Forte Pleads Guilty to Charges of Mail Fraud and Tax Evasion

Chet Forte, Emmy Award-winning former producer of “Monday Night Football,” pleaded guilty Friday to federal mail fraud and tax evasion charges. His attorney said obsessive gambling caused his legal problems.

Forte, 55, also pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Forte admitted defrauding $100,000 from a New Jersey businessman.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez scheduled sentencing for Jan. 11. Forte faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison and $27,000 in fines.

Forte remains free on $500,000 bail and declined to comment after the proceeding.

As part of the plea agreement, Forte will assist federal prosecutors in an investigation of Starkives Inc., a now-defunct New York computer video company for which he served on the board of directors. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss seven charges. Public defender Lawrence Lustberg said Forte’s compulsive gambling on sports and at the gaming tables began in the 1960s. “Over the years, he lost about $4 million gambling,” Lustberg said. A nine-count indictment charged Forte failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in liabilities to banks, the Golden Nugget Casino, now Bally’s Grand Casino, and the IRS.