WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The NBA referee in the middle of the gambling scandal is a man of contradictions known as both a hot-tempered firebrand and a helpful do-gooder in his personal life.
But Tim Donaghy will forever be known to Peter and Lisa Mansueto as the neighbor from hell – a man they said terrorized them with a pattern of abuse that included harassment, stalking and calling the cops on their 6-year-old son.
The couple claims that the years of rage-filled outbursts happened when he was their next-door neighbor on an upper-class block in the Philadelphia suburb of West Chester.
“He has a pattern of behavior that goes back 15 years,” Lisa said.
“You can’t imagine what a nightmare this was,” Peter added. “Who would have the frivolous time to terrorize a family?”
Peter met Donaghy 15 years ago on a local golf course and the two became quick friends – often placing small wagers on their games.
“I didn’t think that he had a gambling problem,” Peter said.
They soon found themselves next-door neighbors and the friendship “went south in a hurry.”
As outlined in a 2005 lawsuit, the Mansuetos said Donaghy would curse at them for no apparent reason.
The suit says he once set fire to their tractor, which Peter said had gas canisters placed on top before a rag was put in the gas tank and lit.
The suit also says Donaghy would stalk Lisa around a local golf course, and once drove their golf cart into a ditch.
Once, he called the cops on the Mansuetos’ 6-year-old son for throwing mud balls at his house. He then refused to accept the youngster’s apology and demanded that the boy be locked up, the suit said.
“They guy is just a wacko,” Lisa said.
Donaghy has been in altercations with players on the court – but also fell into the cross hairs of sportswriters for being too tolerant.
After Indiana Pacer forward Ron Artest stormed into the stands in Detroit during a game against the Pistons and attacked heckling fans in 2004, Donaghy and two fellow officials were criticized for not doing enough to calm the volatile players after the initial on-court brawl.
There’s another side to the baby-faced Donaghy, who was once a basketball player at a Catholic high school in Philadelphia and later at Villanova University.
Although he moved to Florida two years ago, he was still a fixture in Philly, where he spent much of his free time.
During his 13 years with the NBA, Donaghy had been active with some of the league’s charitable programs, including one that encourages literacy among children.
He also organized an annual basketball clinic for disabled kids in Pennsylvania. He is married and has four daughters.
“I thought I knew who he was,” Peter Mansueto said. “Obviously I don’t. He was a good father who took care of his family – but didn’t like us.”
Additional reporting by Patrick Gallahue