NJ Councilman, 38 Others Charged In Gambling Probe Tied To Famous Crime Family: Officials

NEW JERSEY — State officials announced charges against 39 people, including a borough council president, after a two-year investigation into an illegal gambling operation connected to the Lucchese crime family.

The North Jersey-based gambling enterprise involved online sports betting and illegal poker clubs, officials said. Investigators uncovered $3 million in suspected criminal proceeds.

Attorney General Matthew Platkin, the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), and New Jersey State Police announced the charges Friday and said 37 of the 39 people had been arrested. The defendants all face charges of racketeering, gambling offenses, money laundering, and other crimes.

One of those arrested was 42-year-old Anand Shah, president of the Prospect Park Borough Council. Officials accused him of managing illegal poker games and an online sports book in association with the Lucchese crime family.

Officials said they raided four poker clubs in Passaic and Bergen counties, two of which were hidden in the back rooms of functioning restaurants, on Wednesday. Law enforcement also searched a business in Paterson that was storing gambling machines, and the homes of seven people who are accused of being involved in the operation.

“Romanticized versions of organized crime have been the subject of countless movies and television shows, often set right here in the Garden State,” Platkin said at a news conference. "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."

Officials identified Garden Pinball in Paterson, Italian American Soccer Club in Totowa, Cafe San Gennaro in Woodland Park, and Cafe Rio in Garfield as businesses connected to the gambling ring.

Two of the defendants are also accused of stealing home improvement items from area retailers, including $22,000 in merchandise from Home Depot, to renovate and "flip" properties that added to their criminal proceeds.

The high-level managers of the criminal enterprise oversaw the gambling activities and received a cut of the criminal proceeds, officials said. Dozens of others are accused of hosting poker games and working at the poker clubs, and managing bettors in an illegal online sportsbook.

Officials charged the following individuals, and also listed their alleged positions in the gambling operation:

• George J. Zappola, 65, of Red Bank, Lucchese ruling panel
• Joseph R. Perna, 56, of Belleville, Lucchese captain
• John G. Perna, 47, of Little Falls, Lucchese soldier
• Wayne D. Cross, 75, of Spring Lake, Lucchese soldier
• Michael P. Frasso, 48, of Cedar Grove, sportsbook agent
• Gerard V. Frasso, 46, of Cedar Grove, sportsbook agent
• Anand U. Shah, 42, of Prospect Park, sportsbook agent/poker manager
• Roberto Aliano, 45, of Wayne, poker-club manager
• Frank Gallipoli III, 57, of Totowa, poker-club manager
• Frank Imparato, 46, of Saddle Brook, poker-club manager
• Mario Capalbo, 71, of Woodland Park, poker-club manager and gambling-machine supplier
• Ralph P. Gibilisco, 65, of East Hanover, poker-club manager
• Linda Gibilisco, 60, of East Hanover, poker-club employee
• John T. Capone, 60, of Belleville, sportsbook sub-agent
• Issa Sebahie, 50, of Edgewater, sportsbook sub-agent/poker host and dealer
• Michael A. Khoury, 33, of Edgewater, sportsbook sub-agent
• Robert M. Filippini, 54, of Wayne, sportsbook sub-agent
• Jahed Ali, 33, of Paterson, sportsbook sub-agent/poker dealer and promoter
• Christopher M. Trimble, 52, of Lincroft (Middletown Township), sportsbook sub-agent
• Stephen D. Prince, 64, of Wayne, sportsbook sub-agent
• Steven Bongo, 65, of West Caldwell, sportsbook sub-agent
• Steven M. Romano, 43, of Lincoln Park, sportsbook sub-agent
• Richard J. Belle, 39, of Wayne, sportsbook sub-agent
• Roberto Roman Jr., 47, of Basking Ridge (Bernards Township), sportsbook sub-agent
• Samuel R. Shirak, 33, of North Haledon, sportsbook sub-agent
• Louis D’Alessandro, 63, of Cedar Grove, sportsbook sub-agent
• Joseph J. Gossweiler, 41, of Florham Park sportsbook sub-agent/poker-club manager
• James A. Romano, 37, of Island Heights, sportsbook sub-agent
• Mohamed H. Nassar, 38, of West New York, poker host
• Ramze Hassan, 47, of Totowa, poker-club employee
• Giovanni G. Gallipoli, 27, of Totowa, poker-club employee
• Jose D. Hernandez, 50, of Totowa, poker-club employee
• Samir S. Nadkarni, 48, of Longwood, Florida, sportsbook sub-agent/poker host
• Naser M. Matari, 56, of Paterson, poker host
• Michael J. Ricciardi, 38, of Brandon, Florida, sportsbook sub-agent/poker host
• Joan E. Santana-Suarez, 42, of Dover, sportsbook sub-agent/poker host
• Justin Kim, 51, of Haworth, poker host
• Jamil Sadullayev, 46 of Montvale, money launderer

The Attorney General's office shared the following details about the alleged nature of the operation:

According to the complaint, the gambling operations included social clubs that housed live poker games and gambling machines, as well as an extensive online sportsbook operated through several websites based outside of the United States. Each poker club was operated by high-level managers that delegated day-to-day operations to managers who were present during poker games.

Managers collected monetary dues, called “rent,” from poker hosts for permitting the games to occur and oversaw employees who worked in the clubs. Poker hosts were responsible for recruiting their own players, supplying food and drink for the games, and financially staking the game. The host, commonly known as the “house,” made a profit off the games because the dealer took a percentage of the monies bet by the players as a profit for the house for each hand played (a “rake”). The dealers were either paid by the hosts or were working off prior gambling debts owed to the hosts of the game. The clubs also housed gambling machines that players could use while waiting for a seat at a live poker game.

The online sportsbook was operated by “agents” -- who, before the advent of computerized betting, would have been known as “bookies” – that created accounts on sports gambling websites based in foreign countries. These agents managed “packages” – groups of individual bettors. Sub-agents and agents were responsible for the gambling winnings and losses of bettors in their packages and kicked up a portion of the criminal proceeds to the high-level management of the enterprise.

As alleged, the high-level management made operational decisions, settled disputes, and used threats to collect overdue debts. The enterprise also used websites to facilitate illegal online sports betting. The websites, through the individuals that owned, operated, and controlled them, were one part of this criminal enterprise controlling illegal gambling activities in northern New Jersey and other areas.

You can read more about the investigation on the Attorney General's website here.