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WILLIAMS MAY HAVE TAKEN A DIVE AGAINST MELITO - AND THE FBI KNEW ABOUT IT!! AUDIOTAPE REVEALS POSSIBLE FIGHT FIX IN VEGAS
By CHARLES JAY, Editor/Publisher, TotalAction.com
Posted August 12, 2000
8:45 PM Eastern time

Today, at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, a heavyweight from Washington, DC named Thomas Williams stepped into the ring against New York's Richie Melito in a scheduled ten-rounder on the Evander Holyfield-John Ruiz undercard.

Less than three minutes later, Williams stepped out of the ring, a vanquished loser.

Evidence exists suggesting that may have been his plan all along.

There was one problem - the FBI was waiting for it.

The result may be a sweeping investigation that could reverberate throughout the corridors of power in boxing. Eventual target - Don King.

Oh, one other problem - though the fight indeed happened, nobody was there to see it.

We'll get to that later. Let's start at the beginning.

Earlier this week, THE FIGHT PAGE FROM TOTAL ACTION learned that there is an audiotape, currently in the possession of authorities, on which Williams, a former amateur standout with a 25-9, 17 KO's record, reportedly confessed to his manager, George Peterson, that he not only fully intended to "take a dive" in the fight with Melito, as per a pre-fight arrangement, but that he took part in at least two other fixed fights - a third-round knockout loss to Brian Nielsen in Denmark on March 31 of this year, and a second-round TKO defeat to Mount Whitaker on June 11 of this year in Concho, Oklahoma.

Peterson taped this conversation without the fighter's knowledge, but since it was a face-to-face encounter, it was legal to do so in the state of South Carolina. One of Peterson's motivations stemmed from the fact that on several occasions, including the fights which Williams may have thrown, his management agreement was circumvented by representatives of the promoters who wished to obtain Williams' "services". And Peterson was tired of it. The man who reportedly contacted Williams for the fight with Melito was Bobby Mitchell, a South Carolina matchmaker/agent who operates independently and who, we're told, has also has done work on behalf of Don King on some DKP promotions.

Another motivation for Peterson was that, as a former law enforcement officer, he knew the potential implications of his involvement with a fighter who admittedly took dives, and who was about to take another one. And it scared him. And since he had no part in these activities, he made the decision to beat Williams to the punch, so to speak, and contacted authorities, both on the boxing end and the law enforcement end.

At this time, the FBI swung into action, initiating a "sting" operation, in which it was going to let the fight take place as planned, then confront Williams afterward with the incriminating tape. Peterson set out for the fight in Las Vegas, and was wired. The Feds were so secretive about their plan that they made the conscious decision not to inform Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Marc Ratner in advance, for fear Ratner might intervene and exercise his authority in not permitting the fight to go forward.

Their logic was not unfounded; they desperately wanted this operation to succeed, and with merely an audiotape and not enough solid evidence in the form of a videotape of an actual "performance", there case could be very hollow indeed. After all, how can you reasonably accuse a fighter of taking a dive if none, in fact, took place?

What we suspect is that Ratner, or people around him, might have become very leery of what was happening, because the Williams-Melito fight, which was supposed to start at 5 PM Pacific time, actually was over and done with by around 4 PM, without anyone in the arena to see it!

At this time we are trying to decipher the real reasons as to why this fight was held in virtual secrecy, whether anyone from the FBI was there to see it, and what, if any, direct connection it has to the sting operation.

Since this is all in the process of happening as this story is being posted, it is not clear as to whether Williams was going to be detained for questioning tonight.

But THE FIGHT PAGE FROM TOTAL ACTION can tell you what the eventual scenario is supposed to look like. The Feds are planning to grill Williams with regard to the contents of the audiotape, and are counting on him to "flip" on Mitchell, the agent/matchmaker who contacted him about fighting Melito, and who has reportedly been involved in some peripheral capacity in several of Melito's fights. What we have heard is that there may be some income tax considerations as well, involving monies paid to fighters that has differed from the amounts which were stipulated in fight contracts.It is hoped that, under threat of possible indictment, Mitchell can then provide them with evidence to use against Don King, who has eluded the grasp of federal authorities time and time again, and who may yet pull another narrow escape if IBF President Bob Lee is found not guilty in his federal criminal trial in New Jersey (the jury has deliberated eleven days without a verdict).

Though Mitchell has indeed done some work for King, it is questionable as to how much information he might have on King that can be of possible use to the FBI or the U.S. Attorney's office.

Though we have been told that some members of King's organization may have had knowledge of Williams' planned dive against Melito, there is no evidence to suggest that King had any personal knowledge of what was going on.

Undoubtedly, Williams' fights in Denmark and Oklahoma will be subject to closer scrutiny as well, as part of the investigation. And a name that has come up in the course of the inquiry is that of Robert Mittleman, who supplies American-based opponents for Brian Nielsen's promoter, Mogens Palle, and who "went around" Peterson to put Williams into the March 31 fight.

Mittleman's past is checkered. A veteran of the music industry who was involved in the careers of George Clinton, Rare Earth, Bootsy Collins and others, Mittleman was the original co-manager (with Steve Nelson) of Oscar de la Hoya, who split with the duo in 1994. But Mittleman has had more than his share of experiences in the seamy side of boxing. In August of 1999 he took heavyweight opponent Kimmuel Odum to Georgia (that's Georgia, in the former Soviet Union) to get knocked out in one round by Georgi Kandelaki, despite the fact that Odum was already under suspension in the U.S. at the time. Odum is currently listed as being indefinitely suspended by North Carolina, as well as New Jersey, where he was levied a $1000 fine.

Mittleman himself is under indefinite suspension in Mexico, in an action dated June 11, 1999, allegedly pertaining to tampering with fighters. He has also in the past been suspended by the Ohio Boxing Commission.

Melito sports a 25-1 record, with 24 knockouts, though his roster of opponents is not littered with luminaries. His only notable opponent was Bert Cooper, who knocked him out in one round in July of 1997, in a fight which had its own share of pre-fight rumors attached to it. His last fight was March 14, a one-round KO win over Benito Fernandez, a former middleweight who had not fought in three years. Melito already has a first-round win on his record against a Thomas Williams, but it is a different Thomas Williams - one from Atlanta.

We'll keep you posted.

charlesjay@totalaction.com