INQUIRER Sports

PENSACOLA -- Embattled ex-National Basketball Association ref Tim Donaghy was expected to begin on Tuesday serving 15 months in jail for his role in a gambling scandal, sports network ESPN reported.

The 41-year-old American spent 13 seasons officiating in the NBA before being nabbed in an organized crime probe into the fixing of games he was working.

Donaghy pled guilty to felony gambling charges last August.

ESPN said Donaghy would enter a minimum-security federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida.

Donaghy was sentenced two months ago. Two of his co-conspirators, James Battista and Thomas Martino, also pled guilty in the case, with Battista getting sentenced to 15 months and Martino to one year.