New Footage of La Cosa Nostra and NBA Players Organizing Crimes Together Goes Viral!

Good morning. Today, federal authorities in New York announced a historic set of arrests that have shaken both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra — America’s infamous organized crime network. What was once whispered as rumor has now become a verified criminal conspiracy, one that connects professional basketball to the American Mafia in a way never seen before. Newly surfaced evidence and surveillance footage reveal NBA figures and mob associates working hand in hand — fixing bets, exchanging envelopes of cash, and orchestrating sophisticated financial crimes. The NBA has faced controversies before, but never one of this magnitude.

On October 23, 2025 — just two days into what was supposed to be a thrilling new NBA season — federal prosecutors unsealed a sweeping indictment that sent shockwaves through the sports world. The charges named not only NBA Hall of Famers, active players, and coaches, but also members of four of New York’s most notorious mafia families. The FBI called it “one of the most elaborate criminal conspiracies in modern sports history.”

This was not an internet conspiracy theory; it was a documented, multi-year criminal enterprise. In coordinated raids across eleven states, thirty-four individuals were arrested, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones — a figure long known for his close ties to LeBron James. But this operation was about much more than gambling. It was about organized crime on a grand scale, involving the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese families — four of New York’s infamous Five Families.

These were not simple underground card games. The schemes involved cutting-edge technology: X-ray poker tables that could read cards face-down, modified shuffling machines that identified card order, and contact lenses capable of detecting invisible ink markings. They even used encrypted wireless communication systems, rivaling something out of a James Bond film.

The FBI’s investigation — dubbed Operation Royal Flush and Operation Nothing But Bet — lasted four years. Agents reviewed over 3,000 phone calls, executed 24 search warrants, and collected evidence filling multiple courtrooms. The financial scale was staggering: tens of millions of dollars in fraud, theft, and extortion, including one victim who reportedly lost $1.8 million in a single night.

According to FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney Joseph Nella Jr., the case exposed a “mind-boggling web of deceit” and represented “the most brazen sports corruption scheme since the legalization of online betting.”

The investigation uncovered two intertwined criminal operations — separate, but symbiotic. The first centered on insider betting. Between December 2022 and March 2024, defendants exploited confidential NBA information — player injuries, lineup changes, and game strategies — to manipulate so-called “prop bets,” wagers on individual player performance. Players allegedly shared non-public details with co-conspirators, who placed enormous bets through online sportsbooks using straw bettors to conceal their involvement. Their success rate approached 90 percent — statistically impossible without inside knowledge.

One key example occurred on March 23, 2023. Terry Rozier, then with the Charlotte Hornets, left a game early citing a sore foot after just ten minutes of play — far below his season average of 21 points per game. Co-conspirators, armed with prior knowledge of his early exit, had placed over $200,000 on “under” bets tied to Rozier’s performance. The bets paid out tens of thousands of dollars in profit, which were allegedly hand-delivered to Rozier’s home.

Although the NBA had already investigated Rozier in 2023 and cleared him of wrongdoing, the FBI later uncovered text messages, betting records, and testimony from cooperating witnesses proving otherwise.

But the betting scandal was only half the story. The second scheme — even more elaborate — revolved around rigged poker games in cities like Manhattan, the Hamptons, Las Vegas, and Miami. Beginning in 2019, the defendants organized underground poker games targeting wealthy victims, lured in by the chance to play with former NBA stars. These celebrities were referred to as “face cards” — bait designed to give the illusion of legitimacy. Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones acted as such “face cards,” using their fame to draw in victims who believed they were participating in a friendly, high-stakes match. In reality, every dealer, every player, and even the equipment was rigged.

The technology was extraordinary: modified card shufflers that transmitted data to remote operators, hidden cameras in chip trays, X-ray tables, and contact lenses that could detect invisible markings on cards. Information about who held the winning hand was sent to an operative at the table, known as the “quarterback,” who would then signal other conspirators.

This was where the mafia connection became indispensable. The Bonanno, Gambino, and Genovese families already controlled much of New York’s underground gambling scene. Once they realized the scale of this new operation, they integrated it into their network, providing security, laundering money, and enforcing debts through threats and violence. When victims refused to pay, mob enforcers handled “collections” with assault, extortion, and in one case, armed robbery — just to retrieve a rigged shuffling machine.

At the center of the scandal were figures who should have had everything to lose. Chauncey Billups, known as “Mr. Big Shot,” was a five-time All-Star, NBA Finals MVP, and recent Hall of Fame inductee. He was arrested in Portland on the morning of October 23, just hours after coaching a game. Indictments allege he participated in multiple rigged poker events, earning $50,000 per appearance to lend credibility to the criminal operation.

Terry Rozier’s case highlighted another side of the scandal — one of gambling addiction and poor judgment. Despite earning over $160 million in his career, Rozier allegedly risked everything for a few thousand dollars in illegal winnings. He was arrested in Orlando hours before a Heat game.

Damon Jones emerged as a pivotal figure — the only individual charged in both the betting and poker conspiracies. Once an NBA veteran, coach, and close confidant of LeBron James, Jones allegedly sold insider information on player availability and used his reputation to attract poker victims.

Also implicated was former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter — previously banned from the NBA for life in 2024 for manipulating his own performance to benefit gamblers. Court documents suggest Porter had been coerced into the scheme after falling into debt with organized crime figures.

The mafia’s involvement was massive. Thirteen of the thirty-four defendants were identified as members or associates of New York’s crime families — an unusually large concentration. They took 20 to 30 percent cuts of the profits, laundered money through shell companies and cryptocurrency, and maintained control through fear.

The NBA’s response came swiftly but raised questions about its effectiveness. The league suspended both Billups and Rozier indefinitely, announced a review of gambling policies, and scheduled an emergency summit with team owners and betting partners. Proposed reforms include stricter rules on insider access, enhanced gambling education, and biometric-based injury transparency to prevent manipulation.

For the NBA, the timing couldn’t be worse. The scandal erupted just as the 2025–26 season began, instantly overshadowing the games themselves. Betting volume dropped 15 percent on opening night, and online fan communities erupted with outrage and disbelief. Many questioned whether the league’s embrace of legalized sports betting had gone too far.

To understand the gravity of this case, one must look to history. From Jack Molinas’ 1950s game-fixing scandal to the 2007 Tim Donaghy referee betting case, organized crime has long sought entry into professional basketball. But never before has the infiltration been this coordinated, this high-level, or this lucrative.

This is not just another sports scandal — it is a story about power, corruption, addiction, and the dangerous intersection of fame and organized crime. For the NBA, the question is no longer if the league has been compromised, but how deep the corruption runs — and how many more names are yet to fall.