Fourteen people — including two former Rutgers University wrestlers — have been charged with running a New Jersey mob-linked illegal online sports gambling ring, according to prosecutors.
The national, multimillion-dollar operation was headed and financially backed by Lucchese crime family soldier Joseph M. “Little Joe” Perna, of Fairfield, according to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
The Luccheses were also accused of being part of the recent game fixing and poker rigging that allegedly involved NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier.
“Organized crime families seem to have a hard time breaking this old habit,” Platkin told reporters at a press conference Thursday.
“So we’re gonna break it for them,” he added.
The latest gambling scheme was a family affair, with Perna’s son Joseph R. Perna, 25, running the day-to-day operations of the sportsbook from Oakland, NJ, Platkin alleged.
The son had dozens of subordinates working under him including his brother, stepbrother and cousins, who were also indicted, according to prosecutors.
Little Joe’s wife, Kim Zito, allegedly received several payments from the illegal gambling, and his ex-wife, Rosanna Magno, was also charged with trying to cover up the operation.
Former Rutgers University wrestlers Michael Cetta, 23, of North Haledon, and Nicholas Raimo, a 25-year-old former two-time state wrestling champion from East Hanover, were among those charged, according to NJ.com.
The involved athletes may have also had stakes in the outcomes of games in which they’d participated, officials said, PIX11 reported.
The enterprise included a national network of bookmakers, all operating under Little Joe’s orders, to lure bettors into making illegal bets, which were used to fund the scheme and enrich the defendants, prosecutors claimed.
Between 2022 and 2024, the alleged enterprise transferred $2 million in gambling transactions.
The New Jersey State Police’s Port Investigations Unit began probing an illegal gambling scheme operating out of Essex and Bergen counties in January 2024, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
The members of the alleged ring are facing felony charges of racketeering, conspiracy, gambling offenses, and money laundering.
“Any college student listening,” Platkin said, “yes, if you’re of age, you can gamble on your phones.”
However, “You should not be gambling in a mob-backed operation,” he added. “That’s free parental advice.”
The big bust comes just weeks after members of the Lucchese and other Mafia families were federally charged in New York in the rigged poker and game-fixing scheme.
Platkin said the cases don’t appear to be related at this time.
