Thirty-nine individuals, including one from Passaic County, councilman State authorities announced on Friday that several individuals have faced charges related to their involvement in an illicit gambling scheme in North Jersey, which amassed $3 million in unlawful proceeds.
The people are facing charges of racketeering, conspiracy to promote gambling, money laundering and other gambling offenses, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a news conference Friday morning. The charges were the culmination of a two-year investigation into alleged illegal activities tied to the Lucchese crime family.
"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. "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."
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Platkin's announcement comes two days after law enforcement officials executed search warrants at a dozen locations throughout North Jersey, including poker clubs in Totowa, Garfield, and Woodland Park. Among those arrested were Anand Shah, 42, a Prospect Park borough councilman.
According to Platkin, the gambling scheme involved managers tasked with supervising operations and receiving a share of the profits. The members of this illegal organization subsequently transferred the earnings through various dummy companies to hide their finances.
"What you're looking at here isn’t just some casual neighborhood bet,” stated Theresa Hilton, head of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Instead, this is a meticulously organized and extremely lucrative illegal operation led by individuals who thought they could operate outside the bounds of the law. But they were mistaken.”
This week, law enforcement apprehended 37 suspects, and two additional out-of-state residents are expected to be taken into custody soon, according to Hilton.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing news story.
The article initially appeared on NorthJersey.com. New Jersey has charged 39 individuals, which includes a councilman, in a gambling probe connected to a crime family.
