NBA Coach Billups Pleads Not Guilty To Mafia-linked Gambling

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


Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty Monday to declared involvement in Mafia-linked illegal gaming schemes that rocked the NBA, district attorneys stated.


Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and NBA Hall of Famer, was detained in connection with rigged illegal poker games tied to Mafia criminal offense households.


He was targeted in addition to Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in an FBI-led examination into the scam that apparently saw gamers cheated with making use of sophisticated methods including an X-ray table and barcoded card decks.


Dozens of other suspects were detained as part of the .


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


Rozier and a previous NBA player and assistant coach, Damon Jones, were among 6 people apprehended in a different sports wagering case.


Billups was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit wire scams and cash laundering, to which he pleaded innocent Monday, the Eastern District of New York prosecutors' office verified to AFP.


Billups was launched on bond after initially appearing in federal court in Portland, Oregon, and was represented by attorney Marc Mukasey at a quick 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, district attorneys included.


Prosecutors say Billups's celeb assisted draw players to high-stakes games that utilized "modern cheating 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 prohibited gambling.


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


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


Silver revealed regret that the claims 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 scenario," Silver said.