Alvin Jay Paris (October 17, 1918 – September 11, 2006), later known as Alvin Jay Paley, was an American bookmaker and gambler in New York. As a "front man" for a gambling syndicate based in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

, he fixed college sporting events through bribing star athletes, including Rocky Marciano. Paris was born on October 17, 1918 in The Bronx, New York. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served in the armed forces from 1940. After being recorded on federal wiretaps on December 15, 1946, in an investigation by

Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

Frank S. Hogan, a former assistant to crusading New York District Attorney

Thomas Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

, he was convicted of attempting to bribe professional football players

Merle Hapes Merle Alison Hapes (May 19, 1919July 18, 1994) was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played two seasons for the New York Giants (1942, 1946). He and quarterback Frank Filchock were involved in a ...

and

Frank Filchock Frank Joseph Filchock (October 8, 1916 – June 20, 1994) was an American gridiron football player and coach. As a consequence of a famous scandal regarding the 1946 NFL Championship Game, he was suspended by the National Football League (NF ...

of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

with $2,500 each to throw that year's NFL championship game against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. Paris was eventually convicted of bribery on January 8, 1947, and, although Hapes and Filchock were cleared of bribery charges, both men were initially suspended by then league commissioner

Bert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...

(with Filchock being allowed to play the final game against the Chicago Bears). During his trial, Paris chose not to take the stand in his own defense and later testified against his partners David Krakauer, Jerome Zarowitz and Harvey Stemmer, for which he would later receive death threats. Paris's sentencing had been deferred until after the second trial and he received a one-year sentence on April 7. He served less than a year before his release. Paris married Norah Mae Gagnon King in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

in 1950. By 1977, Paris had changed his name to Alvin J. Paley. Norah died in San Joaquin, California on January 8, 1994, at the age of 75. Alvin Paley died on September 11, 2006, at the age of 87.

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