Federal prosecutors are seeking to revoke the bond of alleged Terry Rozier co-conspirator Deniro Laster, accusing him of repeatedly trying to tamper with witnesses in the NBA betting case.
In a court filing Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York accused Laster, a childhood friend of Rozier’s, of using intermediaries to contact suspected cooperators, urging a co-defendant to remain silent and using an Instagram account tied to him to post a rat emoji aimed at an alleged witness.
Prosecutors argued the post was intended to intimidate, particularly because it came from an account featuring the image of a deceased member of Laster and Rozier’s childhood friend group, which prosecutors claimed has a reputation for possessing firearms.
They outlined several alleged attempts by Laster to identify and intimidate people he believed were cooperating with authorities in the case, including using third parties to contact suspected witnesses and telling a co-defendant that the group would be better positioned to beat the charges if nobody spoke with law enforcement.
Prosecutors also said they are aware of two additional potential witness-tampering incidents but did not disclose them because they involve protected grand-jury material.
Rozier is being accused of accepting a $100,000 bribe to leave a March 2023 Hornets game early after tipping off Laster, who passed the information to bettors.
The payment was later reduced to $70,000 because Rozier recorded too many rebounds before exiting, causing some of the wagers to lose.
Late last month, Rozier’s attorneys cited text messages they say show he was unaware of the betting scheme, including one in which Laster allegedly told another person six days after the March 2023 game, “Dont tell chum bout the bet.”
“This should end the case,” Rozier said. “One does not hide a bet from the person who supposedly sold it.”
He is facing up to 20 years in prison if he’s convicted.
In April, Rozier was released by the Heat amid the investigation.
