches don't think they're sexy guys. It's just old People like, we don't give a fuck anymore.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they're playing tennis. Too much movement.

[B]

Why is it with. What is it with nudists that like to do sports nude?

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

Something going on.

[A]

And also, it's like, sports. I do want a little bit of protection.

[B]

Like, that's too much. If there's ever a time to cover up your balls and stuff, it's sports.

[A]

Like, how am I supposed to focus on volleyball when it's a breeze going through my ass?

[B]

Like, no, you're totally right.

[A]

That's too much. That's way too much. So he says, I am a gay man, and I send grindr dick pics like it's water. So when he showed me her message, I responded, dude, she wants a dick pic. Send her a dick pic.

[B]

Yeah, Chris.

[A]

I was even happy for him. What a supportive friend.

[B]

You're in, dude. That's it. You're in.

[A]

I was so proud of it. Yeah. So the perpetual Mr. Lonely Hearts of our friends group. Oh, so he's also the one who. Don't be getting no girls. Okay. To have found an interested girl and not be moping around the bar. As far as I remember, they texted a little bit longer and she went to bed. We continued to party, thinking nothing unusual had happened. We were wrong.

[B]

Shit.

[A]

The next morning, I wake up to hear my friend on the phone in a panic. He had received a call from the Virginia State Police. Apparently, this girl had lied about her age. She was 16. She was a problem child. And so her mom decided to go through her father phone, and there she found a picture of Solomon's package. She freaked out. She. Where did he take this picture? If they was at the bar, did he go to the bathroom and just take it in the stall?

[B]

I. I guess. Yeah. The lighting can't be good in that situation to say, that's got to be.

[A]

So what you really said was just like, the nastiest dick pic. Yeah. A public restroom dick pic. Yeah.

[B]

That's bad. I don't even like to look at my. My own dick in a public restroom. I'll just go hands free and keep my head up.

[A]

Yeah. You know, men never try to make the dick look good. Like, you know how many apps we got out here right now? We got airbrush, we got Face Tune. Like, you wouldn't even try. Cover up a little blemishes on your dick or nothing. Like, make it look cute.

[B]

Yeah. I heard that the iPhone 11 has a special camera for your dick.

[A]

For your dick. It has five Cameras. So I would hope one is for the penis.

[B]

Yeah. One's for the dick. And it's going to give you a little length and a little girth. It's going to contour it nicely.

[A]

IPhone is out here running scams on people now. I'm like, I got this iPhone 11 dick pic. It was 3D. It came through my phone.

[B]

He's running an Instagram dick filter on it.

[A]

Honestly, that's what I want. And you know, men are lazy. So this dick don't even. I'm sure he didn't even try to, I don't know, give it. No ambiance.

[B]

No.

[A]

Get some paper towels around it or something. I don't know.

[B]

Hopefully he fluffed up a little.

[A]

Does.

[B]

Yeah. Solomon.

[A]

So this sounds like a child molester dick found on the phone. Because, you know, it looks like it's going to be molested. So. So she found the picture, she freaked out, she told her husband, and they called the police. The officer said that the parents were totally livid and wanted to press charges, but he didn't think that Solomon was a pedophi. So he held him at bay. Solomon even noted that you have to be of age to use Tinder. But the officer said that legally all of that was moot since he had moved to texting. So they took it off Tinder. So I guess that's a. Guys, keep your nudes on Tinder.

[B]

I guess keep them on Tinder.

[A]

So the officer wanted to talk to the parents again and then have Solomon. He would call Solomon back with his decision. So Solomon gets off the phone and he's like in hysterics. He called his parents seeking advice. Cause remember, he don't even be getting no bitches.

[B]

No.

[A]

So he had one good moment in his life where he was reliving college. Finally thought he was about to get some bitches, right? And now he's Jerry from Subway. Now he can only eat fresh.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And he wears khakis every day. Suddenly khakis appear on his body.

[B]

Oh, shit, he's pedo. That's the worst insult with lots of pockets. Yeah. Terrifying.

[A]

When Solomon got off the phone, he was in hysterics, right? So he saw his future life as a registered sex offended or sex offender. Excuse me. He listed that on every job application and went door to door telling strangers that he had shown his own of junk to an unknown girl. So this is all stuff that he's now coming up with. He's not actually doing this, but he's like, this is what it's come to, like, he's immediately ready to start knocking on doors. I'm like, bro, you gotta go to court first. You gotta just knock on the doors.

[B]

Yeah, don't fucking offer that up. Wait till you get that handed to you, then do it right.

[A]

But he was gonna turn himself into the authorities. So the officer calls back and informs Solomon that the father wanted to speak directly to him. They hadn't decided whether to press charges or not, so Solomon agreed. The father called and vas oscillated between reasonable and furious. He told a story that he and his wife were fighting, they couldn't control their daughter, and their life seemed to be ruined by the previous night's texting. So this is interesting because scammers are always giving too much information because they want to make you feel at ease. So it's like if somebody sends you a nasty dick, like, to your daughter's phone, like, why are you talking to your them about your marital life?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Anyway, me and Karen have really been fighting. Things have been rough. She won't triangle, and it's really fucking up our marriage. I'm like, sir, what Is this about your daughter? What?

[B]

Yeah, these things are looking weird. And, like, the cops involved, you know,

[A]

that's the cop mediating.

[B]

Yeah, I'll call you back. You know, you're like, all right.

[A]

Has a cop ever called you and be like, okay, well, I'm gonna call you back, though.

[B]

Okay? No.

[A]

Okay. Me and the force gonna hit you later. Okay. Keep your phone on. What? The cops don't do that.

[B]

The cops texting you? It's like, what the fuck?

[A]

Hello, this is the cops. Yeah, it's like the FBI texting us. We all know they're listening to our phones. Just text us. FBI. So he's saying that they're fighting and all this stuff is going on. He had even tossed in his wife's work laptop and broken it. So he's telling him he broke his wife's laptop.

[B]

God, this guy's going specific, right?

[A]

That's too specific, sir.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So finally, after being berated, like, finally after berating Solomon, who kept apologizing and calling him sir. He said he wouldn't press charges on the condition that Solomon paid to replace the laptop.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So basically he was like, we saw your nasty dick in the bathroom stall. And then I threw my wife's computer. Does it make sense? This adds up now.

[B]

Give me $800 at the end of the day, you cover the cost of a new laptop, and we'll forgive and forget.

[A]

Well, my Daughter will unsee this penis. No worries.

[B]

We looked up what a new laptop costs. And you can verify?

[A]

Yeah, and this is your fault. I wouldn't have broken the laptop if you hadn't sent that picture of your nasty kid.

[B]

True.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just it's. It all adds up.

[A]

So he told him he had 30 minutes to make the decision.

[B]

Wow. Yeah. Ticking clock seems weird, right?

[A]

And also that's putting added pressure on it, and you feel like you're going to jail. So that makes sense. So he said Solomon gets off the phone and he talks about how basically it's blackmail. He called the officer back and told him everything. The officer's advice was to pay the father.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Not the real ain't nothing cops. So like in your story about the. The grandma's getting scammed with the lotto thing, the cop is just an extra person.

[B]

You gotta have somebody in authority. Just kind of like a little misdirect where you're like, oh, shit.

[A]

Right? If I were you, I'd pay the man. I know blackmail is against the law, and I am an officer of it. Right,

[B]

yeah.

[A]

We just pay the man.

[B]

He's got like, a Long beach area code and you're like, in.

[A]

Well, he had a real police officer's area code. This is the thing that people have been able to do. Oh, you can reroute the number so that it appears on someone else's phone as a legitimate phone, even though that's not where you're calling from.

[B]

Ooh wee. All right.

[A]

Uh.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

So. But while in an anxiety ball of empathy. And this is great writing, bruh.

[B]

It is, it is.

[A]

And imagining my old friend going to jail, my boyfriend found out. The whole situation was strange. Could a cop not arrest someone? If this was all true, was it up to the parents to press charges? Does the state not step in and prosecute these types of cases? Should a cop act as an intermediary and then just give both parties permission to resolve with payment? He decided to Google this and realized it was a scam. So whoever it who called from the cop's phone number and the parents phone number a few more times throughout the day. But Solomon didn't answer. So whoever these people were, they kept calling. He just stopped picking up. Luckily, that's how it all ended. But imagine these two guys pulling this scam again and again on unsuspecting, lonesome, horny, heterosexual men from Tinder, who, even if they realized they were being scammed, would be too ashamed to call the actual police.

[B]

It's. They're the Best marks the most desperate. Stupid, Right?

[A]

That despo meter you like, I ain't been laid in forever. I work in it. I don't see the sun.

[B]

I love the co. Honestly, dude, you should pay it at the end of the day. I love them, like, calling back and doing like, hey, we haven't heard from you in a while, Solomon. And you should probably just pay them, like, a hundred bucks.

[A]

Yeah, just lowering the price.

[B]

Yeah, just, you know, send it to

[A]

me, and then I'll send it to them because I'm a cop.

[B]

Yeah, I think that's probably the best thing. Dude, you. Here's the deal, dude. You fill up my car with gas. Not my cruiser, the office.

[A]

The officers keep getting lower and lower for what they want.

[B]

It's a Nissan Altima with 127,000 miles on it. You fill that thing up with gas, dude, and I think that this thing will go away. All right?

[A]

That's my opinion as an officer of the law.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, come on, dude. That dad threw the mom's laptop, and

[A]

that's your fault because you sent your dirty dick.

[B]

Yeah, he's looked at your ugly little dick on the fucking phone with bad lighting. And, you know, her life's over. Yeah. Have you ever talked to anybody? Have you ever had anybody that got scammed by buying a supposedly stolen computer, like, out of a truck? And then they get it home and out of the box and it's like this. It happened to this guy. I knew.

[A]

Damn, your friends are marks. What's going on?

[B]

I mean, look at me.

[A]

I mean,

[B]

I'm, like, somehow too stupid to be scammed. I'm just like, no, this. I hated this guy. But, like, he was in my college dorm, and so I just had no choice but to hang out with him. And this is right when people started buying Apple laptops and they were crazy expensive. It seemed impossible. It was like. To me, it was like getting, like, a Apple laptop was like buying a house, which is like, how do people fucking do that? You're younger. You don't. I mean, people just have them more now. Somehow. I don't know if the price went down.

[A]

Price did go down.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then we all conformed.

[B]

Yes. We're all. We're, like, all used to it now. At the time, it was crazy. And so this guy, you know, and it was his fault for getting scammed, got some crazy low price quote on one and met some shady guy and went somewhere to meet the guy in the back of a truck. The guy opened the box, you know, Apple's got those elaborate things. Showed him the laptop. The guy picked up the laptop and looked at it, and he tells me that he.

[A]

Did he open it or turn it on?

[B]

He. Oh, he, like, looked at it. It was like a substantial.

[A]

Looked at. It was like. Looks like a laptop to me.

[B]

Yeah. And it looked brand new. And he felt it. And then something happened, and the guy was able to sleight of hand it, and when he got home and opened what he thought was the same box, it was like a, you know, nothing in there. Like a weighted thing with no laptop in there. The guy fucking.

[A]

I just keep running into so many magicians.

[B]

I think you gotta. That's that grifter thing I was talking about, that sleight of hand.

[A]

Yeah. Magicians are scammers.

[B]

They are.

[A]

I had. There was a magician at a party this weekend, and he was showing us stuff, and I was like. He let me put a few on Instagram. He was like, oh, you can't put this on Instagram. I was like, okay, I'm not trying to fuck up your bag. But it was like there were some things where I was like, I can tell what's going on here. I watched the Criss Angel.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Is Criss angel dead? Did the magicians murder him? Oh, I thought the magicians were gonna murder him for giving away all the secrets.

[B]

Did he give away secrets?

[A]

Yeah, he had a whole TV show right. Where he was giving away. Or was he the one who just was like. No, there was a TV show that was like, magicians secrets unveiled.

[B]

It was the mask magician.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Yeah. And he had his voice altered the way that you were able to figure out. And he had, like, a luchador wrestling mask on or some shit.

[A]

And they're like, sir, why are you wearing that mask? Like, out of every mask? Oh, my God. See, I understand why he was putting himself under all that protection, though, because the magicians are also criminals. He was probably gonna pull up on my guy.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Do you ever do the Magic Castle?

[A]

I haven't yet. I know, it's crazy.

[B]

I know. I went. I was bored. I felt. And then you feel, like, compelled, like, you gotta look at the fucking trick while they're doing it. And I just kinda.

[A]

You didn't wanna look?

[B]

I mean, there's some stuff. But, like, I got bored by it. I just wanted to move on, you know? But then once the person started it, you had to see him all the way through.

[A]

Yeah. That's rude, Ryan. That's rude.

[B]

I did. I was polite. You gotta wear a Suit.

[A]

Yes. So we're gonna take a little break, and we'll be right back. Scamps.

[B]

C.

[A]

All right, guys. And we're back.

[B]

We're back.

[A]

And this is my favorite time in the show. This is the historic hoodwink. This is where I'm gonna regale Ryan with a very famous hoodwink. So you used to be an athlete, right?

[B]

I was, yeah.

[A]

Yes, that's what I heard. So we tried to get something, like, a little up your alley.

[B]

Thank God. Might be able to contribute something.

[A]

You're a worldly man. We could have picked anything. Yeah, but this is so. I don't even know what to call this scam, but this is about a professional referee who got into some gambling fun.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

Yes. Tim Donahue. Have you heard that name?

[B]

Sounds familiar.

[A]

It's a very scammer name. Cause I feel like that's a name I'm not gonna remember ever. Like, Tim could tell me his name, like, 12 times, and I'd be like, who, Johnny? You know?

[B]

You want to explain it sounds like he's gonna say Donna. He was gonna say Donahue, but that's too fake, so he just changed it. Tim Donaghy.

[A]

Yes. Is it Donaghee? She gave me a phonetic here.

[B]

Oh, it's got a G in there.

[A]

Yeah, G, H, E, E. So I guess I should say Donna Gee.

[B]

Donna Gee.

[A]

Yeah. So he's a former professional basketball referee who worked in the NBA for 13 seasons.

[B]

Oh, yeah, dude. This guy. And he went to prison, right?

[A]

Yeah, he went to jail. Jail. Damn. So from 1994 to 2007, during his career, Donaghy officiated in 772 regular season games and 20 playoff games. Donaghy placed tens of thousands of dollars in bets on games. He had been collaborating with low level mob associates to work on a gambling scheme. He resigned from the league in July 2007 after an FBI investigation for allegations that he bet on games, that he officiated and made calls affecting the point spread in those games. So all these times we're like, oh, this ref is Che. This game is rigged. Like, yeah, some people are oo.

[B]

It's for real.

[A]

For real. Oh, so what's Steph Curry's wife, Aisha Curry? Aisha, you were right. You were right, girl.

[B]

It does happen.

[A]

I know they made you take it off Twitter, but you were right. It's the only time I'll ever say Ayesha Curry was right about anything. Put it down on paper. So Tim's uncle and father were also referees. So he been in the referee dynasty.

[B]

A legacy guy. He's born with a little fucking striped shirt on or whatever.

[A]

That was the first outfit he put on. He called on the doctor when he slapped him.

[B]

He always, like, from a young age, he'd stick his butt out when he was running backwards. Don't refs always do that?

[A]

They do. It's a part of it. It's an art form. So, you know, he's a dynasty of referees like his pappy, his pappy's pappy. He had no choice but to go into refereeing. You know, he got a whistle at probably age 3, as soon as he could blow. Yeah, he got a whistle.

[B]

That's a weird thing to aspire to be, right? I don't want to play the sport. I want to be the dork that

[A]

I want to know everything about it and then watch all the athletic people. But be semi athletic myself, Right?

[B]

But why have fun when I could just ruin the fun?

[A]

Some people like ruining fun. Some people do just like. Some people are haters. I'm like, you gotta know who you are. Know your lane. Get a hater job.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I feel like a referee is a hater job.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

It's a hater profession.

[B]

Totally. Yeah. Get it? Yeah. If you're a hater, if you're a troll on Twitter, become a referee.

[A]

Right? Then you can get your kicks. You can have a small amount of power, and you, you can sleep better at night. You gotta just resign to who you are. You could try to stop being a hater, but that's probably too hard.

[B]

No, it's in your bones.

[A]

You know what is another hater profession? Traffic tickets people.

[B]

Oh, for sure.

[A]

Yeah. Meter maids. Hater profession. Your whole job is hating on people.

[B]

For sure. Yeah.

[A]

So if you're into that, hey, I'm gonna start at amonster.com just for hater jobs.

[B]

You should like. You're like meter maid. Perfect, Right? Especially when they're really good at it. It's like, why are you so fucking passionate about that?

[A]

You're waiting around everywhere. You're like, n a 259. I'm writing this ticket.

[B]

I know. Or like, the street sweep has already gone through.

[A]

Street is clean.

[B]

It's done. Yeah, the. Yeah, the damage was done.

[A]

The rules are rules.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

No, you're that. What? Who else is a hater? I feel like airline flight attendants. I'm getting in trouble for this. But flight attendants are haters now.

[B]

They are. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Used to be cool, mean as hell.

[A]

Now they don't give A fuck. Now they're, like, mean to you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I feel like I get on the plane and they're just, like, mad that I'm there.

[B]

Yeah, no, you're right.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Doctors given cancer diagnosis, are they haters now? You're. They're not.

[A]

I feel like they're trying to keep.

[B]

No, you're right.

[A]

You're right.

[B]

You're totally right. Yeah. It was a bad example.

[A]

So he said it was a job that I was born to do. Blessed with the right connections, obviously, because he comes from a family of refs. After four years of officiating in the CBA, the NBA's minor league, he was called up to the majors in 1994. He was 27 years old. Old. The referee's life has contradictions in season, it's demanding, tiring, high stress. But the gig is very well paid. Even rookies in 2007 can make, like, six figures.

[B]

Wow. Yeah, I guess you'd have to. You mean, they have to get people that are good at it. And it's a ton of pressure.

[A]

Six figures being a hater. You know what I mean? I love it. So. And then off season, you would have, like, semi retirement, basically, because you would have a lot of free time on your hands. That's a. That's a key element of scamming, is you have to have a lot of free time because you. You have to think about.

[B]

It's hard. It's hard.

[A]

You have to have time to go to Kinko's and FedEx, because those are scammer locations. Totally. You know what I mean? Time to learn Adobe Photoshop. So here are the key characters in the scam.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Which I love their names because I was like, yes. All these people do fraud. I'm into it. James Baba Sheep. Batista, that's his name.

[B]

You know, Baba Sheep.

[A]

Baba.

[B]

This fucking guy is fucking Baba Sheep. Baba Sheep fucked me over like.

[A]

How do you say that and be angry like, Baba Sheep, get your ass in here, dude.

[B]

I'm gonna fucking kill Baba Sheep. I'm gonna fucking kill.

[A]

I'm about to herd his ass to pasture, bitch. That's over for you, Baba.

[B]

I'm gonna make a fucking sweat out of Baba Sheep, that fucking lamb wool motherfucker.

[A]

So he's an underground bet broker or mover, you can call them. Who was at the center of the betting scheme? Scheme. Then you have Tommy Martino Maratino, excuse me, high school friend of Donaghy and Batista, who served as the go between in the betting scheme. You gotta have a go Between Gotta have a gon do your crime face to face. We're not doing. We don't touch dope. Okay. As young Jeezy would say, I keep my hands clean. Jack Concannon. Which is. That's gonna be hard for me all day. Jack Concannon. Suburban Philadelphia. Philadelphia. Insurance salesman and friend of Donaghy. Insurance salesman. He was already in a scam career.

[B]

In a scam career and also nerd. You want to have one? You know, you got baba sheep. And you know the other people you gotta have. Baba sheep.

[A]

Sounds like raw muscle.

[B]

Yeah. You gotta have the nerd in the suit, you know, where you're just like this, you know, dork isn't gonna scam shit, Right?

[A]

Exactly. And he's gonna be too afraid of Baba sheep to do shit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Then you got Pete Rhino Rugeri.

[B]

Wow. I always wanted that to be my nickname.

[A]

Rhino.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did you make it stick?

[B]

No. I campaigned for it, but people just didn't buy it.

[A]

They didn't.

[B]

They're like, we have to give you that. You can't just say no.

[A]

I said, come on. I said, people call me Rhino. You could be the people. I'm offering for you to be the people to call me Rhino.

[B]

It wasn't even that compelling that already you're like, your campaign for it is better. Mine was like, you know, I started at a new school, and I was like, some of the people at my old school call me Rhino. I guess if you wanted to call me that, you could maybe, or.

[A]

Oh, so you were trying to play coy.

[B]

Yeah, I was trying to be like, this is just.

[A]

Now you got to come at him thirsty. You was thirsty for going inside.

[B]

I know, I know. Lesson learned.

[A]

So Rhino is a gambler, bookmaker, and sometimes partner of Batista and the Animals. That's what they started calling themselves, which makes sense. We got a Rhino, we got a sheep.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And we got Tommy and Jack Conican, who I guess, aren't. They don't get no animal names.

[B]

I guess not. Baba Sheep always trying to change his too.

[A]

Right. He doesn't want to be Baba sheep. They're like, we named you Baba Sheep. Shut the up.

[B]

Yeah. There's a lot of better animals than a sheep. Come on.

[A]

That's what you are. Baba. So the animals bedding office. That's what they called their organization or their scheme. Okay. And then the last guy is Joseph. You gotta have a Joey. Joe Vito Mastronardo.

[B]

Great name.

[A]

Joe Vito. You know what I mean? Like, honestly, I feel like there's probably Too many Joe Vito's in the mob. Yeah, like I'm Jovito B. I'm Jovito M. Like, probably too many Joe Vitos.

[B]

Yeah. Joe Vito with the crew cut. Nah, nah. Joe Vito that lost his hair.

[A]

Oh, okay. That Joe Vito.

[B]

Yeah, the fat Joe Vito lost his hair. The thin Jovita that lost his hair.

[A]

The meat medium sized Jovito. He's got a dad body. Dad body. Joe Vino lost his hair.

[B]

I love that body. Joe Vito with that's lost his hair.

[A]

So a major black market bookie who served as Batista's most significant out. He was well connected, Joe Vito. He had many lucrative gambling related businesses. He served, for example, as a kind of shadow bank for the global underground gambling industry. For that reason, he had a lot of cash on hand. The last time he was arrested, the police dug up his yard and found sections of PvZ pipe buried there. And in the pipe was $1.1 million.

[B]

Holy shit.

[A]

That's where he was keeping his bank. PVC bank.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Pipes in my backyard.

[B]

That's a lot of money to have like that to have in cash and

[A]

to have in your backyard.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You don't got a dog? Little scruffy. Don't be out there. Shut up. Yeah, no, I like mobsters always have dogs. So the betting begins. There was a misconception about Tom. Like everyone thought that he started off as like this big time gambler with these huge heist, but he actually started a little bit bit smaller. According to court documents, Donaghy and Jack placed their first bet on a game that he was refereeing in 2003. More than four years and four NBA seasons before he was caught. So my man's was out here getting it for a while.

[B]

Yeah, Doing smaller scale. That got his beak wet. Started to get a taste for it.

[A]

Got greedy.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, got greedy. That's always what happens.

[A]

So he bet on two or three games in the beginning, and then the next season he started betting on between 30 and 40 games. What?

[B]

Wow. Turned into a little piggy there, huh?

[A]

That went from 0 to 100.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, I feel like Tim changed his whole swag up. It was like two or three games, he was winning a couple thousand dollars. Then the next season, you see him, he in chinchilla coats. He refereeing in a coat we like. Ain't that heavy, Tim, take that chinchilla off. You can't keep up with the running. He's like, nah, nah, I'm good. He's got several rings on.

[B]

Yeah, Just driving a Rolls Royce on the court, they're like, what the fuck?

[A]

Yeah, that's where I park it. Now, Donaghy with so many rings on, and they're flying throughout the game when he's pointing, I'm like, this is too much. So he did well, obviously. And by his own admission in his memoir, which, of course, you got to write a memoir. So much cast started rolling in that he had problems knowing where to physically stash it, so his W wouldn't ask any questions.

[B]

Wasn't letting the wife in on. Well, I guess. Yeah. Just not knowing that the. The scam was happening.

[A]

Yeah. But I'm like, this is your wifey, right? Like, she's not gonna be. Y' all not Bonnie and Clyde in this. Like, you out here trying to, like, hide money behind the toilet. Like, what is this?

[B]

Yeah. And also, just put it in a PO Box at a bank. People are so.

[A]

PVC pipes.

[B]

Yeah, PVC pipe. Yeah, PVC bank going, get Jovito's plumber and bury that in the backyard.

[A]

There's just a plumber who just comes out and installs pipes. He's like, you just want an empty pipe that goes to nowhere. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you so much.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So Tim's wife at the time, Kim, printed out the first 98 pages of her unfinished unpublished memoir, the Ref's Wife. So she got a memoir, too?

[B]

Yeah, everybody's going, memoir.

[A]

The Ref's Wife, though. That's not a sexy title. No, the ref is not popping enough for. For me to care about his wife. I don't wanna read the Ref as a book.

[B]

No, no.

[A]

That's a hater book.

[B]

Yeah, it's a Dennis Leary movie.

[A]

So she describes the moment that she picked up his official NBA jacket to put it in the wash and found a pocket with a huge wad of $100 bills in a rubber band. How huge, you ask? She uses her thumb and forefingers making an O the diameter of an orange, which she must have way longer fingers than mine because I can't make a orange size O.

[B]

That's the weirdest fucking description ever.

[A]

That's what she wrote. Look, she's a. She's an artist. She's painting you a picture.

[B]

Official NBA jacket. I don't know if I'm buying that.

[A]

I'm not buying that at all. Cause, sis, first of all, you washing his official NBA, what was you about to put that in? The rinse cycle? Girl, that's a dry cleaning item.

[B]

And also, how many times have you washed a jacket unless it's Like a workout jacket. Do you ever wash your jackets?

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

Something crazy has to fucking happen.

[A]

Honestly, I think that he started hiding shit. And she started getting suspicious because women have a sixth sense about this. And she was like, who is this bitch? You fucking. Is this bitch in the jacket? She went in the jacket looking for a bitch, and what she found was. Is an orange sized water, $100 bitch. Which was probably like, okay, yeah, wait a minute. There's a little blood on it, but that's all right.

[B]

Much better than some strange pussy, right?

[A]

In the jacket.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So she struggled to recall exactly when, but she told me that she probably started finding cash in 2004 during the season. At that time, she told herself the money was from golf course betting, but she would keep finding such roles in his pockets as the years went on. So she said she never counted the money, never confronted him about the existence, and when asked why, she said one word. Scared. So maybe Tim was a bad guy.

[B]

Yeah, sounds like. I mean, clearly he was.

[A]

Now, obviously, we know you counted the money, sis. Like, you counted it, recounted it, organized it, maybe took down some serial numbers of the paper bills, of course. And he probably took a little bit of it.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. Why not? I mean, obviously he doesn't give a. About it.

[A]

Anybody who has money rolled up, like, you not counting that money?

[B]

No. Every. Every once in a while, you'll find, like, I'll find, like, a $5 bill in one of my jackets. And I remember when it happened, right.

[A]

I'm not taking a wad of cash and being like, 1, 2, 3.

[B]

Yeah. Like, yes.

[A]

It looked like the same wad I had before, so I'm not counting it.

[B]

Well, he was at a stage where he didn't know what was going on. He didn't even need the money, like, for me to be. Remember that as, like, life moments when I found money in my pocket, you know, Donaghy was in a whole nother league, you know, with the.

[A]

He's like, which jacket did I leave that roll of hundreds in? Yeah, I'll just use this roll of hundreds of stuff.

[B]

Who cares? 30 to 40 games.

[A]

So the animals, the betting group, landed in Curacao, where they helped launch an online sports book known as Play asap. So now they're going digital.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Problematic footprint. Yeah, you gotta keep it old school. Bookies, pencil, paper. Alleyways.

[B]

Alleyways.

[A]

Alleyways were made for crime. Crime, Right. Like, where can we do crime? Like, what's an office space for crime? What's a. We work but for crime.

[B]

Alleyways Alleyways, of course.

[A]

So they're taking it online, though, now they're getting into technology. So it was situated in a house a block off of the beach. It was there between the palms of Mambo Beach. Tiki bar. And so y' all really needed this nice of a setup. We told you. Alleyway.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Shady.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You got foot traffic going on now. This is crazy.

[B]

Go somewhere where people don't want to be, right?

[A]

Go.

[B]

Not a delightful location.

[A]

Warehouses.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know what I mean.

[B]

Empty warehouse. Old rundown factories.

[A]

That's where all the crime happens.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So between rounds of golf and late night poker sessions at the beach hotel casino, the animals began to cash in on a brilliant discovery. Rhino Ruggieri was booking bets made by an acquaintance back home, a guy that he knew from the golf course named Jack. See, now this is when Jack Conicannon comes into play. So back in Philly, Rhino noticed that Connor Cannon's bet sizes were an order of magnitude higher than certain NBA games. And those bets won like they never won before. So now that they're using this app and people are kind of playing all over the country, basically Rhino looks at the app, he's like, hold up. Jack is making bank, and he's winning more than everybody else.

[B]

Okay, so this is where these. The animal discover Donaghy.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay. Because they weren't connected yet.

[A]

No, not yet, though.

[B]

You mentioned that they weren't colluding yet.

[A]

Yeah, they weren't colluding yet. So this was just. Tim was on his own for a minute, rocking small time, and then 30, 40 bets.

[B]

Yeah. The next year, he's hanging out with his insurance salesman buddy. They're making bets, and then these other guys are running an online, you know, betting game. Betting game. Gotcha.

[A]

So now they're noticing, like, wait a minute. These people who have now come to online betting space are cleaning up more than everybody else. So since he was now affiliated with Play asap, Rhino was running all the bets. So he's. That's how he sees all the coins. So when he realizes something is up, instead of calling the police, you know, and being like, hey, these guys are playing illegally, he reaches out to them and is like, hey, so I'mma get in on this.

[B]

I want in. Yeah.

[A]

So now. Now they're placing bets on games of thirty thousand, fifty thousand, hundred thousand dollars.

[B]

Pitfalls of being a scammer. If another scammer wants in, you gotta let him.

[A]

What you gonna do? Call the police?

[B]

Nope.

[A]

You gotta let him in.

[B]

So I love how Rhino is Like the mathematician that spots this, right?

[A]

He's like, wait a minute.

[B]

Some crazy, beefy dude named Rhino Rigam. He's like the beautiful Mayan guy. Like, he's seeing all the math and he figures out the algorithm.

[A]

That meme that you always do all the math in front of him, that's him. But he's like, also chugging a monster energy that he's, like, poured tons of creatine in. He's also a beautiful mind. So the betting markets start catching on to the emergence of an oddly accurate NBA bet. So because this. Because of this edge, this treasure was in danger of evaporating. Because basically, once you bet a certain way for a little while, people start to realize, and they'll start betting differently.

[B]

You got to throw some losses in there. You got to.

[A]

Exactly. But they weren't trying to take no losses. They were trying to get these bags. So Martino wasn't a gambler and had hardly ever placed bets in his life. But he was close friends of high school buddies Donaghy and Batista, who in turn were never really close with each other. So he's kind of like the middleman friend of them. He's like, I know you. I know you. I don't know anything about gambling, but here I am. So this is how Martino gets in. So to come back for one second, because there's, like, so many fucking people involved now. Baba Sheep is Batista. Yeah, that's Baba. Tommy Maratino is just a high school friend who somehow gets involved with the insurance salesman and Donaghy.

[B]

Yeah, it seems like he set them up. Like Donaghy needed money to place the bets. And then he's like, this insurance salesman has money, so he, like, set them up.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

He's kind of like, now I'm in the middle of this fucking shit, and I didn't anticipate being involved with mobsters.

[A]

Right. And that's what's about to happen. And Tim himself is a little scary. Like, Right. His wife says she's scared of him.

[B]

Like, scary. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

But not as scary as movie mobsters.

[B]

Not as scary as mobsters. This thing seems to be running away from these kind of. These dudes.

[A]

These normal kind of corny ass dudes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So on December 12, 2006, at a Philadelphia Airport Marriott. Which Airport Marriott. Gotta love an Airport Marriott.

[B]

I've stayed at a few myself. Continental breakfast.

[A]

And when I think scam, I do think Airport Marriott.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

So inside the hotel's restaurant, the Riverbend Bar and Grill. Look at them. Trying to have a name for their restaurant. Just call that shit restaurant. That's a hotel. Marriott.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Oh, Airport Marriott. They're seated around the table. Batista, Baa Ba. Black sheep. And Donaghy sat with Marantino, witnessing the new deal be consummated. So Batista demanded that Donaghy never bet with Jack again. Now, Jack was the insurance salesman. That was the not really homie, but kind of homie.

[B]

Yeah, and that's bad too. You. You get rid of another scammer.

[A]

You can't. You can't have any outliers because now y' all all know the same information.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And in exchange for providing Batista with his betting picks, Donaghy would receive 2,000 per game, but only if the pick. Much later, we would come to call this meeting the marriage. So Jack was winning so much, it became alarming, and he wasn't sharing his winning. So he's still winning a lot of money and pissing people off at this point because he ain't giving nobody a cut.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Right? Later that night, they went to a gas station and came out with a pack of rolling papers. Got in the car, Maratino rolled a joint. They passed it back and forth, and then. Baa ba. Batista, who snorted some cocaine.

[B]

Yeah, get it.

[A]

Said that he didn't do weed. Makes sense. He does cocaine. So anyway, they make this pact and say, don't tell anyone, because that's how you get in trouble. So at least we're all on the same page.

[B]

Yeah. Wow. Thanks, Baba. Here's the. Hey, here's the deal. When you do something wrong, don't tell anybody. That's how you get busted.

[A]

Oh, my God, Baba, that's such good advice.

[B]

That's profound, bro.

[A]

So the Celtics played the 76ers the night after the Marriott meeting. Donaghy worked the game. One source says that Batista moved as much as $500,000 in wagers at this game. So we had a big bet on that, and we had a big bet on every fucking game. He says, great.

[B]

What do you want to know? Big bet on that on every fucking game.

[A]

Next question.

[B]

Next question, your honor.

[A]

So this is how he's talking in court. Bob Batista usually watched these games at home, but sometimes not watching would give him agita. He said at this point, he'd have to turn the TV off. I remember being like, oh, shit, it's getting out of hand. It's too obvious. If anyone's watching this, we've got a problem. And yet it's going on. Meanwhile, Baba Batista's behavior is worsening. He starts popping pills. Vicodin, Oxycontin, Sometimes falling asleep at the dinner table at restaurants, sometimes vomiting blood, but no weed.

[B]

It's a weird, arbitrary draw. I never do weed. But I'll throw up blood, that's for sure.

[A]

Sorry. Would you like sparkling Stiller? Oh, you have thrown up blood on the table. Okay, I'm gonna just get some taste app.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Hello.

[B]

Also was Donna. And Donaghy's just getting two grand. Is he allowed to make his own bets?

[A]

I don't think so. I think because Bobatista is in the mob, this was kind of like a forceful takeover.

[B]

Rough. That sucks, cuz. You're like, oh, Jesus, now I'm just making a couple of grand, and this guy's making a half a million dollars.

[A]

Yeah, you get two grand, but you also get something worth so much more. Your life.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

Every day you win.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

A chance to breathe.

[B]

Oh, man.

[A]

So this guy's getting out of hand. On March 15, Baba Batista confessed to his wife that he lost $7 million of his client's money. On March 16, a very strung out Maratino, who I guess also started getting into drugs, found himself surrounded by almost his entire immediate family. They said he had to go to rehab. They're, like, hanging out with Baba too much.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

You've thrown up blood six times this week.

[B]

You got it to rehab intervention.

[A]

So getting caught. Just before entering rehab, Batista handed over the operation to Rhino Rougerie.

[B]

Oh, wow, the math whiz.

[A]

But this is where things got sloppy. Uh oh, we were right about Rhino. He's not that bright.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So by now everybody knows that Donaghy had permeated the market and Batista had ruined it because it was super duper quiet. But he started betting with everybody, and the lines were crazy. So basically he was like, come one, come all. And because he's, like, on oxy and on pills, he's like, yeah, you want to bet? I got a win and didn't take this bet.

[B]

And he was somehow losing his clients other. So he's making unsure bets, I guess too. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

And he's not only betting for these, like, fixed games. He's doing.

[B]

Continuing his business. Wow.

[A]

Yeah. So Donaghy resigned in 2007 from the NBA amid allegations that he bet on games that he officiated. He later served 15 month prison sentence in conjunction with the FBI's investigation, which probably means he snitched like Tekashi. He probably went in there, was like, all right, What? Y' all want to know this fucking

[B]

if it's the guy, I'm pretty sure it is Snitched. And he also joined, like, a white supremacy gang in jail to survive this coward.

[A]

I've never laughed harder at someone joining white supremacy.

[B]

Yeah. It's just like, I gotta live this coward. I mean, come on.

[A]

He's like, what else do y' all want to know? Who faked the moon landing? I'll tell you anything.

[B]

Just completely compromising everything. You know, it's like.

[A]

Like, Tim, you have a black son. You know what? I'm with the Reich now, okay? My black son. Just kidding. He doesn't have a black son. But wouldn't that be funny?

[B]

No, but I mean, he was a referee in the NBA.

[A]

Yeah. So he was around black people all his entire career.

[B]

He can thank his entire career to.

[A]

He was. He was like, you know what? And I hated him. That's why I gave him so many fouls.

[B]

Jesus Christ.

[A]

I hate him so much. They were black. That's. That's why I gave him a foul, because they was black. Cause I'm. I'm a racist, too. Guys, let's make. Yeah. He's like, we have all these pictures with you with several players from the Celtics. Here you are in a Ferrari in a coat, and lots of rings.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And. Is that Magic Johnson?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I hate him. That N word. He changed his tune real hard.

[B]

Yeah. Big time.

[A]

Oh, God. You know, you gotta get tattoos too when you do that shit. He probably came out of jail and all his black NBA friends were like, oh, Tim was good. They made me put the swastika in my forehead.

[B]

He immediately turns back to them. I didn't want to do anything.

[A]

I told them the forehead is a really bad place for a sports to go.

[B]

Oh, man. Donaghy. Donaghy. Donaghy. Donaghy.

[A]

Goodness gracious. So he snitches and Kim files for a divorce immediately after the investigation becomes public. During his imprisonment. Imprisonment, he was attacked and threatened. A man claiming to be associate of the New York Mafia struck Donaghy with a paint roller extension bar, resulting in injuries to his knee that required surgery. So, yes, this is probably why he joined a white supremacy game. Because he was being hunted by the mob. Mob in jail. Also, I really appreciate how on brand this attack was. They hit him in the knees.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

The mob is all about the knees.

[B]

Yeah. Take his legs out.

[A]

And honestly, knee injuries take a long time to heal. If I owe somebody money and I gotta walk every day, I'm gonna think about the money I owe them.

[B]

Yeah. Plus, MRIs are a nightmare.

[A]

This is the whole reason the mob is doing this. Like, MRIs are a nightmare.

[B]

Bitch, we just cursed them with a lifetime time full of MRI visits.

[A]

And then whenever it rains. Whenever it rains, his knees hurt.

[B]

They're gonna act up. They're gonna act up.

[A]

Think of a chronic injury.

[B]

He'll never referee again.

[A]

So on June 19, 2008, the NBA filed a demand that Donaghy reimburse the league for the cost of his airfare and meals, complimentary game tickets, and other expenses, including $750 in shoes.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

Damn.

[A]

We want our meals back. NBA. NBA. I'm sorry, but y' all are rich as hell. This is a scam. You want your meals back. Remember that tuna and ride that we had gave you? We want that back.

[B]

No, listen, I. To be honest, I've gone out to dinner with the NBA, and, like, they. They look at what everybody ordered, and they're like, well, we ordered this together, but I didn't eat any of it. And I look like the NBA was eating a lot of those nachos, had

[A]

a lot of margaritas, and then was

[B]

like, let's just split it up. Yeah. Equally. And then whenever they don't, then they flip it. It's just like, pick a side.

[A]

They're cheap. They're cheap as hell.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So the NBA claimed that Donaghy owes it 14. Or. Excuse me. $1.4 million, including 577,000 of his pay and benefits over four seasons. Okay. I'm sorry. NBA. Look, the man did. He was a criminal. Yes, absolutely. But when you leave a job, the job can't be like, give us all the money back that we gave you. He showed up to work.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He did crime while he was there.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But he. Did he clock in on time?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did the calls get called? Did the plays get played?

[B]

They got played.

[A]

Did the booty stick out when he ran backwards?

[B]

Backwards? It did.

[A]

Absolutely. Every time. So you can't get your money back.

[B]

Yeah. Also, you hired him.

[A]

Like, what are you doing?

[B]

Yeah. Figure it out earlier and fire his ass. But if you. If you're a sucker and you pay somebody this whole time, then that's on you.

[A]

Exactly. That's not how jobs work in ba. Let that shit go. Go.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So. So Tom Donaghy has always publicly denied that he deliberately manipulated games to win bets, arguing that he based his picks on insider information. Privately, however, he has taken a different position.

[B]

This guy is the ultimate coward.

[A]

I love it. He's like, I didn't do anything. I'm innocent. Okay, Close the door. I did everything. I'm not innocent at all.

[B]

How dare you? How dare. Are they gone? I'm guilty as hell.

[A]

Damn. Oh, my God. I love you. You might be a bad man, but I do like you a little bit. So he said certain games would be unfixable, but sometimes he could influence a game like six points either way. Six points.

[B]

Yeah. That's everything.

[A]

So. A professional gambler once confronted Donaghy a few years after Donaghy's release from prison. A close observer of basketball, the gambler had become curious after suffering losses on games. Donaghy WR draft during that season. To the gambler's surprise, Donaghy acknowledged that, yes, he deliberately called fouls against the other side that he bet against. And he told the gambler about other tactics as well. He said he liked to call an illegal defense call right away in the first minute. That way Donaghy could force the side he picked to play against a little less aggressive or. I'm sorry, to play a little less aggressively on defense.

[B]

Oh, wow. Straight up. Change their. Their style of play. They have to make a. An early game adjustment on that.

[A]

Yeah. To be less aggressive.

[B]

Yeah. To stay at a penalty, he said

[A]

he'd pick on the big center or the most valuable player of each team, and he'd try to get them in foul trouble, which makes sense.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

And those are the people who get picked on the most again, Ayesha Curry. She said it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We didn't believe her. So this is just a. We do have times. I'll do this fun little story. So. Since moving to Florida in 2005, Donaghy often volunteered for local youth sports leagues that his friend Kuehl ran out of a community center after Donaghy's downfall. But before he headed to prison, Donaghy broke down and wept inside his friend's office. My life is ruined. He called the office's window, looked onto the basketball court, where children of youth teams were just practicing their squeakers. Squeakers. Their sneakers squeaked on the hardwood. Keel got up, crossed the room, and closed the blinds. That's when Donaghy laid everything out. He spilled everything. Imagine being so guilty of some that you're like, hey, you're on the phone with someone in a different place. Can you go close the blinds? I got to tell you some. We're on the phone, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But go close the blinds. What? I don't want nobody to see you on the phone with me. It don't make no damn sense.

[B]

Turn the light off. Honestly. Turn the light off.

[A]

Turn the light off.

[B]

Put a blindfold on.

[A]

You got a blanket? Put a blanket over your head with the lights off.

[B]

Put. Hire somebody to. To do prosthetic makeup, disguise on your face, and then we can talk on the phone. Yeah.

[A]

So when Donaghy finished, K leaned back in his chair and because he'd been listening to this story for a while, the gambling, the cash, the secrecy, the corruption, the endless search by human beings to gain an edge. But now one thing was on Keels mind, and it wasn't the moral of the story, or actually the moral of this story. If you're telling me what you're saying is true, you're gonna be rich. Kiel's eyes were practically dollar signs in that moment. Like the many people before him who expanded and abetted the scheme and profited from it, Aaron Keel seized an opportunity. All I'm seeing, he told Donaghy, is a movie. I love it. The scam continues. So he did get a book deal. And I hope that he gets a movie, because I want to see it.

[B]

I'd watch the shit out of that. I want to read the book now. Gaming the Game. Is that Donaghy's book?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I really don't want to give the guy any money, but.

[A]

I mean, don't you want to give him a little bit of money, though?

[B]

Yeah, you convinced me. That's all I needed.

[A]

Gaming the Game isn't his book. His book is Blowing the Whistle, the Culture of Fraud in the NBA. So he's coming at this almost from an elitist standpoint, like he wasn't the fraud.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How you gonna write a book talking about the culture of fraud? You made that culture. You the fraud.

[B]

That's on. That's on brand for him, though.

[A]

Truly, he is a bitch.

[B]

Yeah. Blowing the lid off how bad the NBA is, is. And then the NBA is like, you're not bad NBA. You're great. And then, you know, whoever he's with.

[A]

How you gonna blow the lid off yourself, bro? You the problem. That's like, I'm not doing this. But you know what? I'm. I'm still proud of you, Tip. You know what I mean? You pulled this off for four years.

[B]

What a trip.

[A]

I hope you had some fun. I hope you didn't just leave all the money in your jackets and never spend any of it. That seems like a waste.

[B]

Yeah, hopefully he's looking for those jackets, man. Trying to find those rolls, those bank rolls.

[A]

All Right, guys, We'll be back in one more moment. All right, guys. And we are back with the last segment of the show to let you go. Right.

[B]

I'm going to stick around for another hour.

[A]

Yes. So this is where we praise one honorary charlatan just for their work in chicanery, the scammer of the week. So, volunteer Girl Scout treasurer. Oh, no, first of all, volunteer treasurer.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

I volunteered to work with the money for free. Yeah.

[B]

Bad sign.

[A]

Just me and that money for free.

[B]

Yeah. We had a kid growing up and his dad stole a bunch. The kid already got made fun of. And his dad, same deal. Volunteered to work treasury for the soccer. The youth soccer league. Dad stole a bunch of money. And then everybody made fun of that kid so much.

[A]

Hey, your dad robbed us. What?

[B]

That poor kid.

[A]

Oh, God. Your friends. Yeah, right.

[B]

A lot of suckers. So it's one born every second.

[A]

So. Patricia Cassion, a 52 year old from Santa Clarita, California, a shout out to Cali, was arrested on Monday. She's accused of embezzling more than $88,000 from her troop of the Beverly Hills Cancer Skin. Oh, no. The cancer center. The police said Cassian had volunteered with several area Girl Scout troops, including local Girl Scout services in Santa Clarita. For that's the important part. She knew the game. If you volunteered for 20 years, you know. You know the INS cookies cost. You know how much them Tagalongs worth?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You get in the game.

[B]

The trefoils, the shortbread one nobody likes.

[A]

Yeah. Those are trash. If you give me trefoils, I'll fight you. Are you fucking kidding me?

[B]

I just flip them out of people. Like, people bring the box up and I knock the box up in the air. Out of the box.

[A]

As you should. Even if a Girl Scout.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Exclusively.

[A]

I'll fight a Girl Scout. Los Angeles investigators say cassillon embezzled $58,000 from the bank accounts of troops and the unit she volunteered for over the past five years. Police also found evidence that Cassiana committed theft by false pretense of more than $30,000 while working as the chief financial officer of the Beverly Hills Cancer Center. So, damn, she was robbing the cancer center separately. And then she was also robbing the Girl Scouts. Cassian's arrest came after fraud and Cybercom investigations that lasted 15 months. Officials reportedly feared that Casin may have committed fraud elsewhere because she led fundraising efforts at several organizations in the Santa Clarita Valley. So she. She probably has been robbing people forever. Yeah, you can't have a volunteer to work with money, you have to pay that person.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Because otherwise I'm gonna be. Everybody gonna be looking at that money like, right. How many Tagalogs do they think we had anyway?

[B]

Yeah, I worked at a restaurant and they wouldn't give us meals. I fucking ate so much food at that place, like, I would just go and, like, hide in the deep freeze and just, like, shove desserts in my mouth. They had, like little pieces of cheesecake, like, all stacked up in this deep freezer. I'd be like, I gotta go check on something. And I would just go in there as fast and, like, house as many pieces.

[A]

That's right. He's been checking on something for so long, his tables are getting frustrated.

[B]

That guy's been in the deep freeze for two hours.

[A]

He doesn't even cook here. He doesn't need to be in there.

[B]

But if they gave us meals, then

[A]

you don't have to worry about that.

[B]

Yeah, I wouldn't have been hungry.

[A]

Family meal. That's why they do it.

[B]

I know.

[A]

It ain't for fucking family. They're like, stop stealing from us. I'm like, either you give me this meal or I'm going to eat this $50 dessert. Yep, same, same. Well, shout out to Patricia. I mean.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, pretty brazen. Yeah, definitely.

[A]

You gotta make your own salary sometimes out here. Okay. They weren't paying my girl Patricia. She ain't steal that much. She took like $88,000.

[B]

Yeah. It's a nonprofit. Somebody's got a profit.

[A]

Right. We all know Girl Scouts of America are out here basically moving dope.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Those cookies are weight.

[B]

No. Yeah, and they're. And they're like shaming people. They got their mom, like, bringing them to work and stuff, and people are buying crates of them. And, you know, it's like it's turned into a show off thing.

[A]

Like, so what if Patricia thinned out the thin mints a little bit?

[B]

She get a little taste.

[A]

Yeah. Wasn't Chris Rock, like, selling Girl Scout cookies, like, at an award show?

[B]

Yeah, all of that. Yeah.

[A]

He's rich.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

He was soliciting other rich people to buy some fucking cookies from him. That shit is rude.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

And I heard he really asked for the payment, too. He'd be like, do you want to buy these cookies? And then he was like, no, give me the money.

[B]

Yeah. You're like, shit.

[A]

Damn, Chris.

[B]

Yeah, Top five did good. Everything.

[A]

At the end of every show, I always ask, where do you want to be found?

[B]

Where do I want to be found.

[A]

Yes. Not where can people find you, but where do you want to be found?

[B]

I want to be found. Come check out action boys. That's my scam. There's tons of free podcasts. It's one I force people to pay for. So yeah, come check out get in

[A]

on that scam, guys. And then go to a live show and buy. Bring $150. Pay for a ticket and bring me 100.

[B]

Bring 100. If you really want to connect, bring $150.

[A]

That's the only way I connect with people.

[B]

Yeah, makes perfect sense to me. I definitely. It won't baffle me at all. That's for sure.

[A]

And as always, guys, you can email us@scamgoddesspod Gmail.com if you have any scams you want to share. Make sure they're retired. Also, you can find us @ScamGoddessPod on Twitter and on Instagram. And you can find me divalacy I V A L A C I on all platforms, including bmo. Honey, that congregation keep scamming.