DETROIT (AP) β A former University of Toledo basketball player has been sentenced to probation for altering his performance to help gamblers who bet on the Rockets a decade ago.
The sentence for Sammy Villegas (Vi-GAY’-az) is the first in the point-shaving case. It involved seven players, including three football players. All have pleaded guilty.
Villegas faced as much as 30 months in prison but got a break Tuesday. Detroit federal Judge Mark Goldsmith followed the recommendation of prosecutors and ordered probation and community service.
Villegas says he accepted at least $3,000 from 2004 through 2006 from a Detroit-area gambler to intentionally make mistakes to control the score.
In court, he apologized to Toledo but said nothing else. Former basketball player Anton Currie also will be sentenced Tuesday.
