Chauncey Billups: NBA Coach pleads not guilty to Mafia-rigged poker game charges

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty to charges he engaged in rigged high-stakes poker games that prosecutors said had ties to the Mafia.

Billups’ lawyer, Marc Mukasey, entered the not guilty plea Monday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York. Billups, 49, was charged along with 30 other defendants in the case.

Prosecutors said Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones acted as “face cards,” high-profile individuals who could help lure wealthy, unsuspecting players to poker games in locations including the Hamptons on New York’s Long Island, Miami, Las Vegas and Manhattan.

Billups, who played on seven different pro teams during a 17-year career, entered his plea in a hearing that took place in a ceremonial courtroom to accommodate all 31 defendants in the sweeping criminal case. It is one of two prominent sports gambling cases that have been brought by Brooklyn federal prosecutors in recent weeks, which also includes a pair of Major League Baseball pitchers who allegedly conspired to rig bets on specific pitches.

Billups was released on a $US5 million ($7.7m) bond secured by property, including his home in Greenwood Village, Colorado. He didn’t answer questions as he left the courthouse.

Possible Plea Deals

Prosecutor Michael Gibaldi said the Government was in the midst of plea negotiations with several defendants. At an earlier hearing for Jones, it was disclosed that the former Cleveland Cavaliers guard was in plea talks.

Jones, Billups and alleged members of the New York mob used sophisticated technology, like X-ray poker tables, hidden cameras and tampered card-shuffling machines and hidden cameras, prosecutors said in an indictment. Light fixtures were used to relay information to a person acting as a “quarterback” who would then manipulate the outcome.

Mr Gibaldi said that the case involved “25 separate poker games.” The US alleged the rigged poker games collected at least $US7 million from victims.

Billups was placed on leave by the NBA after the charges were announced. He made an initial appearance in Portland, Oregon, after his arrest and said he would “fight these allegations with the same tenacity” that marked his career.

He’s one of three people with NBA ties who were charged in two overlapping federal cases brought by prosecutors in Brooklyn and the FBI in New York. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Jones were also charged.

After Judge Ramon Reyes noted the case also involved at least six different schemes, Mr Gibaldi recommended the defendants be broken up into three separate groups of 10 to 11 people for trial. But at least two different defence lawyers objected, saying not being part of larger discussions on their case could hamper their ability to adequately defend their clients.

“It’s fundamentally unfair if you separate us,” said Gerard Marrone, the lawyer for Matthew Daddino, who is accused of working as collecting debts on behalf of the the Genovese crime family.

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