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How the mafia uses modern technology in its operations

admin - Latest News - October 24, 2025
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NBC News’ Tom Llamas spoke to former Gambino crime family member and author Louis Ferrante about how the mafia moves with the times to use technology in their operations.



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Oct. 23, 2025, 8:14 PM EDTBy Rob WileCard-reading contact lenses, X-ray poker tables, trays of poker chips that read cards, hacked shuffling machines that predict hands. The technology alleged to have been used to execute a multistate, rigged poker operation sounds like it’s straight out of Hollywood. And those were only some of the gadgets that authorities say were used to swindle millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims through rigged, high-dollar, underground poker games over more than five years. A sprawling indictment unsealed Thursday by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York charged Chauncey Billups, the head coach of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and Damon Jones, a former NBA player, along with members of the Mafia and dozens of other defendants, with being part of a conspiracy. The victims were “at the mercy of concealed technology, including rigged shuffling machines and specially designed contacts lenses and sunglasses to read the backs of playing cards, which ensured that the victims would lose big,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella of Brooklyn said in a statement.Cheating at poker is as old as poker itself. But today, wearable tech and nano-cameras are putting even upstanding poker players on their guard.The gadgetsThe defendants used “special contact lenses or eyeglasses that could read pre-marked cards,” Nocella said at a news conference announcing the indictments.He also showed a photo of an X-ray table that “could read cards face down on the table … because of the X-ray technology.”An X-ray poker table in an image from defendant Robert Stroud’s iCloud account.U.S. Justice Department“Defendants used other cheating technologies, such as poker chip tray analyzers, which is a poker chip tray that secretly reads cards using a hidden camera,” he said.And while marking poker cards so they are visible only with special eyewear is an old trick, new radio-frequency identification and infrared technologies have ramped up the sophistication levels. Technically speaking, many of the devices involved in the alleged scam authorities detailed Thursday are relatively cheap to manufacture, said Sal Piacente, a gaming security consultant.By the time they reach their customers, however, the cost of industrial shufflers or tables can easily approach $100,000, once distributors and middlemen are factored in.“You could make a lucrative career buying this stuff,” Piacente said.Casino and gaming security consultants told NBC News that the alleged scheme was possible only because the games were underground. In backrooms, there was none of the surveillance tech that reputable casinos use to catch players cheating.“A lot of the features which made this scheme so successful would have been ID’d a lot sooner, or very quickly, in a traditional regulated gaming environment,” said Ian Messenger, a former U.K. law enforcement officer and author of a book about casino security. The DeckmateMore than any other tech, it was the reprogramming of the industrial card shufflers — identified in charging documents as Deckmate-brand machines — that authorities said was key to the alleged game rigging.A DeckMate 2 shuffler taken apart on a table in an image from defendant Shane Hennen’s iCloud account. U.S. Justice DepartmentDeckmates are not sold directly to the public, only to casinos. The ones at the high-dollar games cited in the indictment could read cards and predict which player had the best hand. Neither Deckmate nor its parent company, Light & Wonder, were implicated in any way in Thursday’s indictments. A spokesman for Light & Wonder told NBC News in a statement that the company was aware of reports about the charges against people but said they were not affiliated with the company. “We sell and lease our automatic card shufflers and other gaming products and services only to licensed casinos and other licensed gaming establishments,” said Andy Fouché, the company’s vice president of communications. “We will cooperate in any law enforcement investigation related to this indictment.” Reprogramming shufflers is not a new trick. In 2023, hackers at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas presented research showing how to hack a Deckmate shuffler and use it to cheat.The human elementThe rigged shuffler machines would transmit information about the players’ hands to an off-site “operator,” according to prosecutors.The computer program showing information transmitted by the rigged shuffling machine in an image from defendant Shane Hennen’s iCloud account. U.S. Justice DepartmentThe operator would then communicate the information to someone else at the table, dubbed the “quarterback.” The victim was known as the “fish.” Here, the high-tech gadgets met the low-tech of a card game.The quarterback might touch the $1,000 poker chip or tap his chin or touch his black chips to indicate who at the table had the best hand.Text messages obtained by prosecutors also appear to show defendants concerned that a fish would leave the table if he lost too many hands. “Guys please let him win a hand he’s in for 40k in 40 minutes he will leave if he gets no traction,” read one text message released by authorities.But according to Messenger, the consultant, it was not the tech that made the alleged scheme so successful for so long. What set it apart was the level of communication.For example, he said, the card information had to be seamlessly passed from the dealing machines to an off-site operator and back to a person back at the table, all without alerting the fish.“The piece that made this so successful was the coordination, not the technology,” he said.Rob WileRob Wile is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering breaking business stories for NBCNews.com.
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November 12, 2025
Nov. 12, 2025, 9:46 AM EST / Updated Nov. 12, 2025, 9:48 AM ESTBy Gordon Lubold, Courtney Kube and Carol E. LeeWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s directive to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War could cost as much as $2 billion, according to six people with knowledge of the potential cost.The name change, which must be approved by Congress, would require replacing thousands of signs, placards, letterheads and badges, as well as any other items at U.S. military sites around the world that feature the Department of Defense name, according to two senior Republican congressional staffers, two senior Democratic congressional staffers and two other people briefed on the potential cost.New department letterhead and signage alone could cost about $1 billion, according to the four senior congressional staffers and one of the people briefed on the potential cost.One of the biggest contributors to the cost of changing the name would be rewriting digital code for all of the department’s internal and external facing websites, as well as other computer software on classified and unclassified systems, the four senior congressional staffers said.The government could decide not to make every change to the Department of Defense branding, which could bring down the cost. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said a final cost estimate for changing the name has not been set.“The Department of War is aggressively implementing the name change directed by President Trump, and is making the name permanent,” Parnell said in an emailed statement. “A final cost estimate has not been determined at this time due to the Democrat shutdown furloughing many of our critical civilians. A nod to our proud heritage, this change is essential because it reflects the Department’s core mission: winning wars. This has always been our mission, and while we hope for peace, we will prepare for war.”A spokesperson for the White House directed questions to the Pentagon when asked for comment on the cost of changing the Pentagon’s name.The cost estimate for renaming the Pentagon comes as Trump has promised to cut back on federal spending. He’s signed off on steep cuts to government agencies since taking office. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth specifically plans to cut thousands of Pentagon military and civilian personnel as part of his effort to reshape the department’s budget to focus on what he dubs “lethality” and a “warrior ethos.”“Under the Trump administration, we are restoring the pride and the winning spirit of the United States military. That’s why we have officially renamed the Department of Defense back to the original name Department of War,” Trump said Tuesday during a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery.Currently, the Department of War is a secondary title for the Department of Defense, not the formal name of the department. Trump did not mention that an official name change requires congressional approval, but said Department of War better conveys the message that the U.S. is ready to “fight to win.”He first announced a proposed name change in early September when he signed an executive order that authorized Hegseth to adopt the title “secretary of war” and to use “Department of War” in official correspondence and public communications. Trump’s new order gave the Pentagon two deadlines — one 30 days after the president signed the order and another 60 days after — to submit paperwork to the National Security Council that would move the process forward to formally and legally provide Congress with what it needs to consider the name change.White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly would not say whether either of those deadlines have been met.“Under President Trump’s leadership, the now aptly-named Department of War is refocused on readiness and lethality — and its title now reflects its status as the most powerful fighting force in the world,” Kelly said in an emailed statement. “The White House is working hand-in-glove with the Department of War on implementation of the Executive Order.”Following the signing of the order, the Pentagon quickly changed its website URL and social media handles to feature the Department of War rather than Department of Defense. Hegseth also replaced the sign outside his office –- which now reads, “The Office of the Secretary of War” — as well as some signs at the Pentagon.But many signs remain unchanged, including a brass nameplate that hangs outside one of the Pentagon’s entrances that still tells visitors they’re entering “The Department of Defense.”Trump’s executive order required that all executive branch departments and agencies “recognize and accommodate these secondary titles in internal and external communications.”It also acknowledged that the name change would require congressional action.Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah introduced legislation in September to make the name change, and Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla,, introduced legislation in the House. “Restoring the name to Department of War reflects our true purpose: to dominate wars, not merely respond after being provoked,” Scott said in a statement at the time. “It should always be clear to anyone who would harm our people: Americans don’t just play defense,” Lee wrote. But so far, the Trump administration has not made any formal attempt to push legislation through Congress, which would have to fund the cost of the name change.Some Republican lawmakers have privately griped about the focus on what they see as a vanity project, according to two of the senior congressional staffers. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has been public about his criticism of the change as potentially glorifying war and has vowed to lead opposition to formalize and fund the change in the Senate.Democrats have been dismissive of the idea.Last week, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said the name change is a form of “cosplay.”“The department is designated by congressional statue as the Department of Defense, not the Department of War,” Kaine said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “Congress has not authorized the name change … and as far as I’m concerned, there’s no effort for Congress to make the name change.” Ten Senate Democrats sent a letter to the Congressional Budget Office in September requesting the cost of changing the department’s name, including for procuring new signage, branding and ceremonial materials, updating titles of personnel, website redesign and digital infrastructure updates. They called the effort to change the name “wasteful and hypocritical,” particularly given the Trump administration’s focus on fiscal restraint, and said “it appears to prioritize political theater over responsible governance, while diverting resources from core national security functions.”The Pentagon has undergone name changes since its original Department of War designation in 1789. The first change was under President Harry Truman who changed it from the Department of War to the National Military Establishment. The National Security Act of 1947 that was signed by Truman organized all military services into a single entity led by a secretary of defense.Congress then changed the name to Department of Defense a couple years later.Gordon LuboldGordon Lubold is a national security reporter for NBC News.Courtney KubeCourtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.Carol E. LeeCarol E. Lee is the Washington managing editor.
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