00:00This morning, the fallout continues from a shocking NBA scandal, a coach, a player and the mob.
00:09Portland Trailblazers head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier have been released from jail after being indicted in two separate federal gambling cases linked to organized crime.
00:21They're among 34 people charged, including suspected members of New York's Bonanno, Genovese, Gambino and Lucchese crime families.
00:30Billups is accused of using his celebrity status to draw high rollers into rigged poker games, games that prosecutors say used fixed shuffling machines, even x-ray tech to read cards.
00:42The operation stretched from the Hamptons to Las Vegas and pulled in at least $7 million.
00:47When players could not pay up, the mob allegedly turned violent.
00:51Rozier and former player Damon Jones are charged in a related case, accused of illegal betting on NBA games.
00:59Rozier's lawyer says he's been cleared before and plans to fight back.
01:03What I can tell you is there's a lot of people that are very close-lipped about what happened in 2023.
01:07But what I was told is there was an investigation.
01:10They interviewed him twice.
01:11They took his phone, downloaded everything.
01:13And at the end of the day, they said there's nothing to see here and cleared him.
01:17But, you know, we got a trophy hunt, so we're going to fight it.
01:19FBI Director Cash Patel says the charges include wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, and illegal gambling, calling it one of the largest sports betting rings in recent memory.
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