Bob Delaney (basketball referee)

Infobox Person
name = Bob S. Delaney

---

image_size =
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1951|11|1
birth_place = Paterson, New Jersey
death_date =
death_place =
education = New Jersey City University (Bachelor's degree, 1973)
occupation = NBA referee
Retired New Jersey State Police officer
title =
spouse =
parents =
children =
nationality = USA
website = http://delaneyconsultants.com/

Bob Delaney (born November 1, 1951 in Paterson, New Jersey) is a former police officer and current professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1987-88 NBA season. Beginning with the 2006-07 NBA season, Delaney has officiated in 1,182 regular season games, 120 playoff games, and seven NBA Finals games. In addition, Delaney was assigned to the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. He wears the uniform number 26.

New Jersey State Police

Delaney is a 1973 graduate of New Jersey City University with a bachelor's degree in Criminology. After finishing college, Delaney joined the New Jersey State Police. During the mid-1970s, Delaney worked as an undercover officer as part of an operation known as "Project Alpha".

Project Alpha was an investigation into the New Jersey organized crime scene. Delaney and a group of undercover officers posed as businessmen in the trucking industry trying to get out from under the pressures of union interests. This would open an association with the crime families who would alleviate their business pressures from the unions for a price. Delaney would assume the identity of "Bobby Covert", a deceased resident of New Jersey, for his protection. He had to talk like the mobsters, dress like them, drink and eat with them, and sometimes think like them. While doing all this, he had to maintain a profile as a reputable business owner and keep in mind his primary responsibility as a police officer.

Project Alpha came to an end in 1977 when Delaney failed to check in with his commanding officers because he went on a business trip for his pseudo-trucking company. In 1981, Delaney testified before the United States Senate led by Senator Sam Nunn on organized crime about his experiences with the most powerful organized crime syndicates in New Jersey during his three year undercover operation. Delaney testified that over 100 cases against the mobsters were opened in state and federal courts as a result of Project Alpha, and that the majority of those charged either ended up in prison, on the run, or dead. Soon after testifying in the Senate, Delaney retired as a law enforcement officer and devoted full-time to becoming a basketball referee. In 2008, Delaney wrote about his undercover experience in "Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob", with co-author Dave Scheiber.

Basketball officiating career

While serving as a police officer, Delaney was also a high school basketball referee in New Jersey from 1972 to 1982 and later officiated in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for four years before being selected by scouts to officiate in the NBA, beginning in 1987.

External links

* [http://www.probasketballrefs.com/Default.aspx?tabid=85 Bob Delaney] National Basketball Referees Association
* [http://www.nbra.net/Default.aspx?tabid=246 Never Be Average - Bob Delaney] National Basketball Referees Association (July 7, 2006).