Several members of the notorious Lucchese crime family have been named among 39 defendants charged with illegal gambling activities after four New Jersey poker clubs were raided following a two-year police investigation.
“In the complaint we’re announcing today, we allege that members and associates of the Lucchese Crime Family operated illegal card games and sports betting books in northern New Jersey,” said Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Director, Theresa L. Hilton, in an announcement this week.
Alleged “Five Families” mobsters
George “Georgie Neck” Zappola, 65, Joseph R. “Big Joe” Perna, 56, John Perna, 47, and Wayne Cross, 75, all of New Jersey, are suspected members of the infamous organised crime group run under the Lucchese family name – one of the “Five Families” in the New York/New Jersey Mafia.
Zappola is described as a Lucchese Crime Family “ruling panel” member, Joseph Perna as a Lucchese “captain”, and the other two as Lucchese “soldiers”.
All four were charged with first-degree racketeering and second-degree conspiracy to promote gambling and money laundering, among other crimes.
Underground poker club raids
The charges came after police raided 12 locations across North Jersey earlier this week. Among them, four poker clubs – including two which hosted illegal underground poker games behind functioning restaurants.
The sophisticated illegal poker operations saw a number of “high-level managers” who were behind the running of the poker clubs. The next level were actual day-to-day managers who oversaw the games, taking “rent” from “poker hosts”.
The “hosts” in turn were responsible for attracting players to the games and covering the “stake” from each player. Responsible for such sundries as food and drink, the hosts also provided dealers who took a “rake” from each game.
Some of the dealers were working off “prior gambling debts” according to the indictment released this week by Attorney General, Matthew J. Platkin.
$3million poker games and sportsbooks
A similarly-tiered operation involving online sportsbooks was also discovered, whereby “agents” – ostensibly bookies – set up online accounts on foreign-based websites.
They took a cut of the winnings from individual punters, and “kicked up” a percentage of the money to the enterprise’s bosses. The higher-ranked members of the syndicate “made operational decisions, settled disputes, and used threats to collect overdue debts”.
Included in the named defendants is a local Councilman, 42-year-old Anand Shah, of Prospect Park, New Jersey (pictured below) who allegedly managed illegal poker games and an online sportsbook.
More than $3million in suspected proceeds from the crimes were identified, with multiple shell corporations and businesses used to conceal the illegal gambling proceeds.
Organised crime “not romantic”
“Romanticized versions of organized crime have been the subject of countless movies and television shows, often set right here in the Garden State,” said Attorney General Platkin.
“But the reality isn’t romantic or cinematic. It’s about breaking the laws the rest of us follow and, ultimately, it’s about money, control, and the threat of violence.”
Platkin promised: “My office is bringing every resource available to crack down on violent criminals – including organized crime – and will root it out in all of its forms. And that is exactly what we have done.”
Not victimless crimes
DCJ Director Hilton added: “This can lead to other criminal activity, such as money laundering and theft. Two of the defendants are charged with stealing from local retailers in addition to their roles in the gambling operation. These are not so-called ‘victimless’ crimes, and we take seriously our responsibility to root out these illegal enterprises.”
Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, stated: “Criminal enterprises like this pose a serious threat to the safety and well-being of our communities, driving illegal gambling, money laundering, and racketeering operations that value profit over people.”
He added: “Thanks to our detectives’ tireless work and unwavering commitment, this operation was successfully dismantled — sending a strong message that we will not tolerate this kind of criminal activity in New Jersey.”
The 39 defendants have all been charged with racketeering (1st degree), and conspiracy to promote gambling and money laundering (2nd degree). Some defendants also face charges of money laundering (1st degree), criminal usury (2nd degree), gambling offenses (3rd and 4th degree), and other offenses.
All offences carry prison terms if found guilty, ranging from up to 18 months and a $10k fine at the lowest end all the way up to 10-20 years and a fine up to $200,000 for first degree offences.
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