A major federal indictment involving basketball point shaving has several Louisiana ties, with six of the 16 players indicted having played for Louisiana teams. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Governor Jeff Landry says thanks to the Fiscal Responsibility Program he created about a year ago, state government is leaner and more effective. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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A massive federal basketball point shaving indictment has Louisiana ties. 20 men, including 12 former and four current college basketball players, are indicted in the scheme to rig basketball games for profit. Of those players indicted, six played for a Louisiana program at one point. The indictment was unsealed this morning in Philadelphia and announced by David Metcalf, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Cut 3 (14) “…for monetary gain.”
Metcalf says this scheme went on for years and it involved several programs.
Cut 4 (10) “…and fixed games.”
Four Louisiana programs are among the 17 programs involved – New Orleans, Tulane, Nicholls and Northwestern State. Metcalf says it started when gamblers Marves (MAR-viss) Fairley and Shane Hennen conspired with former LSU star Antonio Blakeney, who was playing professionally in China at the time, to fix professional games in China; and when those proved to be profitable, they moved the operation stateside and into the world of college basketball.
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And those intentional sub-par performances would cause their teams to lose by margins greater than the point spread. Blakeney was not named in the indictment but was indicted elsewhere.
Players with Louisiana ties named in the indictment:
Bradley Ezewiro (LSU)
Kevin Cross (Tulane)
Oumar Koureissi (Nicholls)
Carlos Hart (New Orleans)
Cedquavious Hunter (New Orleans)
Dyquavion Short (New Orleans)
Players with Louisiana teams not named in the indictment:
Antonio Blakeney (LSU)
Diante Smith (Nicholls)
Louisiana teams involved:
Tulane
New Orleans
Nicholls
Northwestern State
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Governor Jeff Landry announced that the Louisiana Fiscal Responsibility Program that he established in December of 2024 has found hundreds of millions of dollars in savings within state government. The program is led by Fiscal Responsibility Czar Steve Orlando…
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Landry’s Fiscal Responsibility Program was inspired by President Trump’s DOGE initiative. Former Commissioner of Administration Angelle Davis worked with the Louisiana DOGE team and she says it was a team effort throughout state government to eliminate wasteful spending and improve government efficiency…
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Landry says the state will not stop in finding efficiencies that will save taxpayers’ money and improve state services.
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Landry says his goal is to eliminate the state income tax and the chance of that happening grows if the state finds ways to improve government services while at the same time reducing spending.
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There is the possibility south Louisiana could see a very light snowfall this weekend. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says a strong cold front will push through the state on Saturday and any lingering precipitation has the potential to turn into snow early Sunday morning…
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Keim says whether or not we see snow in south Louisiana will be highly dependent on where the front ends up, how much moisture is in the air and the temperature…
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Keim says if it does snow, it’s unlikely to accumulate, so no repeat of last January’s historic snow event…
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The LSU men’s basketball team lost its fourth straight game last night in heartbreaking fashion. After leading Kentucky by as many as 18, The Tigers only led the Wildcats 74-73 with 1.9 seconds left to play. Kentucky’s Collin Chandler heaved a full-court pass into the hands of Malachi Moreno, who sunk an uncontested midrange jumper at the buzzer to win. Head coach Matt McMahon is devastated for his team.
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The Tigers are off to an 0-4 start in SEC play. LSU has been without senior guard DJ Thomas for four straight games as he continues to deal with a lower leg injury. LSU Athletic Director says on WWL Radio that he believes the team would be off to a better start had Thomas been available.
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With the loss to Kentucky, McMahon dropped to 14-44 in SEC play in his four years at LSU. As McMahon’s seat heats up, Ausberry says the LSU administration will wait until after the season to decide his future.
Cut 14 (12) “…the next steps.”