Looks like the people in NY area might have trouble getting paid:
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<!-- google_ad_section_start -->Authorities broke up one of the biggest betting rings in state history yesterday, charging more than two dozen members or associates of the Lucchese crime family with running the multibillion-dollar operation.
Using online betting sites, an 800 number and old-fashioned word of mouth on the streets, the ring processed $2.2 billion in wagers in little more than 15 months, state Attorney General Anne Milgram said. One unidentified high roller wagered $2 million in eight weeks.
Separately, in what Milgram termed an "alarming alliance," the Lucchese family teamed up with members of the Bloods street gang to smuggle drugs, cell phones and iPods into East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge with the aid of a corrections officer, authorities said.
The case marks the first documented cooperation in New Jersey between the traditional organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra and street gangs, which Milgram termed the "new organized crime." Previously, investigators had assembled only anecdotal accounts of the mob and gangs working together.
"We discovered a disturbing new twist on old-school organized crime," Milgram said at a news conference at the West Orange Armory. "The alliance between the Lucchese crime family and the 9 Tre Gangster set of the Bloods was born of common interests these groups share: namely, violence, illegal drugs and quick profits."
Among those charged were two of the Lucchese family's three New York bosses -- a triumvirate known as "the ruling panel" -- plus the highest-ranking member in New Jersey, reputed capo Ralph V. Perna, 61, of East Hanover, Milgram said.
Three of Perna's sons -- Joseph M. Perna, 38, of Wyckoff, and John G. Perna, 30, and Ralph M. Perna, 35, both of West Caldwell -- also were charged, as was Martin Taccetta, 56, a reputed Lucchese soldier who was accused of racketeering earlier this year in Union County. Taccetta, the younger brother of former Lucchese boss Michael Taccetta, had been free on bail.
All were charged with racketeering, promoting gambling and money laundering, counts that carry up to 20 years in prison.
Martin Taccetta's brother-in-law, George Abdy, called the allegations "ludicrous" and claimed they were part of a pattern of harassment against Taccetta, who spent more than a decade behind bars on a racketeering conviction before a judge ordered a new trial in 2005.
"I hope it's not another effort by the state to frustrate his efforts on appeal and to interfere with his freedom," Abdy said last night.
Authorities charged 32 people yesterday morning, searching homes and seizing high-end vehicles, several guns, a hand grenade and more than $200,000 in cash. Milgram said state lawyers filed notice they also will seek forfeiture of seven homes owned by the defendants.
As outlined by authorities and court documents, the betting ring was a marriage of high-tech and low-tech.
Trusted bettors were given passwords for various Web sites, including betonline.com and bigactionsports.com, and for an 800 number. The bets were then routed to a wire room -- a bookkeeping center -- in Costa Rica.
<HR style="COLOR: #2b295e" SIZE=1>
<!-- google_ad_section_start -->Authorities broke up one of the biggest betting rings in state history yesterday, charging more than two dozen members or associates of the Lucchese crime family with running the multibillion-dollar operation.
Using online betting sites, an 800 number and old-fashioned word of mouth on the streets, the ring processed $2.2 billion in wagers in little more than 15 months, state Attorney General Anne Milgram said. One unidentified high roller wagered $2 million in eight weeks.
Separately, in what Milgram termed an "alarming alliance," the Lucchese family teamed up with members of the Bloods street gang to smuggle drugs, cell phones and iPods into East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge with the aid of a corrections officer, authorities said.
The case marks the first documented cooperation in New Jersey between the traditional organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra and street gangs, which Milgram termed the "new organized crime." Previously, investigators had assembled only anecdotal accounts of the mob and gangs working together.
"We discovered a disturbing new twist on old-school organized crime," Milgram said at a news conference at the West Orange Armory. "The alliance between the Lucchese crime family and the 9 Tre Gangster set of the Bloods was born of common interests these groups share: namely, violence, illegal drugs and quick profits."
Among those charged were two of the Lucchese family's three New York bosses -- a triumvirate known as "the ruling panel" -- plus the highest-ranking member in New Jersey, reputed capo Ralph V. Perna, 61, of East Hanover, Milgram said.
Three of Perna's sons -- Joseph M. Perna, 38, of Wyckoff, and John G. Perna, 30, and Ralph M. Perna, 35, both of West Caldwell -- also were charged, as was Martin Taccetta, 56, a reputed Lucchese soldier who was accused of racketeering earlier this year in Union County. Taccetta, the younger brother of former Lucchese boss Michael Taccetta, had been free on bail.
All were charged with racketeering, promoting gambling and money laundering, counts that carry up to 20 years in prison.
Martin Taccetta's brother-in-law, George Abdy, called the allegations "ludicrous" and claimed they were part of a pattern of harassment against Taccetta, who spent more than a decade behind bars on a racketeering conviction before a judge ordered a new trial in 2005.
"I hope it's not another effort by the state to frustrate his efforts on appeal and to interfere with his freedom," Abdy said last night.
Authorities charged 32 people yesterday morning, searching homes and seizing high-end vehicles, several guns, a hand grenade and more than $200,000 in cash. Milgram said state lawyers filed notice they also will seek forfeiture of seven homes owned by the defendants.
As outlined by authorities and court documents, the betting ring was a marriage of high-tech and low-tech.
Trusted bettors were given passwords for various Web sites, including betonline.com and bigactionsports.com, and for an 800 number. The bets were then routed to a wire room -- a bookkeeping center -- in Costa Rica.
