New York ? All of this seemed ready for wrapping in such a tidy little gift box Tuesday: Tim Donaghy arranging his surrender to federal marshals barely a year after David Stern stood before a packed news conference to confirm the unthinkable.

The promise that day from Stern was thorough cooperation, full disclosure, and transparency. The man he so boldly branded a “rogue, isolated criminal” was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in federal prison. The NBA’s worst nightmare – a gambling scandal involving a referee – was thereby over.

Or was it?

All but for the most troubling little detail that didn’t fit inside the neatly wrapped gift box Tuesday. We still don’t know – and may never know – the full breadth of the scandal.

We can’t take John Lauro’s word for it. The defense attorney had some nerve to win an improbable victory for his client – about half the sentence he could have received – and then stroll onto the sunny courthouse promenade to launch a few more hand grenades toward Olympic Tower.

“From day one, the strategy of the NBA was to demonize and ostracize Mr. Donaghy and to ignore the substantial cooperation he provided,” Lauro said.

Bloviation from a gloating lawyer shouldn’t offend Stern, who at times during this crisis has been guilty of the same. Of more concern is that one thing hasn’t changed from Day 1 of the Donaghy mess: What we don’t know is potentially a lot worse than what we do.

This was underscored at 3:03 p.m. Tuesday, when Lawrence Pedowitz released an ominous statement regarding the status of his internal probe commissioned by the NBA. Pedowitz, a former federal prosecutor, said he was “conducting additional interviews” and hoped to “obtain additional information from the government.”

More interviews? More information? What more could there be?

Despite Donaghy’s allegations that other referees were involved, not a single person other than Donaghy and his two co-conspirators has been charged. A law enforcement source told Newsday Tuesday that the federal probe of NBA gambling essentially is closed.

But what about former ref Hue Hollins saying that federal agents asked him more questions about Dick Bavetta than Donaghy? What about the FOX News report citing 134 phone calls from Donaghy to fellow ref Scott Foster when Donaghy was betting on games?

Neither man has been charged with anything, despite the fact that any information Donaghy gave the feds about them – or anyone else – was fully investigated.

“Had there been criminal activity,” the law enforcement source said, “I would think we would have heard something about it by now.”

It would be stunning if Pedowitz unearthed details that the federal government’s fine-toothed comb missed.

So we heard Lauro rail against Stern and the NBA Tuesday and make more vague, unsubstantiated allegations about others – no one ever has a name – who supposedly committed crimes. And we are left to wonder.

“It’s a story that has yet to be fully explained,” Lauro said. ” . . . I’m hopeful that one day the truth will be told.”

You didn’t need a very powerful B.S. meter to detect the double talk. In his next breath, Lauro said, “Mr. Donaghy, whatever you can say about him, has always told the truth.” If so, what more needs to be told?

Lauro and Donaghy have no right to ask that question. But you do, if you wish. Just don’t expect an answer.