Link: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7494401/2026/08/05/terry-rozier-deniro-laster-illegal-gambling-case/?unlocked_article_code=1.3FA.pUcX.47JBUYY2JRFb&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

Federal prosecutors have asked the judge overseeing the NBA insider trading case to put one of the defendants into custody because, they say, he tried to intimidate witnesses and obstruct justice. The defendant, Deniro Laster, is accused of collaborating with Terry Rozier as part of an alleged scheme where Rozier removed himself from a March 2023 game to benefit gamblers. Rozier and Laster have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Rozier has not been implicated in the latest filing from prosecutors, but his attorney, David Markus, has accused lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York of issuing a “dog whistle” with their latest request.

The prosecutors told the federal judge that Laster and Rozier are part of a group called GMB that has a reputation for owning guns, they wrote in a new legal filing. They said that Laster tried to intimidate potential witnesses through Instagram posts and that he allegedly had other communications that violated his bond terms. Laster posted a rat emoji on Instagram, the prosecutors said, as a way to intimidate possible witnesses and prevent them from helping with the government’s investigation.