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NEW YORK (AP) — Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he profited from rigged poker games involving several Mafia figures and at least one other ex-NBA player.
Billups, a five-time All Star who won a championship with the Detroit Pistons, was arraigned in a federal court in Brooklyn on money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
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Prosecutors say he was involved in a scheme to rig mob-backed illegal poker games in Manhattan, Las Vegas, Miami and the Hamptons. Others face charges of running an illegal gambling business, robbery conspiracy and extortion conspiracy. Prosecutors said Monday that plea negotiations have begun with some defendants but did not identify them.
U.S. District Court Judge Ramon Reyes said he hopes to bring the sprawling case to trial by next September, telling lawyers to “do what you have to do.”
Billups, dressed in a dark grey suit, spoke only to answer yes-or-no questions from the judge. His lawyer, Marc Mukasey, entered his plea. They declined to comment after the hearing. Last month, another Billups lawyer called him a “man of integrity” who denies the allegations.
“To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of is to believe that he would risk his Hall of Fame legacy, his reputation and his freedom,” attorney Chris Heywood said after Billups first appeared in court on Oct. 23, when prosecutors first announced the indictment.
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Billups, 49, was released on a $5 million bond secured by his family’s Colorado home. He must refrain from gambling, avoid contact with other defendants or alleged victims, surrender his passport and limit travel to seven states, including Oregon and New York, and Washington, D.C.
Inducted last year into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, Billups was arguably the most prominent among more than 30 people charged in last month’s sprawling federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to professional sports.
Ex-NBA player and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/portland-trail-blazers-coach-chauncey-231438211.html
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Publish date : 2025-11-24 23:14:00
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