The mob is still making millions in NJ — and prosecutors say this family was at the center
🚨 Eight more defendants admitted roles in a Lucchese crime family gambling operation.
💰 Investigators traced nearly $4.8 million in suspected criminal proceeds.
⚖️ The case is the latest chapter in a New Jersey mob family with decades of gambling history.
It was old-school Mafia tactics with next-generation degeneracy.
New Jersey prosecutors say one of the state's biggest recent organized crime investigations has now resulted in guilty pleas from 35 defendants.
The latest guilty pleas announced Tuesday are the newest developments in a sweeping case that has stretched from illegal poker clubs in North Jersey to offshore sports betting websites and shell companies used to hide millions of dollars in proceeds for a modern-day Lucchese crime family operation.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said this week that eight additional defendants and three corporations admitted their roles in the racketeering enterprise.
"The guilty pleas we accepted today represent another important step in dismantling this criminal enterprise and holding the individuals involved accountable," Davenport said.
The defendants were among 42 people charged following a two-year investigation into illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion and money laundering tied to the Lucchese crime family.
Investigators identified $4.79 million in suspected criminal proceeds generated through the operation.
From back-room poker games to offshore sportsbooks
According to court documents, the enterprise operated both traditional poker clubs and modern online sportsbooks.
Investigators said social clubs housed live poker games, gambling machines and managers who collected "rent" from game operators.
Agents and sub-agents ran online sports betting operations through websites based outside the United States.
Officials said the structure resembled traditional organized crime gambling operations, with profits flowing upward through layers of managers before reaching high-level Lucchese family leadership.
"The websites allow traditional organized crime members and associates to use the internet and current technology to engage in the same criminal acts that traditional organized crime has engaged in since the 19th century," prosecutors said in a news release.
Among those pleading guilty were suspected Lucchese leaders George Zappola, Joseph R. Perna and John G. Perna, who admitted to second-degree racketeering charges and face recommended seven-year prison terms.
A familiar mob family name surfaces again
The Perna name has repeatedly surfaced in organized crime investigations stretching back generations.
Joseph R. Perna was separately charged last year in a sports betting operation that prosecutors said targeted younger gamblers and student athletes through a network of family members and friends.
Authorities said that operation generated more than $2 million through illegal betting activities spanning multiple states.
The family has even deeper roots in New Jersey organized crime history.
John G. Perna previously served prison time after admitting he assaulted Dave Cantin, the husband of former "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Dina Manzo, in exchange for a discounted wedding reception at The Brownstone banquet hall.
The Perna family name also appeared prominently in Operation Heat, a major state organized crime investigation that resulted in guilty pleas from Lucchese leaders, including Ralph Perna, who prosecutors identified as the longtime head of the New Jersey faction of the Lucchese crime family.
That investigation uncovered an international gambling enterprise that authorities said handled billions of dollars in sports wagers.
Prospect Park councilman among earlier defendants
The latest pleas are part of the same investigation that made headlines in April 2025 when prosecutors announced charges against dozens of defendants, including Prospect Park Councilman Anand Shah.
Authorities alleged Shah managed illegal poker games and an online sportsbook connected to the enterprise.
Investigators said the operation included illegal poker clubs in Totowa, Garfield, Woodland Park and Paterson.
At the time, officials described the investigation as evidence that traditional organized crime remains active in New Jersey despite decades of prosecutions.
"Romanticized versions of organized crime have been the subject of countless movies and television shows, often set right here in the Garden State," then-Attorney General Matt Platkin said when charges were announced. "But the reality isn't romantic or cinematic. It's about breaking the laws the rest of us follow."
More defendants still await trial
The guilty pleas announced Tuesday included sportsbook agents, poker club managers and companies prosecutors said were used to conceal gambling proceeds.
Three corporations agreed to penalties of $250,000 each after admitting roles in the operation.
According to prosecutors, seven defendants still face pending charges.
State officials said the investigation remains ongoing as those remaining cases move through the court system.
The latest guilty pleas
Wayne D. Cross, a Lucchese associate, pleaded guilty to third-degree promoting gambling in exchange for a recommended sentence of five years in state prison.
Michael P. Frasso, 48, of Cedar Grove, was a sportsbook agent and pleaded guilty to second-degree racketeering (seven years recommended), third-degree failure to pay income tax (three years recommended), and third-degree corporate misconduct (five years recommended), for an aggregate recommendation of 15 years.
Frank Imparato, 46, of Saddle Brook, was a poker club manager and pleaded guilty to third-degree conspiracy (four years recommended).
Joseph Gossweiler, 41, of Florham Park, was a sportsbook sub-agent/poker club manager and pleaded guilty to third-degree conspiracy to promote gambling in the third degree (364 days probation recommended)
Peter Norcia, 50, of Toms River, was an agent on the sportsbook and pleaded guilty to third-degree conspiracy to promote gambling (four years recommended).
Café Gio was a corporation used by Frank Imparato to facilitate illegal gambling and pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy (penalty of $250,000).
Frasso Trucking was a corporation used by Michael and Gerard Frasso to conceal gambling proceeds and pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy for anti-money laundering profiteering (penalty of $250,000).
CJW Development & Consulting was a corporation used by Wayne Cross to conceal gambling proceeds and pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy for anti-money laundering profiteering (penalty of $250,000).
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