Entertainment
Ex-Mobster Blames NBA’s Growing Partnerships W/ Gambling Platforms For Arrests
Ex-Mobster Michael Franzese
Blame NBA’s Gambling Platform ‘Ships For Arrests
… ‘Can’t Give People Access Like That’
Published
TMZSports.com
Former Mafia captain Michael Franzese — who once ran his own crew with the Colombo crime family — says the NBA should blame itself for Thursday’s shocking Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones arrests.
The ex-mobster explained to Harvey and Charles on “TMZ Live” that the league’s growing relationships with various gambling platforms have invited all kinds of trouble for its employees.
Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
Franzese told the guys that by partnering with the betting sites, they’ve sent a “Hey, it’s OK, you can gamble” message to players and coaches throughout the league.
“The more access you have to gambling, the more people are going to get involved in it,” he said. “And the more people are going to get in trouble. There’s no question about it.”
“You can’t give people access like that.”
According to Franzese, pro athletes and “even college athletes” use gambling as “an extension of their competitive nature,” and when their respective leagues appear to sign off on wide-range wagering by teaming up with betting forums, it opens the door for headaches.
In fact, Franzese — who gave up the mob life following his stint in prison in 1994 — said he wasn’t surprised at all to see the feds announce the bombshell allegations against the NBAers this week.
“This happens all the time,” he said. “It hasn’t changed over the past 30 years.”
Billups has been accused of helping multiple Mafia families make cash off of rigged poker games. Rozier, meanwhile, is alleged to have influenced prop bets by pulling himself from a 2023 game with a fake injury.
As for Jones, prosecutors say he was taken into custody for being involved in both the illegal card scheme and the insider sports betting conspiracy.
High-Flying Car Crash
See Mercedes-Benz Catapult Over Traffic On Video
Published
Terrifying video shows a Mercedes-Benz propelling over traffic in Romania before crashing into a pole — and the driver somehow walked away with just a few broken bones.
The CCTV footage captured a portion of the car wreck last Wednesday in Oradea, a city in northwest Romania, and the dramatic video is now making the rounds in the international media.
As you can see … everything seems normal at first as a bus and several cars drive toward a roundabout. Suddenly, the Mercedes launches through the air over the vehicles, nearly clipping the roof of the bus before reportedly crashing into a utility pole near a gas station.
Police told The Independent … the Benz driver fell unconscious during a medical episode triggered by his diabetes.
The news outlet said rescue workers had to free the 49-year-old man from his wrecked vehicle before rushing him to a hospital, where he was treated for several broken bones, yet he managed to avoid life-threatening injuries.
Cops reportedly suspended his license for 90 days and issued him a $365 fine.
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Politics Is Toxic And So Is My ’60 Minutes’ Interview!!!
Published
CBS
Marjorie Taylor Greene got into a heated back-and-forth with “60 Minutes” journalist Lesley Stahl as both accused each other of fueling the current toxic political environment.
The Georgia congresswoman sat down with Stahl for a wide-ranging interview, during which they turned to the subject of Green apologizing on CNN three weeks ago for taking part in the toxic culture.
Greene explained that American politics has become the most toxic it’s ever been … prompting Stahl to say “you contributed to that” and slamming Greene for “insulting people.”
Greene hit back, saying Stahl also contributed to the toxicity for being accusatory. The two then argued over accusing each other — and it gets pretty heated between them before it finally dies down.
At another point in the interview, Greene claimed Trump “directly fueled” death threats after he called her a traitor for breaking with MAGA after years of being a loyalist.
As you know, Greene has been publicly criticizing Trump since she broke with him last month, mainly over the release of the “Epstein Files.” Greene — a staunch republican — recently announced she was resigning from Congress in January.
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