Bamboozled (12 page)

While most of the boxing business establishment before him consisted of black men like Don King or were associated with established organized crime, Bob Arum is a Jewish man who was born into relative wealth. A former attorney for Senator Kennedy, he has contracts with Telefutura, a Spanish TV network, ESPN, and pay-per-view. He brings new fighters to market by bringing them up in ratings on Spanish television before being brought to pay-per-view in the U.S. It was Sean's job to make sure to “secure the investment.”

The fight in Livermore was to take place at an Indian Casino. Joey was handed
credentials and asked to walk the fighter into the blue corner. He says the winning Top Rank fighters were always in the red corner and they'd usually keep the same coach in the blue corner all night long.

Joey sat in Trampler's hotel room as they ran down the operation. Joey claims Trampler was connected to the New York mob family, which further increased respect he had for Bruce's professional acumen. They became “close” and that closeness seemed to get Joey all of the favors that Top Rank did for him. As they were chatting after the fight, Sean summoned Joey to room 344.

In room 344 Joey says he found some girls having sex with up-and-coming boxers. Joey claims he saw Top Rank attorney Scott Woodworth cutting fifty or so coke lines. Scott had been an attorney for Don King and had managed Terry Norris to win the WBC Junior Middleweight. Scott introduced Joey to his brother Ryan, whom Joey had already met as a prisoner in Soledad. Scott complained that Todd Debouf was pressuring Mr. Arum to have him fired.

Scott asked Joey to sit down and supposedly said “Fuck Top Rank. I will handle your comeback and will give you half a million to fight Orlin Norris for a bogus title that you will win.” Sean shrugged his shoulders. Top Rank was only paying Joey $20,000.

Joey returned to Vegas in the morning with Sean. Scott went back to San Diego. Sean informed Joey that Scott was going to be fired that week for contract mistakes that cost Top Rank around one million dollars. Joey sent Octavia to find him
a new residence for the two of them and flew to San Diego to meet with Scott.

At the airport Joey says he ran into Ken Hurdle from the California DOC, who he explained his good fortune to. Scott was out front with a limo for Joey. They hugged and were off to Scott's home where they read the press about Joey's upcoming fight. Scott had been fired that morning and had spent the day making a banner that declared “Training Center for Joey Torrey. Unfinished Business.” with matching 8x10” photos. Scott put up Joey in a San Diego hotel with a balcony overlooking the ocean.

Joey says that Scott knocked on the door, slumped in a seat, yelling on the phone to Todd Debouf from Top Rank, “Well fuck you too, punk!,” and poured a vial of coke onto the table. The more Joey interacted with Scott, the more he felt that Scott may have been using more cocaine than anyone else at Top Rank.

Joey says that Scott claimed he was connected to the family through David Gambino in San Diego and one of the boss' sons was living in La Jolla, bank-rolling his new promotional firm. Joey's return to the ring would be the company's first promotion for The Entertainment King. Joey felt Scott was increasingly becoming a loose cannon.

Joey called Luigi, asking about The Entertainment King. Luigi started to laugh, saying that he was asked about the same man a few weeks earlier and the kid was not a “made” guy, friend, or associate, but his family had money.

Joey asked Luigi for advice, who told him to get back to Vegas and show some respect to Trampler for what he'd done for Joey. Joey says when Scott called from downstairs with The Entertainment King, Joey cleaned his steak knife and placed it in his waist band.

Joey went downstairs and saw two men in the dark bar plus Scott, and this short, dark kid sitting at a table. The door guys wore pressed suits with gold chains from the disco era. Joey smiled, approached Scott, and looked into the eyes of the 25 year old kid. After ten minutes of Scott talking up the praises of the kid Ralph, Joey said “I need some good faith money in order to turn my back on Top Rank. Fifty grand would be some real good faith.”

Ralph said that money is no problem and he owns two strip joints in San Diego and his family was going to make this happen. Joey claims he said, “Entertainment King, What family? You're not even Italian. You're Armenian on a school Visa and your parents are throwing money at you. This guy at the bar and these guys at the door better be packing because I will slide this steak knife in your eye socket, you fraud.” As an Armenian, Ralph was not eligible to be part of the “family.” Ralph walked out and Joey told Scott he was returning to Vegas in the morning.

Joey admits that he finds joy in manipulating the minds of people who pretend to be gangsters. He feels that his street activities and time in prison give him a right to “feel people out” in this way, but it would seem to also indicate a joy of being in control, of calling the shots. As he says “If you're not [gangster], I will fuck with your mind all night till you fight or pull me aside and admit you are a coward that loved watching
Scarface.
”

Joey says he felt “funny” about embarrassing Scott for being tricked by this kid, so they went back to Joey's room, did more lines of coke, and ordered room service. It was almost like a moment of empathy.

Before Joey headed back to Vegas he ordered a bottle of rum to the pool. He checked his phone and says he had thirty new messages. As he was listening to them, Sean called, saying Trampler was pissed, Arum wants Joey to call him, and Sean's loyalty is to Top Rank. Joey said, “Relax fool. I'll be back tonight.” When Trampler called a minute later, Joey says he interrupted him, “I'll see you at the office in the morning. I needed to get away and take care of some business.” Joey headed down to the pool with his $500 bottle of rum.

In Joey's version of events, as the pool gates opened, two men wearing Hawaiian shirts, shorts, and black socks with dress shoes walked in. Joey thought they were Feds based on their hairstyles and keptness. They sat next to Joey and read the paper. As Joey got up, he says one of the men asked if he was Joey Torrey. Joey replied in the affirmative and they identified themselves as FBI, Organized Crime Division.

“We know you're fighting for Top Rank and we know your fight is fixed. We've been bugging their office for years but could never get anyone in close. We also know that you are out of prison on appeal bond and have a pretty wife. Where's that pretty wife of yours?” The other Fed chimed in, “I have been working in Oklahoma, trying to get Sean since he had the Knucklehead Boxing Club with Pete Sousa.” Joey says he was all ears, “tripping big time” as they went on.

Joey ordered another whiskey and claims they said, “Prove your fight is fixed and you will get what you want. The appeal will never happen. We spoke to the D.A. and she is going to appear to fight it, but let you plead to time served. Otherwise, you're going back to prison for life. The U.S. government is willing to protect you, whether you testify or not.”

Joey says he was speechless as they handed him a business card, saying, “I'm sure glad you didn't put that knife in that kid's eye. You have 24 hours and Washington needs to know.”

Joey kept the FBI's card in his shoe, where he wouldn't need to explain it to anyone. He went back to his room looking through his clothes for bugs. Then he wondered what the hell to do. Joey felt that he had no one he could talk to about this offer—not his brother, not Trampler, not even his attorney, who was a specialist at going after the FBI. The hotel phone rang. It was a reporter from the San Diego paper, asking if the fight was in San Diego or Vegas.

It would appear that Joey was looking for protection— both from Pamela Frohreich, the LA district attorney and also from Top Rank, where he recently sold his body.

Joey took a shower and made his phone call for a “deal with the devil.” He says he told the agents he was interested and asked what they wanted. They said to call when he got to Vegas.

In the FBI's telling of the same story, Joey, a con man in deep, trying to work a new angle, was untrusting of Top Rank and approached the FBI in their offices, saying, “Just give me a wire, I'll make a case for you.”

And in their account, Joey's intriguing and ruthless charm worked again. They told him, “You prove your fight is fixed, and you'll get what you want.”

Joey arrived back in Vegas and got a call from Octavia while he was waiting in the parking lot for his Benz. She asked when he'd be home and told him she was headed to New York. Joey thought she might be a Fed and his paranoia ran rampant. When Joey got home she asked “What's wrong? You look old and stressed.”

The phone rang and it was a man with a New York accent, saying that he was Bobby Bennett, and his two friends at the pool in San Diego told him to call Joey. Agent Bennett said, “1 p.m. tomorrow, Gold Coast Hotel, room 319.”

The phone rang again and it was Angie. “Hi, honey, where ya been?” Joey had missed their dinner date that Friday. He told her about Scott and claims she said, “That white boy is crazy.” Joey wondered if she knew about the FBI. On Joey's voice mail were messages from CNN, David Mattingly, Fox News, CBS, and Oprah doing a story about Eric Davis and Paul Molitor.

There was much to do but Joey could only think about going back to prison and “hustling to stay alive.” He fell asleep and awoke to a banging on the door. Feeling naked without a gun, he didn't answer and left out the same door an hour later to meet with the FBI.

Joey arrived at the Gold Coast room and a man answered the door who was about 5'4” and Irish with a New York accent. He introduced himself as Bobby Bennett. He says “The other guy looked like a Mormon with black sunglasses and a square haircut. He was looking out the peep hole and then out the window facing the street. We sat down and they insisted on a tape recorder.” Joey says he told them, “Not until I hear the deal and decide that I agree.”

Joey claims that Agent Bennett said his supervisor and the Attorney General had spoken to the LA District Attorney and informed her not to challenge Joey's release in return for his cooperation. If Joey signed up to “Clean up Boxing,” his state vacated sentence would supposedly not be appealed, and after this operation, Joey would be given a new identity and relocated.

Agent Bennett added, “I have some great news for you, Joey, I spoke to the Attorney General in Washington who met with Senator John McCain, who is monitoring this operation. That's if you are on board Joey?”

Agent Bennett was accompanied by his supervisor Schrump—who informed him that Washington has dubbed this
Operation Matchbook
and Joey's code name would be “Cross.”

Bennett informed Joey that he would receive $6,000 plus living expenses for a total of $10,000 each month. They gave Joey some recording devices and a list of boxers they were trying to implicate, including De La Hoya and Foreman. Since Joey had the connections to the Gambino family through his brother, the FBI felt that his entrance into the Top Rank offices would be the key to a major case against them, fixed fights, and Bob Arum.

Joey says he read the contract over and over, as Agent Bennett supposedly informed him, “You will run the show, travel the world, and remember that Senator McCain has spent years trying to get his Boxing Bill Passed, and is aware of you, and will back you”.

Joey called Bruce Trampler, knowing that the FBI was listening, saying that he was out of shape and had not entered a ring since prison fights back in 1988. Trampler chuckled and said, “Don't worry about that.”

Joey began doing ringside surveillance for the FBI with a recorder in his pocket, capturing Sean's back office conversations.

The FBI found Joey useful but never reliable. He would miss meetings regularly. He was too busy chasing prostitutes, doing coke, and drinking too much Courvoisier. So the FBI decided to get Joey a partner.