Sports Mafia Links Extend Beyond Latest NBA Gambling Probe
sports-mafia-nba-gambling-connections
Federal prosecutors say the alleged partnership between organized crime and two retired NBA players began with a familiar tactic: a casual introduction arranged by an outsider. Court documents unsealed last week accuse Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and former journeyman guard Damon Jones of joining high-stakes, rigged poker games connected to four of New York City’s most prominent crime families.
The intermediary, prosecutors contend, was Robert L. Stroud, 67, of Louisville. Stroud’s criminal past includes a 1994 homicide during a card game and a 2001 traffic stop that turned up betting cards, dice and gambling ledgers, according to WAVE News in Kentucky. Investigators say Stroud recruited the ex-players to serve as “face cards,” luring wealthy poker opponents who were then cheated with X-ray tables, specialized glasses and other technology.
The Two-Track Investigation
Stroud, Billups and Jones are among 34 people arrested in overlapping federal cases. One centers on an illegal sports-betting ring that allegedly used insider NBA information; the other targets the mob-linked poker operation tied to the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese and Bonanno families. Prosecutors say the poker crew siphoned more than $7 million from victims.
Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat is also charged in the broader investigation. Billups’s attorney has publicly denied any wrongdoing by the Portland Trail Blazers coach, who earned more than $100 million during his playing career and receives nearly $5 million annually in his current role. Jones collected more than $22 million across 11 NBA seasons and later worked as an assistant coach.
Why Athletes Get Pulled In
Keith Corbett, former head of Detroit’s Organized Crime Strike Force, said gambling addiction or outstanding debts often pull athletes into criminal schemes. “There is always a certain lure where people want to do something that’s a little shady so they can get the cash and not report it,” Corbett told ESPN.
Mob historian Scott Burnstein added that crime figures frequently start cultivating relationships at grassroots events such as AAU basketball tournaments, making later requests—like intentionally staying under a rebound total—easier to rationalize for players.
Long History of Mob-Sports Entanglements
Organized crime’s reach into American sports stretches back decades:
- In the 1960s, future Hall of Famers Connie Hawkins and Roger Brown were sidelined early in their careers after links to fixer Jack Molinas surfaced.
- During the 1978-79 season, Lucchese associates Henry Hill and Jimmy “The Gent” Burke steered a point-shaving scheme at Boston College, later dramatized in the film “Goodfellas.”
- Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy admitted in the mid-2000s to betting on games he officiated and passing inside information to gamblers connected to organized crime.
Ex-Colombo family capo Michael Franzese recalled buying into a sports agency in the 1980s to befriend athletes he believed would eventually need money. “If they gamble, they are going to come to us,” Franzese said.
Financial Pressures Mount
Court filings show Jones filed for bankruptcy in Texas in 2013 and 2015—both cases were dismissed—listing liabilities up to $1 million. The Bellagio casino in Las Vegas claimed he owed more than $47,000. In a September 2023 text message included in the indictment, Jones asked Stroud for a $10,000 advance before a planned poker session, writing, “I needed it today bad.”
Although legalized wagering has proliferated across the United States, gambling analysts say underground books remain attractive because they offer credit and higher potential payouts. Investigative author Dan E. Moldea argued in his 1989 book “Interference” that the expansion of legal betting would generate more illegal activity—a prediction prosecutors suggest is playing out in the current NBA case.
The Mafia itself has evolved, according to former insiders. Violence has diminished, but gambling revenues continue to drive operations that experts say are unlikely to disappear.
No trial dates have been set. Billups, Jones, Stroud and the other defendants face a range of charges, including racketeering, wire fraud and operating an illegal gambling business.
Source: ESPN
