Bennett Salvatore is a professional basketball referee

Official (basketball)

In basketball, an official is a person who has the responsibility to enforce the rules and maintain the order of the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, as well as other personnel that have an active task in maintaining the game...

 in the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 (NBA). As of the 2006–07 NBA season, Salvatore has officiated 1,385 regular season, 167 playoff

NBA Playoffs

The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...

, and 20 NBA Finals

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....

 games.

Early life

Salvatore was a two sport athlete in high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, playing baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 and football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

. He earned All-America

All-America

An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

n and All-State honors as a quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 in 1967. Contrary to popular opinion, his parents did not name him after the famous singer Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....

.

Owner

Salvatore is the principal owner of Bennett's, a steakhouse

Steakhouse

A steakhouse is a restaurant that specializes in beef steaks. The same type of restaurant is also known as a chophouse.The steakhouse started in the USA in the late 19th century as a development of traditional inns and bars....

 in Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...

.

On October 8, 2010, Salvatore closed the doors on Bennett's, choosing to retire from his career as a restaurant owner.

Income tax fraud

In 2000, he was sentenced to a year of probation, 150 hours of community service and a fine of $500 for his role in airline ticket fraud. He pleaded guilty in a New Haven federal court on July 26, 2000 to filing a false tax return with the Internal Revenue Service for the tax year 1993.