NBA Coach Billups Pleads Not Guilty To Mafia-linked Gambling

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


Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded innocent Monday to alleged involvement in Mafia-linked unlawful gaming schemes that rocked the NBA, prosecutors stated.


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


He was targeted together with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in an FBI-led examination into the fraud that apparently saw players cheated with using sophisticated techniques consisting of an X-ray table and barcoded card decks.


Dozens of other suspects were jailed as part of the .


Rozier and Billups were placed on indefinite leave by the NBA after being jailed in the betting investigation.


Rozier and a previous NBA gamer and assistant coach, Damon Jones, were amongst six individuals detained in a different sports wagering case.


Billups was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to dedicate wire scams and money laundering, to which he pleaded innocent Monday, the Eastern District of New york city prosecutors' office confirmed to AFP.


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


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


Prosecutors state Billups's celebrity assisted tempt players to high-stakes video games that utilized "modern unfaithful innovation."


That tech consisted of shuffling devices that could check out cards, hidden cams and barcoded decks.


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


"My preliminary reaction was I was deeply disrupted," Silver stated in an interview with Amazon Prime.


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


Silver revealed regret that the accusations had taken attention away from the start of the season.


"I say sorry to our fans that we are all handling, now, this situation," Silver stated.