Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty to taking part in rigged, mob-tied underground poker games at a packed federal court hearing attended by 30 of his fellow co-defendants in the case.
Sitting at the defense table in a gray suit with a white pocket square, Billups entered his plea as a sea of lawyers and defendants — including former Cleveland Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones — sat behind him in the second-floor ceremonial courtroom in Brooklyn Federal Court Monday.
Billups and Jones are accused of acting as “face cards” at high-stakes poker games games in Manhattan, Las Vegas, the Hamptons and Miami, meant to reel in deep-pocketed gamblers, or “fish,” who wanted to play Texas Hold ‘Em with basketball stars.
Once hooked, the fish had no chance against the high-tech cheating equipment used at the games, like an altered automatic card shuffler that fed card data to an, an X-ray table, and a poker chip tray with hidden cameras, the feds allege.
The victims lost $7 million in total, with one gambler alone losing $1.8 million, authorities said.
The courtroom, often used for large groups attending naturalization ceremonies, seats about 275 people. All 31 defendants in the case are slated to return there, all at the same time, for the next status conference in the case March 4.
Brooklyn District Court Judge Ramon Reyes reserved a decision to split them into groups of three for logistical reasons, after some of the defendants’ lawyers objected to the proposal.
“We strongly object. I think it’s fundamental unfair to separate us,” said Gerard Marrone, who’s representing reputed Genovese crime family member Matthew Daddino — one of the conspirators accused of collecting payments to the mob.
He argued in a letter to the judge that splitting the group would allow prosecutors to “divide and conquer,” though Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gibaldi countered in court they were pressing the proposal for purely logistical reasons and not strategic ones.
Jones said at his arraignment Nov. 6 that he was engaged in plea talks with prosecutors, and Gibaldi told the judge Monday,
“With respect to some defendants, plea negotiations have begun.”
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Former NBA player Damon Jones leaves federal court in Brooklyn on Monday. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
After the proceedings, Billups and his lawyer walked down the second-floor hallway to another courtroom, where Reyes set his bond at $5 million, secured by property in Greenwood Village, Colo. he owns with his wife. He’s barred from any kind of gambling while out on bond.
Billups had previously been free without bond after his initial arrest in Oregon last month. He’s charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
He and his layer, Marc Mukasey, declined comment as they left the courtroom.
Jones and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are accused in another indictment of tipping gamblers off to inside information before several NBA games. Billups isn’t named in that indictment, but is referenced as an indicted co-conspirator, law enforcement sources said.
