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FBI Director Kash Patel warned the “nationwide takedown” of an illegal gambling ring with alleged ties to famed basketball personalities and crime families is “just the start” on Fox News.
His interview followed the FBI’s arrest of the Portland Trail Blazers’ head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in connection with federal investigations into the alleged crime ring.
“If you break the law, we’re coming for you,” Patel told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
Patel alleged that widespread fraud committed on the “grand stage” of basketball has been going on for “some time.”
“It has nothing to do with legal gambling and has everything to do with those in positions of power in places like the NBA getting in bed with La Cosa Nostra and committing acts of extortion, fraud, money-laundering and wire fraud and so many other crimes,” he said.
NBA LEGEND CHAUNCEY BILLUPS, HEAT’S TERRY ROZIER ARRESTED AS PART OF FBI GAMBLING PROBE
“Your winning streak has ended,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said at a press conference. “Your luck has run out. Violating the law is a losing proposition, and you can bet on that.”
Billups and Rozier were among more than 30 individuals arrested across 11 states as part of the coordinated operation, which includes charges of wire fraud, extortion and illegal gambling. Officials said the fraud, theft and robbery total tens of millions of dollars.
HOW CHAUNCEY BILLUPS, DAMON JONES WERE ALLEGEDLY USED TO COERCE VICTIMS INTO ILLEGAL POKER GAMES
“These individuals got in bed with La Cosa Nostra and four of the five major crime families in New York City to create gambling empires, to rob people of their money, to extort people, to commit acts of wire fraud, to rig games and poker games and basketball games, just so they can make a few extra bucks,” Patel said on “The Ingraham Angle.” “They had the protection of the mafia in New York, around this country, so that they could continue this scheme to fleece innocent victims of tens of millions of dollars.”
Patel noted the gambling ring’s alleged ties to the La Cosa Nostra and Gambino crime families. Members allegedly defrauded millions of victims, laundered proceeds through cryptocurrency and rigged poker games with cheating devices.
“They literally had scanners at the poker tables, where they literally had professional athletes in the NBA walk off the court so their proposition bets could be met,” Patel said.
The NBA has since put Billups and Rozier on immediate leaves of absence, Fox News Digital reported.
“Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities,” the league stated. “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith weighed in on the controversy.
“… when you’ve got all of these protesters that have been going out there and people who have been protesting against him and what have you, this man is coming. He’s coming, and I’ve been saying it for a long time. To me, this is the latest nugget of evidence that we’re talking about right here. That’s not to question the legitimacy of the case,” he said.
Patel responded, saying Smith’s remarks might be “the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history.”
The FBI director maintained the investigation is far from over and said the cornerstone of his leadership is “follow the money.”
“We are going to continue to work this investigation and those that have been arrested today to make sure that illegal gambling empires embedded with the La Cosa Nostra are brought down, whether they’re in the NBA or anywhere else,” he said.
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