Six admit guilt in Morris to mob-related gambling ring

Six members of the New York-based Lucchese crime family -- most now senior citizens -- have pleaded guilty in Morris County to roles in an illegal sports betting operation that authorities say brought in $2.2 billion in 15 months and relied on violence to collect debts.

The six guilty pleas to racketeering resolved some of the oldest pending criminal cases in Morris County; the arrests, part of an investigation called “Operation Heat,” were announced in December 2007 by then-state Attorney General Anne Milgram. The six -- part of a group labeled Tier 1 defendants because of their high-level roles in the gambling operation -- were among at least 32 suspects picked up in Operation Heat.

Guilty pleas were entered before Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent Ahto in Morristown on Wednesday by Ralph V. Perna, 69, of East Hanover; Perna’s two sons, Joseph M. Perna, 45, of Wyckoff, and John G. Perna, 38, of West Caldwell; Matthew Madonna, 80, of Seldon, N.Y.; Martin Taccetta, 64, formerly of East Hanover; and John Mangrella, 72, of Clifton.

Ralph Perna, the top “capo” of the New Jersey faction of the Lucchese crime family who oversaw the family’s operations in New Jersey, admitted to racketeering and will be sentenced to eight years in prison, with no minimum period of time to be served before parole consideration.

Racketeering refers to involvement in a criminal enterprise that engages in commerce or trade and the collection of unlawful debts.

Joseph M. Perna and John G. Perna both face sentences of 10 years in prison. The brothers, led by Joseph, managed day-to-day gambling operations for the enterprise under their father’s oversight, according to a release from the state Attorney General’s Office.

Charges have not yet been resolved against a third brother, Ralph M. Perna, 43, of West Caldwell.

Matthew Madonna, who authorities said was a member of a three-man ruling panel of the Lucchese family, admitted to racketeering and faces five years in prison.

Charges are pending against a second ruling member, Joseph DiNapoli, 79, of Scarsdale, N.Y. Madonna allegedly controlled the family’s gambling operations and other criminal activities with DiNapoli, from New York, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Taccetta, the former New Jersey underboss for the Lucchese crime family, faces eight years in prison on his plea to racketeering. The term will run concurrent to a life sentence that Taccetta already is serving in state prison for an unrelated racketeering prosecution.

Taccetta was considered an agent or package holder in the gambling ring, responsible for bringing in wagers on football, basketball, greyhound racing and illegal lotteries, according to authorities.

Mangrella, a senior member of the crime family, pleaded guilty to first-degree racketeering and faces a recommended sentence of eight years in prison.

The defendants were given sentencing dates in August, September and January.

Operation Heat, a probe undertaken nine years ago, uncovered an international criminal enterprise that transacted $2.2 billion in bets, primarily on sporting events, over a 15-month period. Operation insiders received and processed the wagers using password-protected websites and a Costa Rican “wire room” where bets were recorded and results tallied, the Attorney General’s Office release said.

According to the probe, the operation involved agents or “package holders,” each of whom brought in bets from a group of gamblers. The enterprise and all of its packages involved hundreds or even thousands of gamblers.

“Records showed that one high-rolling gambler wagered more than $2 million in a two-month period. The illicit proceeds were divided by the package holders and the members they worked under, such as the Pernas and Tacetta, who in turn made “tribute” payments to the New York bosses, including Madonna and DiNapoli. Collection operations at times took the form of threats or acts of violence,” the release said.

The gambling investigation also uncovered a scheme that extended into the state prison system. A prison smuggling scheme allegedly involved inmate Edwin B. Spears and Michael T. Bruinton, a former corrections officer at East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge.

Spears, at East Jersey State Prison at the time and an admitted “five-star general” in the Nine Trey Gangsters set of the Bloods, formed an alliance with Joseph Perna and another now-deceased defendant to smuggle drugs and cell phones into East Jersey State Prison through Bruinton, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Charges are pending against Bruinton and Spears.

Authorities have said that bettors who couldn’t satisfy debts were threatened with knives or forced to take out loans at 200 percent annual interest rates and one gambler was threatened with kidnapping.

“Our investigation revealed that traditional organized crime remains a corrosive presence in the U.S. and continues to reap huge profits through criminal enterprises such as the international gambling operation we uncovered, which handled $2.2 billion in sports wagers in just 15 months,” said Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman. “These mob bosses bet that they could get away with their old tricks in New Jersey, and I’m pleased to say that they lost their bets.”

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.