New research exposes an alarming nexus between the mafia and pro athletics. Together, they reveal a network behind high-stakes gambling with former NBA players that’s far more pervasive and insidious than we ever thought possible. Henry Hill and Jimmy “The Gent” Burke are the main characters in this story. They were affiliates of New York’s Lucchese crime family and hired Boston College basketball players to fix games throughout the 1978-79 season. This scandal is the tip of the iceberg, forming part of a much more complex web that links sports personalities and celebrities with Mafia crime syndicates.
These recent arrests are a stark reminder of the persistent reach of organized crime in athletics. Retaliators Black authorities arrested 34 people, including ex-NBA players Chauncey Billups and Sebastian Jones. Their stories are tied to two concurrent federal investigations into high-stakes poker games run by members of the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese and Bonanno crime families. The ongoing investigations show just how far these criminal organizations have undermined the integrity of our sports, determining winners and losers, and taking advantage of athletes.
Billups has certainly been successful, making over $100 million in his career as a player and close to $5 million per year as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Today, that once obscure leader faces an unprecedented legal nightmare. Like Jones, who made more than $22 million in his 11-year NFL career, life after sports has been difficult for him as well. He’s waited until the last minute to file for bankruptcy twice in Texas, in 2013 and 2015, with both of those bankruptcy petitions eventually dismissed. His sordid financial woes extend to an unpaid $47,000 debt at Las Vegas’ Bellagio casino.
Stroud is at the heart of these studies. He most famously recruited Billups and Jones to participate in fixed high-stakes poker games organized by some of New York City’s most infamous crime families. Prosecutors claim these athletes conspired to defraud participants out of more than $7 million. They collaborated with an impressive, high-tech cheating playbook which included X-ray tables and smart glasses to execute their fraud.
Stroud is said to have paid off Billups and Jones for their participation, marking them as ‘Face Cards’ on the rogue squads. Federal authorities say the illegal operation is part of a broader network. This predatory network has a long history of profiting off of athletes without fair compensation.
The ties between organized crime and professional sports are not a recent development. Michael Franzese, a former underboss in the Colombo crime family, recently appeared to brag about his 1980s plan. He made connections with athletes after purchasing a stake in World Sports & Entertainment. He stated his motives clearly:
“I did it because I wanted to get close to the athletes.” – Michael Franzese
Franzese stated that developing these connections allowed mobsters to control athletes who were deep in gambling debt. This intentional manipulation fostered a cycle of dependency that further ensnared the collegiate athletes.
“We knew if we could get close to these guys, they are going to end up in trouble. If they gamble, they are going to come to us.” – Michael Franzese
The exploitation of youth sports events as breeding grounds for criminal connections, across a myriad of crimes, has been well-documented. Scott Burnstein pointed out that the criminals or their cronies could set up showcase events—like AAU basketball tournaments. These events can be a convenient front for illicit activity.
“These showcase events… are sometimes staged by criminals.” – Scott Burnstein
Burnstein, warning that these events create opportunities for predators to eventually exploit connections made with teenage athletes. Edward A. McDonald noted that those looking to fix games would go out of their way to cultivate friendships with young athletes.
“People who want to fix games would make it their business to cultivate relationships so these kids would be beholden to them.” – Edward A. McDonald
The lure of easy money is usually what pushes these athletes on to a dangerous path. Franzese highlighted this allure when he said:
“There is always a certain lure where people want to do something that’s a little shady so they can get the cash and not report it.” – Michael Franzese
The consequences of these conflicts of interests can be deadly. In 1994, Stroud was involved in a fatal incident during a card game in Louisville, where he killed a man. More recently, his illegal operations were exposed when officers found gambling paraphernalia on him after a 2001 traffic stop.
The recent investigations highlight just how much of a stranglehold organized crime has on professional sports. Tim Donaghy, a former NBA referee, scored global headlines when he famously copped to betting on the games he was reffing. Aside from his connection to organized crime and inside knowledge, his actions speak to a continuing, troubling reality within the world of sports.
As Keith Corbett argued, these people who engage in these practices tend to use some serious mental gymnastics to explain what they’re
“They can do mental gymnastics to the point where they don’t really think they are affecting the outcome of a game.” – Keith Corbett
His observation speaks to the ethical flexibility that many athletes are forced to develop when dealing with temptations brought on by gambling and the lure of economic desperation.
As these investigations unfold, they reveal an unsettling truth: organized crime has established a foothold in professional sports, leveraging relationships with athletes for profit while manipulating game outcomes. The consequences go beyond just losing money; they deepened important ethical concerns about cheating in sports.
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