When US authorities unveiled two shocking investigations into illegal sports betting on Thursday, they described the operations as “reminiscent of a Hollywood movie.”

The schemes, which allegedly involved NBA stars, special contact lenses, marked cards, a poker table, and X-rays and $7 million in losses led to the arrests of 31 people in 11 states, including members of the Italian-Sicilian mafia organization La Cosa Nostra.

Part of what makes the case so cinematic is the alleged Mafia involvement. Thanks to decades of movies, TV shows, and books dedicated to the mafia's exploits, it has taken on a mythic place in American culture.

“As Ray Liotta said in 'Goodfellas,' 'They treated us like dangerous movie stars,'” said attorney Ed McDonald, who, as the real-life prosecutor who handled the case of former mobster-turned-FBI informant Henry Hill, played his own role in the iconic film.

Yet former prosecutors say the mob's influence and activities have changed since its 20th-century heyday, when blood-soaked tabloid covers featuring mob killings, corporate extortions, and show trials were common.

Aggressive prosecutions in the 1980s and 1990s helped break the power of the mob in New York has already brought down several prominent leaders.

“The bottom line is the mob is not what it used to be,” McDonald said.

Evolution

Indeed, it has evolved. And the investigation into poker-fixing announced by the FBI on Thursday offers an accurate representation of what such activities look like in the 2020s, former prosecutors say.

“These families continued to exist and moved on to much more lucrative activities with much less risk to them in terms of the prison years they could face,” said Drew Rolle, former acting chief of the Eastern District of New York's organized crime and gangs section.

The mob now engages in securities fraud, gambling, online sports betting, and so-called “boiler room” operations, which are elaborate telephone scams, he added.

In 2022,Federal authorities in the Eastern District charged nine members of the Genovese and Bonnano crime families with extortion, illegal gambling, money laundering, and other crimes.

In December 2024, former Genovese family captain Carmelo Polito was sentenced to 30 months in prison for running an illicit gambling house and an illegal online gambling ring.

Thursday's indictment added another example to the list.

Federal law enforcement exposed an elaborate scheme in which the defendants “used sophisticated technology and recruited current and former NBA players to defraud people out of millions of dollars.”

Three of the so-called Five Families—the Gambinos, the Bonannos, and the Genovese—are allegedly involved.

“When people refused to pay because they'd been cheated, these defendants did what organized crime has always done: they resorted to threats, intimidation, and violence,” said Jessica Tisch, NYPD Commissioner.

Sophisticated Methods

According to the indictment, as early as 2019, criminal organizations ran illegal poker games in which they used a variety of technologies to cheat. The defendants used rigged shufflers to rig the decks and a “chip tray analyzer” that secretly reads cards using hidden cameras.

In a twist more reminiscent of “Mission: Impossible” than “Miller's Crossing,” players are accused of wearing special contact lenses or glasses that helped them see pre-marked cards.

According to prosecutors, former professional NBA athletes were recruited as “hooks” to lure unsuspecting players. into the game.

Prosecutors allege that illegally obtained information was passed on to an outside participant, who in turn forwarded the details to an accomplice sitting at the poker table. Players participating in the scheme would signal to each other as the game progressed.

The NBA announced it had immediately suspended Billups from his position as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.

“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our highest priority,” it said.