By The newspaper
07 Jun 2024, 09:19 AM EDT
Seventeen people were indicted in an 84-count indictment for their role in an illegal sports betting operation that handled more than $22.7 million and predatory loans that generated weekly payments of approximately $500,000.
The New York State Attorney General’s Office revealed the indictment in connection with a mafia-run gambling and loan shark ring that operated in Staten Island (NYC) and New Jersey, reported SILive.com.
State Attorney Letitia James announced the arrests. Authorities allege that the “criminal enterprise” was run by soldiers of the Gambino crime family: John Laforte (56), a Staten Island resident; Anthony Cinque (39), of Edison (NJ); and John Matera (53), of Monmouth County (NJ).
The investigation discovered that Edward A. Laforte (58) and Frederick P. Falcone Sr. (66), a former member of the NYPD, acted as loan sharks who kept detailed ledgers with the names of the victims and their respective amounts. of usurious loans.
“While sports betting may be legal in New York State, operating an unregistered multimillion-dollar betting enterprise, engaging in blatant usury and intimidation, and plunging countless New Yorkers into crippling debt is not,” the U.S. attorney said in a statement. Richmond County (Staten Island), Michael E. McMahon.
“Illegal gambling and loan sharking schemes are some of the oldest frauds in the Mafia’s playbook,” said Attorney General James. “While organized crime may still be active in New York, today we are putting several members of the Gambino family out of business. “These criminal enterprises took tens of millions of dollars from New Yorkers and trapped many in dangerous debt.”
The investigation, conducted with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the New York Coastal Commission and the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Labor (DOL), used wiretaps authorized by the court, covert video surveillance cameras, investigations into an illegal offshore gambling website and search warrants for the residences of some of the defendants.
Much of the company’s loan sharking and gambling business, including collecting illicit proceeds from loan shark victims, took place during meetings at the Eltingville Mall and the Greenridge Mall on Staten Island. Evidence accumulated during the investigation, including intercepted communications, showed that both John J. LaForte and Cinque are soldiers for the Gambino crime family and used this role to oversee illegal operations.
“These arrests reflect the commitment of the NYPD and our law enforcement partners, at all levels of government, to keeping our communities safe by dismantling organized crime and protecting the public from its insidious effects,” he commented. New York Police Commissioner Edward A. Cabán.
The complete list of the 17 defendants, residents of New York and New Jersey, can be found here. If convicted of corporate corruption they face a maximum of 25 years in prison. All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
In a similar case, Larry Wecker, an elderly contractor in Manhattan (NYC) who had previously been accused of having ties to the mafia, was sentenced this week. This time he was charged with a litany of crimes including endangering his immigrant workers and pocketing millions while disguising his company as woman-owned to obtain lucrative carpentry contracts.
In mid-May, 21 people were arrested in a massive drug raid on Staten Island (NYC). The group includes businessman and community leader Ettore Mazzei, who was charged with 61 counts of drug trafficking, extortion and fraud.
Cosa Nostra operates through entities known as “families,” which in New York number five: Bonanno, Genovese, Luchese, Colombo and Gambino.
- New York is the leading sports betting state in the US.