14 busted in mob-linked New Jersey sports betting ring — including ex-Rutgers wrestlers - video Dailymotion

Watch 14 busted in mob-linked New Jersey sports betting ring — including ex-Rutgers wrestlers - New York Post on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Today I'm really proud to be joined by the Division of Criminal Justice Director Teresa Hilton and

00:04the Colonel of the New Jersey State Police Pat Callahan to announce the arrest of 14 defendants

00:10including a member and associates of the Lucchese organized crime family who are charged in

00:16connection with a multi-million dollar illegal sports betting ring that operated multiple

00:21electronic sports books across New Jersey. First let me also just note at the outset that since

00:27June of 2018 licensed casino operators and racetracks regulated by the Division of Gaming

00:33Enforcement within our department as well as the New Jersey Racing Commission have been able to accept

00:39legal sports wagering. It is legal in New Jersey. Together these two agencies have worked with those

00:45licensed operators to ensure the integrity of the sports betting industry in our state. They use

00:51state-of-the-art technology to monitor bets, identify suspicious activity, ensure compliance with the

00:57laws and I'd note protect those who have challenges with responsible gaming. But organized crime

01:06families seem to have a hard time breaking this old habit so we're going to break it for them. Today

01:13despite the wide availability of legal sports betting illegal gambling remains among members and associates

01:20of organized crime. Today we allege that this illegal gambling operation led by Fairfield resident Joseph M.

01:29Little Joe Perna who's a member of the Lucchese crime family used offshore gambling websites to

01:36systematically entice people to place bets as part of a sophisticated gambling operation all in an effort

01:43to line Perna's pockets and those of his associates. This operation also included a number of college

01:51athletes who operated sports books at the direction of the Perna enterprise and I'll note that this operation

01:58relied on Gen Z gamblers and a network of sub-agents recruited from among Perna's sons high school and college

02:06friends. They effectively recruited younger gamblers or players they knew would be able to pay up or those that they

02:13could leverage payment from namely college students and student-athletes.