BROOKSVILLE, Fla.(AP) -- Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy
was a free man Wednesday after serving most of a 15-month
sentence in a gambling scandal.

Pat Berdan, a consultant working with Donaghy, said he was
released from Hernando County Jail in Florida. Donaghy had been
jailed there since August after officials said he violated
travel restrictions while living at a halfway house in the Tampa
area.

A New York judge sentenced the ex-referee in July 2008 after
Donaghy said he took thousands of dollars from a professional
gambler in exchange for inside tips on games - including games
he worked.

The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire
fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate
commerce in the tips-for-payoffs scheme.

Donaghy served 13 months of a sentence that began in a federal
prison in Pensacola. He was transferred to a halfway house in
June and wound up in the Hernando County Jail in Brooksville
after being accused of violating his probation by not showing up
for work.

During his stay in prison, Donaghy wrote a tell-all book
"Blowing The Whistle," that does not yet have a publisher.

Random House said last week that it had decided not to go
forward with publication of the book, which in excerpts posted
online includes accusations of wagering between officials
working games, favoritism toward star players, and desires by
the league to extend playoff series.

The NBA has said it will review the allegations that appeared on
the Web site deadspin.com.

Executive Prison Consultants, a consulting agency working with
Donaghy, has said the former referee plans to live in the
Sarasota area and seek a job in sales or marketing.