- Alvin J. Paris
Alvin J. Paris (born 1918) was a New York bookmaker and gambler who, as a "front man" for a gambling syndicate based in
Elizabeth, New Jersey , fixed college sporting events through bribing of star athletes, includingRocky Marciano . [http://www.unioncountynj.org/prosecutor/newsletters/0405nltr.pdf]After being recorded on federal wiretaps on
December 15 ,1946 in an investigation by Manhattan District AttorneyFrank S. Hogan , a former assistant to crusading New York District AttorneyThomas Dewey , he was convicted of attempting to bribe professional football playersMerle Hapes andFrank Filchock of theNew York Giants with $2,500 each to throw the NFL championship game against theChicago Bears . Paris was eventually convicted of bribery onJanuary 8 ,1947 and, although Hapes and Fitchcock were cleared of bribery charges, both men were initially suspended by then league commissionerBert Bell (with Filchock being allowed to play the final game against the Chicago Bears).During his trial, Paris chose not to take the stand in his own defense and later testified against his partners David Krakauer, Jerome Zarowitz and Harvey Stemmer, for which he would later receive death threats. Paris's sentencing had been deferred until after the second trial and he received a one-year sentence on April 7 of which he served nine months before his parole.
Further reading
*Cook, William E. "Pete Rose: Baseball's All-Time Hit King". Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2003. ISBN 0-7864-1733-1
*Moldea, Dan E. "Interference: How Organized Crime Influences Professional Football". New York: William Morrow, 1989.
*Sammons, Jeffrey Thomas. "Beyond the Ring: the role of boxing in American society". University of Illinois Press. 1990. ISBN 0-252-06145-4
*Smith, John L. "Running Scared: the life and treacherous times of Las Vegas casino king Steve Wynn". New York: Thundermouth Press, 2003. ISBN 1-56858-190-4
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