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Indian-origin council member from Prospect Park, New Jersey, and a local business owner Anand Shah, is accused of overseeing unlawful poker games and running an online sportsbook in collaboration with the Lucchese crime family, according to a statement released Friday by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, PTI reported.Also Read: Indian-origin Kash Patel is the new FBI director, promises to make agency, ‘transparent and accountable’Shah is among 39 people who have been charged with racketeering, gambling offences, money laundering, and other crimes after law enforcement executed search warrants at 12 locations throughout North Jersey earlier this week.Among those charged is Indian-origin Samir Nadkarni, 48, of Longwood, Florida, a sportsbook sub-agent/poker host.Here’s what investigation sayFollowing a two-year investigation into illegal gambling activities tied to the Lucchese crime family, searches were conducted on April 9 on four poker clubs located in Totowa, Garfield, and Woodland Park, including two clubs where backroom poker games were hidden behind functioning restaurants; a business in Paterson storing gambling machines; and seven residences of individuals alleged to be managing the gambling activities.The investigation uncovered additional poker clubs, the involvement of dozens of individuals alleged to have hosted poker games and worked at the poker clubs, and managed bettors on an illegal online sportsbook.Also Read: Who is Jay Bhattacharya? Indian-origin academic confirmed as head of US health agencyAuthorities said that the upper management of the gambling enterprise allegedly oversaw the gambling activities and received a portion of the criminal proceeds.The investigation resulted in the identification of more than USD 3 million in suspected criminal proceeds.Members of the criminal enterprise used multiple shell corporations and functioning businesses to conceal their illegal gambling proceeds.“Criminal enterprises like this pose a serious threat to the safety and well-being of our communities, driving illegal gambling, money laundering, and racketeering operations that value profit over people,” Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan said.According to the complaint, the gambling operations included social clubs that housed live poker games and gambling machines, as well as an extensive online sportsbook operated through several websites based outside of the United States.Each poker club was operated by high-level managers who delegated day-to-day operations to managers who were present during poker games.Also Read: India second largest source of new citizens for USA, 65,960 became Americans in 2022, finds census dataThe illegal online sportsbook was run by “agents”—a modern version of traditional “bookies”—who created accounts on sports betting websites hosted in foreign countries.According to the allegations, the upper-level operators were responsible for making key decisions, resolving disputes, and using intimidation tactics to recover outstanding debts, PTI reported.These websites were a central component of the criminal network, enabling illicit sports betting across northern New Jersey and beyond. The individuals who owned, managed, and operated the sites played a key role in sustaining the illegal gambling activities.Criminal enterprises like this pose a serious threat to the safety and well-being of our communities, driving illegal gambling, money laundering, and racketeering operations that value profit over people.The websites allowed 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, the statement said.
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