NEW JERSEY (TNND) — A suspected mafia member is among the many 14 folks charged in New Jersey for an alleged multi-million-dollar illegal playing ring.
Joseph M. “Little Joe” Perna, 55, is an alleged member of the Lucchese crime household. Perna was charged with racketeering, conspiracy, playing offenses and cash laundering, in accordance to an announcement by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
Police and prosecutors are alleging that bookmakers nationwide are directed by Joseph M. Perna underneath the course of his son, Joseph R. Perna, 25. Joseph R. Perna is charged with operating dozens of what authorities name “subordinate agents.”
Several alleged subordinate brokers have been additionally charged, together with Perna Jr.’s son, Anthony R. Perna, 23; Perna’s stepson, Frank Zito, 23; Perna’s nephews, Dominic Perna, 23 and Michael Cetta, 23.
“Today we are alleging that a member and associates of the Lucchese crime family were running a sophisticated sports betting operation,” said New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice director Theresa L. Hilton in a statement.
According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, betting operations that are allegedly run by student athletes and offshore gambling websites had racked up profits totaling $2 million between 2022 and 2024.
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The expenses in opposition to the Lucchese household come after they have been named in a federal indictment in October that related them with multimillion-dollar rigged poker video games. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA journeyman Damon Jones have been additionally charged in reference to the illegal playing ring.