T he news of widespread sports betting and Mafia-backed poker games that led to the arrest of an NBA coach and player did not surprise Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, the former underboss of the Gambino crime family who once lived in the East Valley.

I’m not shocked at all,” Gravano told Cronkite News. “Sports have been rigged for years and years and years.”

Gravano lives in the Phoenix area, where he and his family moved after his release from federal prison following his confession to murdering 19 people. He agreed to testify as a government witness against John Gotti, the late crime family boss.

On Oct. 23, the NBA and the sports world were rocked by the news that Portland Trail Blazers coach and Hall of Fame player Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrest

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