NBA Coach Billups Pleads Innocent To Mafia-linked Gambling

Billups, a previous Detroit Pistons star and NBA Hall of Famer, was arrested in connection with rigged illegal poker games


Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty Monday to alleged participation in Mafia-linked illegal betting plans that rocked the NBA, prosecutors said.


Billups, a previous Detroit Pistons star and NBA Hall of Famer, was detained in connection with rigged prohibited poker video games connected to Mafia criminal offense households.


He was targeted in addition to Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in an FBI-led investigation into the rip-off that presumably saw players cheated with using advanced approaches consisting of an X-ray table and barcoded card decks.


Dozens of other suspects were arrested as part of the FBI probe.


Rozier and Billups were put on indefinite leave by the NBA after being apprehended in the gaming investigation.


Rozier and a previous NBA player and assistant coach, Damon Jones, were among 6 individuals jailed in a separate sports wagering case.


Billups was prosecuted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, to which he not guilty Monday, the Eastern District of New york city prosecutors' office confirmed to AFP.


Billups was launched on bond after at first appearing in federal court in Portland, Oregon, and was represented by lawyer Marc Mukasey at a brief hearing in a Brooklyn court on Monday.


Billups will now sign a $5 million bond in the Eastern District of New York City for his pre-trial release, prosecutors added.


Prosecutors state Billups's celebrity assisted tempt players to high-stakes games that utilized "state-of-the-art unfaithful technology."


That tech included shuffling makers that could check out cards, concealed video cameras and barcoded decks.


NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last month he was "deeply disturbed" by the far-ranging FBI probe into unlawful gaming.


"My initial response was I was deeply disturbed," Silver stated in an interview with Amazon Prime.


"There's nothing more crucial for the league and its fans than the stability of the competitors."


Silver revealed remorse that the accusations had actually taken attention far from the start of the season.


"I ask forgiveness to our fans that we are all dealing with, now, this situation," Silver stated.