NBA referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to taking thousands of dollars in payoffs from a professional gambler for inside betting tips. Donaghy's lawyer asked the judge for probation. He had faced up to 33 months in prison, but the judge gave him credit for his cooperation. Donaghy told the court, "I brought shame on myself and my family."

Donaghy pleaded guilty last August to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce for taking payoffs from a professional gambler for inside tips on games. ast week, two of Donaghy's former high school classmates were sentenced to more than a year in prison for their roles in the scheme. James Battista, a professional gambler and admitted drug addict, got 15 months in prison for making bets based on inside tips. Thomas Martino, the scheme's middleman, was sentenced to a year and one day for paying the referee thousands of dollars for the tips. The three men attended school together in Springfield, Pa. The league had demanded nearly $1.4 million in restitution. But the judge last week set the restitution at $217,266, to be paid jointly by the three defendants.

Donaghy also was sentenced to a three-year term of supervised release, on the condition that he receive mental health treatment for his gambling addiction. Donaghy's defense attorney asked that Donaghy be sent to a federal prison camp in Florida, near his family.