The cesspool that is social media often kicks out some bubbling crude. (Oil, that is.)
A clip from a 1989 episode of The Pat Sajak Show (yes, Wheel of Fortune was once so popular that the host got a late-night show, for 15 months) has been making the rounds on Twitter. In it, Don Moldea discusses his book, Interference: How Organized Crime Influences Professional Football.
During the nearly eight-minute interview, Moldea makes some startling claims.
He says that “no fewer than 26" past and present team owners have documented ties to the gambling community and/or organized crime. Moldea also contends that, as of 1989, “no fewer than 70 NFL games have been fixed.”
Moldea’s claim was bolstered by bookmaker Don Dawson admitting to participating in the fixing of no fewer than 32 games. Dawson told Moldea that he rigged the final scores by working with the quarterback.
Moldea says that his book names players who were involved in fixing games, and that it identifies eight specific 1979 games that were fixed by two referees who were later investigated by the FBI and the IRS.
So how did none of this ever come to light at the time it was happening?
“No fewer than 50 legitimate investigations of corruption within the NFL have been either suppressed or just flat-out killed as a result of a sweetheart relationship between NFL Security, which is the internal police force within the league, and a variety of federal and state and local law-enforcement agencies,” Moldea contends.
Sajak somewhat jokingly asks Moldea if he fears for his safety, given that the book delves into issues of organized crime.
“No one’s tried to kill me in almost six years,” Moldea says.
Thirty-seven years later, Moldea’s book resonates. Especially with legalized gambling in most states and prediction market-style gambling in all states.
I’ve found and ordered a copy of the book. And Moldea apparently has yet to be whacked; we may have to track him down for more details.