DETROIT — A Detroit-area man pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribing players to fix basketball and football games nearly a decade ago at the University of Toledo in Ohio, the ninth and final conviction in the case.
Ghazi "Gary" Manni also cleared two other cases: paying bribes to fix horse races in Florida and Delaware in 2005-06 and committing food stamp fraud while running King Cole, a Detroit grocery store.
"Guilty," he told a judge three times.
The Toledo indictment was filed in 2009, but the case has moved slowly in federal court in Detroit. Two former basketball players, Keith Triplett and Kashif Payne, pleaded guilty to conspiracy before Manni entered the courtroom.
In total, seven former Rockets have pleaded guilty over the last few years, along with Manni and his gambling partner, Mitchell "Ed" Karam. No one has been sentenced yet.
Manni, 57, admitted bribing Toledo players from 2004 to 2006 to influence the final score, especially in basketball. The margin of victory plays a role in sports bets. A court filing lists more than $300,000 in bets, but the government said there were more.
"The players provided insider information about their teams, such as injury reports, and agreed to alter their performances to affect the outcome of games," Manni's plea agreement states. "They did this to help Mr. Manni and Karam win bets placed on the games, in exchange for money, groceries and other items of value."
Payne, a guard on the basketball team, said he received less than $2,000 and groceries to affect scores during the 2005-06 season. Triplett, who played basketball from 2001 through 2005, said he never met Manni but took cash that was passed by another player.
