DETROIT -- A Detroit-area businessman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a point-shaving investigation involving football and basketball at the University of Toledo from 2004-06.
Mitchell "Ed" Karam also pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix horse races at Tampa Bay Downs in Florida and Delaware Downs in Delaware in 2005 and 2006. His guilty plea also covers a fraud charge in a separate real estate investigation.
Karam's plea Monday in Detroit federal court comes nearly four years after he was indicted in the Toledo probe along with another Detroit businessman, Ghazi "Gary" Manni.
The government says they paid players to get inside information or affect performance while placing bets on the Rockets. At least four former Toledo athletes have pleaded guilty. Prosecutors say Karam and Manni bet approximately $331,000 on basketball games.
