In today’s sports betting environment, headlines like this one should not come as a complete shock.

We all remember the Jontay Porter story from March of last year, where the Raptors center was caught in a point shaving scandal leading to a lifetime ban from the league. He ended up pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a gambling scheme, and could face up to 20 years in prison.

There’s also the Shohei Ohtani interpreter story. And the Calvin Ridley story. And the Kayshon Boutte story. And the -

…you get the point. Every few months, one of these pops up.

But the news that came down on Thursday morning as it relates to the latest NBA gambling scandal is on another level.

As soon as the mafia gets involved, everything is elevated.

From The Boston Globe:

“Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are among more than 30 people charged in connection with schemes involving illegal sports betting and rigged poker games backed by Mafia, authorities said Thursday.

“Rozier, who played four seasons for the Celtics after being drafted by Boston in 2015, is accused in participating in an illegal sports betting scheme using private insider NBA information, officials said. He is among six arrested.

“Billups is charged in a separate but connected indictment alleging a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games that were backed by Mafia families, authorities said. He is among 31 defendants charged in a conspiracy that included rigged shuffling machines and other high-tech technology to cheat.

“Three people are charged in both schemes.

“The charge or charges Rozier and Billups face were not immediately known, but charges across the two cases include wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, illegal gambling, FBI director Kash Patel said at a news conference.”

In a statement, the NBA said they’re still in the process of looking into the matter.

"We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today," the league said. "Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority."

U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. called it "one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”

He went on to say the poker scheme targeted victims known as "fish," who were lured to participate in the rigged games with the chance to play alongside former athletes who were known as "face cards." Billups is alleged to be one of those celebrities.

Reports state that games were rigged through “sophisticated cheating technology,” such as altered card shuffling machines, hidden cameras in poker chip trays, special sunglasses and X-ray equipment built into the table to read the cards of unsuspecting players.

Once the "fish" lost, Nocella said the Mafia used extortion and violence to make sure they paid their gambling debts. Investigators found that the scheme involved members and associates of the Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese crime families.

One victim alone lost $1.8 million, according to the indictment.

"Victims believed that they were sitting at a fair table," said New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. "Instead, they were cheated out of millions."

A first-round pick by the Celtics out of Louisville in 2015, Rozier became a fan favorite during his time in Boston (2015-19). Due to a bevy of injuries during the 2017-18 season, Rozier ended up becoming the centerpiece of an upstart Boston team that took the Cavaliers to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals, inevitably losing to a LeBron James-led team that advanced to their fourth consecutive NBA Finals.

In July of 2019, Rozier was traded to the Hornets as a part of a sign-and-trade that sent All-Star point guard Kemba Walker to Boston. Rozier played in Charlotte through the middle of the 2023-24 season before being traded to the Heat, where he has mostly underwhelmed and ultimately fallen out of the rotation.

Billups’ history with Boston is similar in that he, too, was a first-round pick by Boston, being selected by the Celtics third overall in 1997 by then head coach/team president Rick Pitino. Their shared connection to Pitino (Rozier’s coach at Louisville) and draft status with the Celtics is where the Boston similarities end, as Billups was traded in February of his rookie season to Toronto in exchange for Kenny Anderson, Zan Tabak and Popeye Jones.

That’s a trade Boston would like to have back, as Billups went on to a Hall of Fame career, winning the 2004 NBA Finals as a member of the Detroit Pistons.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.