Sunday's Sin: A Conspiracy to Fix the Big Game: Why Did Boochie Jones Have To Die?

By Louis Greenwald PT

In the not-too-distant future, professional football is king and its players are royalty. Boochie Jones, star player for Buffalo, is among the best in the league. He's a model player with tremendous gifts and a heart of gold. As Boochie leads his team to football's greatest game, there is treachery behind the scenes. A conspiracy involving coaches and executives leading all the way to the commissioner's office lurks under the surface of Buffalo's dream season.

When Boochie begins to sense that all is not right, it leads to twists and turns that cost the life of football's greatest son. Why did Boochie Jones have to die? The answer will leave you asking questions long after the final paragraph.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638811428

Book preview

The Conspiracy

The conspiracy was an easy decision to make. The players’ salaries, coaches’ salaries, stadium rentals, the cost of travel, and the never-ending lawsuits and paternity suits against the players were escalating. The cover-up of all the misbehaviors of the players in the off-season and the bribes to the media added up to an outflow of money that was staggering. It was not a good business to be in, and any good businessman would have gotten out of the PFL in a heartbeat. But the PFL owners were a bunch of egotistical individuals who had long ago sold out to the glamour and the notoriety of being a PFL owner. They loved the limelight, and they loved being sought after. The action was fast and loose, and the owners loved the action.

It started in a cribbage game. Two owners were talking about how to enhance their profit. Both were multimillionaires trying to beat the other in a two-dollar game of cribbage. We could always gamble, and that is the way it started. The two owners were used to gambling. They gambled in business, took risks to make their millions. They gambled in their extramarital affairs, taking risks that would drive a high school teenager crazy. They risked the love of a steadfast partner, who had raised their kids and put up with their eccentric activities and who stood by them in good and bad times, for a gold-digging floozy with a $50,000 manufactured body and no brains. The owners were used to gambling and risks.

They met at an out-of-the-way golf course in central Florida. The Oakwood Golf Clubhouse was built on the model of a Southern plantation house. A wooden open veranda with a white railing surrounded the green high-pitched roof building. The veranda was a great place to sit during the dry season and look out on the eighteenth hole of the golf course, which was a dogleg left par 4 with a small green protected by a pond on the right side of the green and two sand traps guarding the front of the green. The veranda was also a great place to share beverages and tell stories. The inside of the clubhouse had multiple round tables, which would seat as few as two or as many as twelve individuals. There were plenty of wicker chairs for comfortable sitting. The green-flowered carpeted floor was very tasteful. The bar was situated in the corner of the dining room and was surrounded with wicker bar stools with green seats. There was always a game of gin, euchre, or poker going on and an occasional cribbage game. The bar food was tasty, and there was a nice selection. The waitress was courteous and nice to look at and was very prompt and never got the order wrong.

Dan and his able assistants were great in the clubhouse and were always greeting the guys with a smile. Dan was a great ball striker and a very good teacher, and the driving range was adjacent to the clubhouse, and there was plenty of room for practice and lessons. Dan also was a great club fitter and modifier; and golfers, who came from miles around, tap his brain to improve their game. Shannan ran the front desk and was assisted by George, a super guy who retired and lived in the subdivision surrounding the golf course. The subdivision was a quiet gated community in Lake Wales, Florida. Shannan was an up-and-coming golfer who had aspirations of getting on the pro tour. George was quiet but very efficient and always was able to fit a member in for a round of golf.

Lake Wales was a quiet little town situated directly south of Orlando and directly east of Tampa. It was halfway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and was smack dab in the middle of the state of Florida. It was easily accessible from the airports at Tampa and Orlando. There were also several private landing strips that were within easy driving distance of the Oakwood Golf Club. It was secluded, quiet, and a great place to get away for a relaxing vacation. It was a good place to discuss and formulate a conspiracy and just to talk business. Lake Wales had two excellent steakhouses with seafood and other delicacies. Norby’s and Manny’s provided excellent food at affordable prices. The service was good, and the food was tasty. The Crazy Fish restaurant and the bistro downtown were also great places to eat.

The Professional Football League owners’ meetings were usually in Miami, Chicago, Orlando, or Atlanta; and all of these venues were a quick plane ride to Tampa or Orlando airports. Red Roberts, the owner of the Las Vegas franchise, and Warren Webster, the owner of the Houston franchise, had made a habit of coming to the Oakwood Golf Club and renting a small house in the Oakwood subdivision for two weeks prior to the owners’ meeting to talk strategy. The owner of the Oakwood Golf Club, a sharp and discreet businesswoman, made all the arrangements and billed the two owners so they could deduct the expenses to their corporation.

Red Roberts was a colorful character that had won the World Series of Poker and had parlayed his winnings into three low-rate casinos. These casinos were gaudy establishments with lots of loose women and loose slots. These were the casinos where the good old boys would go for gambling, booze, and action. Red made millions on his dives and women. Red had taken this money and had gotten into legal endeavors. His knowledge (firsthand) of booze showed him that a chain of wholesale liquor stores would be a good way to go. He had franchised a chain of liquor stores in small strip malls across the country, and these establishments had made him a small fortune. The Professional Football League kept him connected to a group of fellows who had parlayed businesses into big profits. He was the current owner of the Las Vegas franchise.

Warren Webster had made his money in information technology. He was a genius with computers and computer systems. He had taken his winnings and purchased the Houston franchise. He was the direct opposite from Red Roberts in that he was super intelligent and super conservative. His only vice was women, and in this area of his life, he was a loser. He tended to chase beautiful women who were at least ten years younger and who were after his money. He needed a lot of money to satisfy his needs and the needs of his multiple floozies. Red had convinced Warren that they could make money in gambling.

The question was, what could we gamble on that we would be in control of? The answer was easy. They decided they could gamble on football. The next question was, in what arena they could bet that would make them the most money? The answer was in their own backyard. The Ultimate Bowl was the most gambled-on sporting event in the world. Why not bet on the Ultimate Bowl? The Ultimate Bowl was the replacement for the old Super Bowl. When the league was reorganized and the National Football League became the Professional Football League, the owners changed the name from the Super Bowl to the Ultimate Bowl.

They decided that they would talk to some professional gamblers and bookmakers to find the safest way to bet and not get caught. Red had contacts in Las Vegas, and he was chosen to be the one to make the contacts and do the research.

The Bookmaker Meeting

Red immediately left and flew to Las Vegas and met with Sam Shapiro. Sam was a friend who had made a lot of money gambling on the East Coast and moved to Las Vegas where gambling was legal, and he could practice his trade with less interference from the government, both federal and local. Sam was a ponderous big man with a heart and lung condition that seemed to do better in the arid climate of Las Vegas than either New York or New Jersey.

Red did not explain the idea of fixing the Ultimate Bowl with Sam but asked him how to lay off large sums of money on a sporting event without being discovered. Red was not interested in the legality but was interested in keeping it all under the table.

Sam replied, Do you think I just got off the turnip truck? You are planning on betting on the Ultimate Bowl. Somehow you have figured how to do it, and you need a way to hide your money and how to bet.

Red said, I think that I have a pretty good plan, but I need your help. How much will it cost?

Sam said, "I want to be your partner in this scheme, and I want 10 percent of the action. For that, I will do all your betting for you, and you will not have to worry about anything.

There are a few things that I would advise you to do. I would make sure that we develop several offsite locations to launder our money. The two places that I would recommend and where I already have contacts are Belize and Switzerland. Swiss bank accounts are safer and have been there for a long time and are very reliable. Belize is close, and I know some property down there we could buy and would be a great place for meeting and vacationing. Belize is beautiful, and the authorities are very cooperative. I have been stashing and laundering money there for years. Next, I would set up a separate management corporation that would place the bets and run the operations on day-to-day basis. I know several folks that would be great to work with and very dependable.

Red replied, It sounds like you think that this is something that could go on and on. I am not sure the other owners would be interested, but I am sure that the other owners like to gamble and are always looking to make more money.

Sam asked, How much money do you plan to gamble on this?

Red said, Between Warren Webster and me, we plan on betting a $100 million if we can find a foolproof method to protect us and our wager.

Sam replied, I would suggest propositional bets, but to make it foolproof, you are going to have to cut in your coaches. Can you trust them to do what you tell them without getting you in trouble?

Red replied, My guy is in financial trouble. I know that I can buy his loyalty and silence.

Sam said, You will have to scare him to death, literally. You will warn him that if he gets close to telling what is going on, we will kill him, and I have the folks to get the job done.

Red was taken aback but replied, Remember, I don’t want to go to jail!

Sam said, Then it is important to reevaluate this scheme because we are going to need the cooperation of the coaches to pull this off. When we use the technique called propositional betting, we will have minimal influence on the score of the game, so the odds of being investigated are negligible.

Red asked, What is a propositional bet, and how do we do it?

Sam replied, A propositional bet is a bet that we will make on a play in the game that will not affect directly the score of the game and will be difficult to track. An example could be who would throw the first pass in the game or who would call the first time out in the game or who would run the ball to the right first. They are bets that you could control by involving your coaches. I will give you a few sure propositional bets. One, who goes on offense first. Two, who calls the first time out in the first half. Three, who calls the first time out in the second half. Four, who throws the ball first in the game. Five, who throws the ball first in the second half. We could get a little tricky by who gets the first sack. The coaches could set that up. Of course, you can always bet on the point spread and the over and under if your coaches cooperate. The more we get into this, the more sophisticated we can get. We will also do our betting on the Internet, so we can spread the money around and not upset the odds. We should be able to get odds at 6–1 or 7–1 on propositional bets. For $100 million, the payoff will be very big. We will start small, and if it works, we will see if the other owners want to become involved in future years. There should be very little risk or exposure to you or Warren or your two coaches.

Red replied. So the first order of business for me is to meet with Warren and then the two coaches to see if we can pull this off. I think that my coach will be okay, but I am not sure about Warren’s coach. How much money do you need to get this started?

Sam replied, Fifty grand ought to be fine, but I will need more later once things get going.

The meeting broke up, and Red and Sam went to a steak house in one of Red’s casinos and finished the night off with steak and scotch. As they broke up, Red told Sam that he would get in touch with Warren the next day and get back to him as soon as the deal could be made and the coaches were included in the deal.

Meeting between Red, Warren, and the Coaches

As soon as the meeting between Red and Sam was over, Red called Warren and set up a meeting. They met in Kansas City at a small restaurant. The steaks were great, and they got right down to the meeting between Red and Sam. Red explained that they could gamble on the Ultimate Bowl and they could do it safely. Warren was relieved but had many questions. Red said that the head coaches had to be part of the conspiracy but that was no problem. Just keep the coaches on the payroll at a ridiculous salary and cut them in on the profits from the gambling.

Warren was a little concerned. How do we know that they can be trusted?

Red added, I know I can trust my guy because I have so much on him that he would never rat me out, plus he needs the money.

Warren said that his coach had just been sued for divorce and the wife had some compromising photos of him with several scantily clad women. The divorce trial was coming up, and it was obvious that the wife would take the coach to the cleaners. The scandal would not make the coach a very attractive product even though the team he coached was in the Ultimate Bowl. Plus Warren had an offensive coordinator who could take over for the disgraced coach in a heartbeat. Warren thought that he could convince his head coach to cooperate. They both were risk-takers in business and in life and decided that it was worth the risk.

Both of the owners thought it was a great idea to fix the Ultimate Bowl, not the outcome, just the aspects of the game that people would not be interested in. They would not care about point spread, or the number of time-outs called, or the incomplete passes, or some other incidental thing that people can bet on during the Ultimate Bowl. Put $50 million per owner at 6/7 to 1 odds, and the payout would be millions of dollars shipped to an offshore tax-free account.

When the meeting ended, both owners met with their head coaches and carefully, tactfully explained their plan. They promised each of the coaches a five-million-dollar bonus if the plan worked, and they promised them a long-term contract in their organizations. Both coaches at first were dumbfounded about the plan but agreed when they prospect of the additional money and the thought of long-term employment. They both knew that the head coaching carrousel of the Professional Football League would eventually get them, and this idea would give them financial and job security for the rest of their lives. It was especially attractive to both coaches because their money would be moved to a tax-free destination in Belize or Switzerland. No income tax and no sharing with ex-wives or in divorce proceedings. It was amazing how quickly the coaches bought into the conspiracy. The two owners also threatened the coaches with bodily harm if they got out of line. Both coaches knew of Red’s connections in the underworld.

The conspiracy would take place by betting on the Ultimate Bowl. They would bet on sure things: plays that could be prearranged and actions like who would call the first time out in each half, who would punt first, who would throw the first pass, which team would receive first, who would kick first. Most of these decisions would be made in a meeting before the game so the gamblers could get their bets down. They also decided that they would bet on the point spread but not the outcome. All the details would be mapped out by the coaches and the owners and the advisors who would do the betting. The bets would be put down in many venues so they could not easily be traced. Due to the advent of computer gambling, the task of spreading the bets out was made much easier. Each coach would get his guarantee of $5 million deposited for withdrawal from one of Red’s casinos. The owners also promised the coaches that they would get a cut from the operation in each of the future Ultimate Bowls. If the coaches revealed any connection to the conspiracy, they would lose any of their holdings and would be eliminated/murdered. The coaches initially were taken aback by the proposal, but as the meeting went on, the coaches realized how serious the owners were and realized that if they didn’t cooperate, there would be serious consequences. Both their greed and fear took over, and they agreed and actually became excited about the idea of the scheme. The details of the money were agreed upon, and they agreed to secrecy and to meet the day before the game to go over the details of the betting and the plays.

Red called Sam, and the three of them participated in a very secure conference call and discussed more of the details. Sam told Red that he had already contacted some folks in Las Vegas and had set up a secret corporation that had an office in Belize and another office in Las Vegas. He asked Red what to call the corporation, and Red suggested the name Blitz. A blitz is an all-out attack by the defensive football team to get to the quarterback and to sack him, and Red thought that would be what they would do with the Ultimate Bowl payoff. The Ultimate Bowl was only a few weeks off, and the three participants had work to do to get things going.

Sam was to receive the seed money by wire the next day, and the Blitz would be formed. People would be employed who could place bets, run the corporation, launder the money, and shield the owners from the authorities. The Blitz would allow the owners to gain and launder money by winning propositional bets that would be arranged by the owners and their coaches. The operation would be totally illegal, but very profitable, impossible to tax. It was a very risky business for individuals who made their fortunes taking risks. It was a perfect fit for less-than-perfect individuals. Little did they know that this new venture could be their demise.

The Secret Corporation: The Blitz

Sam worked feverishly to get things going. The corporation was formed because the owners wanted to enhance their income and keep it quiet. The players’ union had forced them to take on exorbitant salaries and compensation. This had cut into the owner’s profits, and they knew that anything that they would do in public would make them look as greedy as they really were and give them a bad public relations image. They could not afford to get any more public wealth, so they knew that they needed hidden wealth that would be not under the scrutiny of the fans or of the media. The owners were originally well intended, but their investments were huge, and their egos were even bigger. They had started with a dream and a small bankroll. They had mortgaged their entire life to start the teams. They challenged the big boys and had succeeded. The merger and the big television contracts had put hundreds of millions in their corporate bank accounts but less and less were going into their pockets.

The original five members of the Blitz included Sam and the two head coaches and owners of the Ultimate Bowl teams. They rented office space in Belize and Las Vegas, and they used Sam exclusively to place the bets. In the first Ultimate Bowl, they wagered $100 million on propositional bets. The odds remained at 6–1 to 7–1 because of the way that Sam had used his contacts and the computer system to spread the money around to keep the odds high. The game was not affected by the propositional bets, and no one was the wiser. There was no connection to