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Report: Federal probe at UNLV involves possible point-shaving

 
Published Feb. 14, 1992|Updated Oct. 10, 2005

Federal authorities are investigating whether UNLV players shaved points last season as a result of their dealings with convicted sports fixer Richard Perry, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Thursday.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed federal law enforcement officer close to the case.

According to the Review-Journal, the investigation is being conducted jointly by the IRS and the Las Vegas Organized Crime Strike Force, a branch of the U.S. Attorney's office. Issues being addressed, the Review-Journal reported, include the size and source of funds in UNLV players' checking accounts; whether Perry took or placed bets on UNLV games; whether Perry or his associates had access to UNLV's dressing room; and the source of Stacey Augmon's $2,000 down payment on a car he purchased while attending UNLV.

Federal officials wouldn't comment, and UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian discounted the story: "It's all bull. I will bet you not one investigation is going on."

Tarkanian said the matter is a "deception" initiated by UNLV legal counsel Brad Booke, who called the assertion "absurd."

Perry pleaded guilty in 1984 to being involved in the Boston College point shaving scandal. He was convicted in '74 of fixing harness races in New York.