A recent article in the Toledo Blade reports that gambling insiders, including both legal and “underground” bookies, were aware that suspicious activities may have been taking place in association with University of Toledo football games. These announcements come in the wake of “point-shaving” charges against Harvey McDougle, Jr., a player for the University of Toledo’s football team. McDougle allegedly took bribes from Ghazi Manni of the Detroit-area. The article reports that FBI surveillance of Manni’s telephone conversations led them to McDougle.

According to the article, gaming insiders have been suspicious of the program for some time after bookies noticed an increased volume of wagering on the Toledo games, as well a sudden change in the team’s performance against the point spreads. While industry experts were aware that something may have been afoot, there was no hard evidence and no outright allegations were ever made.