Two St. John’s basketball players were arrested in 1961 after authorities found they had fixed games in the ’50s in one of the biggest point-shaving scandals in sports history. Mike Parenti and William Chrystal were arrested for cooperating with the mastermind of the scandal, Jack Molinas, to throw games. Parenti was the leading scorer for the 1956 season and holds the 7th place for all-time season scoring leaders in St. John’s history.
A 1954 New York Times article headlined, “St. John’s to rely on Parenti and Chrystal for successful basketball season” quoted Coach Al (Dusty) De Stefano as saying, “A lot will depend on a couple of our sophomores, namely Mike Parenti, 6-foot 7-inch sophomore center, and Bill Chrystal, 6-foot 5-inch lad.”
They went 11-9 that season and Parenti and Chrystal led the team in scoring.
-Jonnathan Coleman
The Flashlight 