00:00Two more athletes have been caught up again in illegal sports gambling and fixing matches, according to prosecutors.
00:07Fourteen people, including two former Rutgers University wrestlers, have been charged with running a New Jersey mob-linked illegal online sports gambling ring.
00:17Now, according to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Placken, the national multi-million dollar operation was headed and financially backed by Lucchese crime family soldier Joseph Little Joe Perna, and it was a family affair.
00:32Now, Perna's son, Joseph R. Perna, allegedly ran the day-to-day operations of the sports book from Oakland, New Jersey.
00:39Now, prosecutors say the son had dozens of subordinates working under him, including his brother, stepbrother, and cousins, who were all also indicted.
00:49But it didn't stop there. Little Joe's wife is accused of allegedly receiving several payments from the illegal gambling, while his ex-wife was also charged with trying to cover up the operation.
01:01Between 2020 and 2024, the alleged enterprise transferred $2 million in gambling transactions.
01:08The Lucchese's had been accused of being a part of the recent game-fixing and poker rigging that allegedly involved NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier.
01:20Now, former Rutgers University wrestlers Michael Chetta and Nicholas Ramo were also among those charged.
01:28Officials say the involved athletes may have also had stakes in the outcomes of the games in which they participated.
01:34We'll have more on this story as more information is made available.
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