Tim Donaghy was back in a jail yesterday after failing to appear for his job at a beverage company in the Sarasota, Fla., area.

According to federal authorities, the disgraced NBA referee violated the terms of his probation two months into his stint at a halfway house in Tampa, Fla.

"He didn't show up at his job [Tuesday] morning," U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Ron Lindbak said. "He was found elsewhere and taken to jail."

Lindbak said he did not know where the arrest was made.

"The people in these halfway houses operate under very strict rules," Lindbak said. "You break them, you land back in jail."

Donaghy, 42, was being held without bail by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department. It was not immediately clear when or if he would be returned to the federal prison camp in Pensacola, Fla., or how the transgression might affect his 15-month sentence, which was scheduled to end in October.

Donaghy's attorney, John Lauro, told ESPN.com that Donaghy had permission to miss work and go to a health club near the halfway house so he could exercise his sore knee.

"He wanted to go to a health club to work out with a trainer or physical therapist," Lauro was quoted as saying. "The health club is right near the halfway house. And he told the folks at the halfway house what he was doing, that he was going to this place. He thought he had permission. He gave them advance warning. And one of the employees at the halfway house saw him at the health club and said, 'You don't have permission.' The halfway house decided that he was in violation of the rules, so they picked him up."

In June, not long after he had complained to prison officials that he was being threatened by an inmate with ties to New York mobsters, Donaghy was permitted to leave for the halfway house. There, he was supposed to transition to a new life. According to prison records, Donaghy had been working with ShotPak, a beverage-supply firm.

A graduate of Cardinal O'Hara and Villanova, the 13-year NBA veteran pleaded guilty in August 2007 to charges that he transmitted wagering information - even on games he officiated - to a pair of high school friends.

Thomas Martino and James Battista, who admitted receiving the inside information from Donaghy, also were convicted in the scheme. Donaghy testified against both of them as part of his plea agreement.

Contact staff writer Frank Fitzpatrick at 215-854-5068 or ffitzpatrick@phillynews.com.