McDougle enters plea in shaving case

DETROIT, Mich. - Harvey "Scooter" McDougle, Jr., the fifth of six former University of Toledo athletes charged by the federal government in the alleged point shaving scheme, entered a not guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

Prosecutors say McDougle, along with fellow football players Adam Cuomo and Quinton Broussard, took money from two Metro Detroit businessmen, Ghazi Manni and Mitchell Karam, in exchange for influencing the final scores of football games between 2004-06.

Former Rockets basketball players Keith Triplett, Kashif Payne and Anton Currie have also been charged. Federal prosecutors say the trio accepted money from Manni and Karam to influence basketball scores.

Triplett has yet to appear in federal court.

A seventh former UT student-athlete, former basketball player Sammy Villegas, who is allegedly involved in the point-shaving scheme, will be sentenced June 18 in Detroit. Federal prosecutors charged Villegas of felony conspiracy to influence a sporting contest by bribery.

If convicted, the student-athletes could each face up to five years behind bars and $250,000 in fines. Manni, Karam and Valdez could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud.