Trial date scheduled for Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones in alleged rigged poker scheme
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Brooklyn, N.Y. — A federal judge on Wednesday set Nov. 2 as the start of the trial for Hall of Fame guard Chauncey Billups, former NBA player Damon Jones and nearly three dozen co-defendants accused of organizing mob-controlled, rigged poker games.
During a status conference at the U.S. Courthouse in Brooklyn, Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes said the current number of defendants is too large for a single proceeding. Prosecutors and defense attorneys will decide how to split the case before jury selection begins.
Federal prosecutors told the court they plan to offer plea agreements to 12 defendants within days, while at least nine others are engaged in “productive conversations” about pleading guilty. The filing did not specify whether Billups is among those considering a deal.
Billups, Jones and their co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to money-laundering and wire-fraud charges alleging they steered unwitting players to poker games manipulated with hidden devices supplied by organized-crime figures.
Extensive evidence under review
The government has placed all case materials under a protective order. According to prosecutors, the evidence includes:
• Body-camera video and arrest records
• Data from seven electronic devices and multiple Apple iCloud accounts
• More than 100,000 pages of financial and phone records
• Over 800 pages of surveillance photographs
• Footage from a pole camera outside 147 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, identified as one of the poker locations
• Approximately 7 terabytes of electronic data seized during the October arrests
Since the previous status hearing on Nov. 24, defendants have been granted access to review the material.
Billups on unpaid leave
Billups, 49, has been on unpaid administrative leave from his position as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers since his October arrest. He posted $5 million bail and has been living in the Denver area, according to sources familiar with his situation.
Jones, 49, who last played in the NBA in 2009, faces the same charges. Both men appeared in court alongside alleged organized-crime associates and technicians accused of supplying equipment to fix the games.
All defendants remain free on bond as the case moves toward the November trial date.
Source: ESPN
