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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was excited about the start of the Portland Trail Blazers new season, but just one day after the team’s opener, the team is mired in controversy following an FBI probe.
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA guard Damon Jones, were among more than two dozen arrests as part of a widespread FBI investigation on Thursday. Billups was allegedly involved in a nationwide poker ring involving members of the La Cosa Nostra crime families.
Wyden, who loves the game of basketball, having played at UC Santa Barbara in the 1960s, was just as shocked as the rest of sports fans when learning the news, especially as it impacted his local team.
“I will tell you that this is a very sad day for all of us as sports fans,” Wyden told reporters when asked about his thoughts on the investigation. He didn’t expand for any further comment.
Joseph Nocella, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said during the investigation announcement on Thursday that alleged schemers in the poker takedown targeted victims known as “fish” who were lured in by giving them the chance to play alongside former pro athletes like Billups. Those athletes were known as “face cards.”
Nocella added that the “fish” were unaware of the “face cards” being a part of the scheme.
As for the sports gambling side of the investigation, Nocella said schemers were allegedly given non-public information about who would be sitting out future games or when they would be pulling themselves out early for injuries or illnesses.
There was a specific instance brought up by Nocella, as Jontay Porter, an ex-Toronto Raptors player, received a lifetime ban from the NBA and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a gambling scheme last year.
“In one instance, they got their information by threatening a current player, Porter, because of his preexisting gambling debts,” Nocella said, referencing the La Cosa Nostra crime families. “Defendants used this information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent bets – mostly in the form of prop bets on individual player performance.
“The defendants relied on a network of straw bettors to place the maximum amount of bets to increase their potential profits. Most of these bets succeeded and the intended losses were in the millions of dollars. The defendants then laundered their illegal winnings in various ways.”
The Blazers issued a statement on Billups later Thursday.
“We are aware of the allegations involving head coach Chauncey Billups, and the Trail Blazers are fully cooperating with the investigation,” the team said. “Billups has been placed on immediate leave, and Tiago Splitter will assume head coaching duties in the interim.
“Any further questions should be directed to the NBA.”
The NBA, which cooperated in the investigation, placed Billups and Rozier on immediate level of absence.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” the league said. “Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
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