A group of college athletes are among the 14 people charged in a massive New Jersey sports betting ring linked to organized crime.
The enterprise, which allegedly had several college students working as bookies, operated out of Essex and Bergen counties and transferred around $2 million in transactions between 2022 and 2024, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said Thursday.
The charges were announced at a press conference, where Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Fairfield resident Joseph “Little Joe” Perna, 55, served as the financial backer, while Joseph R. Perna, his 25-year-old son, ran day-to-day operations. Officials allege the older Perna is a member of the Lucchese crime family.
Both father and son have been charged with racketeering, conspiracy, money laundering and gambling offenses, the AG said.
Twelve others were similarly charged, including Perna’s other son, Anthony Perna, his stepson, Frank Zito, and his nephews Dominic Perna and Michael Cetta, all 23.
The older Perna’s wife and ex-wife were also charged in what Platkin called “a truly a family affair.” His wife, 53-year-old Kim Zito, Frank Zito’s mother, is facing a charge of money laundering by concealment for allegedly receiving payments from her son that were derived from the gambling ring.
His ex-wife Rosanna Magno, 52, of Oakland — the mother of Joseph R. and Anthony Perna — has been charged with possession of gambling records and hindering apprehension for allegedly attempting to hide ledgers from investigators during a search.
Other co-defendants include Tyler Schnorrbusch, 23, of Wyckoff; Spencer Speziale, 22, also of Wyckoff; Nicholas Raimo, 25, of East Hanover; Joseph Janish, 23, of North Caldwell; William Medeiros, 22, of North Kingstown, R.I.; and Devon Shuster, 28, of Gainesville, Fla.
They worked as “high-level agents of the enterprise who managed their own sportsbooks within the Perna enterprise,” prosecutors said.
Cetta and and Raimo are former wrestlers at Rutgers University. Officials didn’t say where the other students attend school or what sports were bet on.
“Despite the proliferation of legal betting of all kinds, gambling remains a mainstay of members and associates of organized crime,” Platkin said in a press release. “The locations and methods may have evolved, but illegal gambling — in this case, sports betting — remains a problem, and we will charge those who seek to profit from it.”
The numerous charges filed carry sentences between 18 months and 20 years in state prison, as well as fines up to $200,000.
