The FBI arrested Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups on Thursday after he allegedly took part in mafia-influenced illegal poker games. He was placed on immediate leave by the NBA.
The case involving Billups revolves around rigged poker games. According to FBI director Kash Patel and the Justice Department, four of the New York mafia’s five families were involved in the scheme: the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese families. They say the perpetrators used poker chip tray analyzers, special contact lenses or eyeglasses, and an X-ray table to dupe players out of hundreds of thousands of dollars—and that Billups and former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones were in on the scheme.
