By: Najla Alexander
Image Credit: WRNJradio.com
NJ AG officials announced charges against 14 people for their roles in a multimillion-dollar sports betting ring operated by a member and associates of organized crime.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin stated that the head of the illegal operation, Joseph M. “Little Joe” Perna, 55, of Fairfield, identified as a member of organized crime, is charged along with his sons, stepson, nephews, and others, with racketeering, conspiracy, gambling offenses, and money laundering.
Perna’s wife and ex-wife are also charged independently of the racketeering scheme.
“Today we are alleging that a member and associates of the Lucchese crime family were running a sophisticated sports betting operation,” said DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton.
“The takedown of this organized illegal sports gambling ring underscores our unwavering commitment to dismantling criminal networks that profit from corruption and greed,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
According to documents filed in this case, in January 2024, members of the Port Investigations Unit of the NJSP Port Security Section began an investigation into an illegal sports betting enterprise operating out of Essex and Bergen counties.
The enterprise systematically enticed individuals to place bets, and the illicit proceeds were used to operate it and enrich its members, NJ AG officials say. Members of the enterprise included student athletes, who operated sportsbooks for the Perna enterprise.
Between 2022 and 2024, according to NJ AG officials, the enterprise transferred approximately $2 million in suspected gambling transactions. The enterprise included a nationwide web of bookmakers allegedly operating under the direction of Joseph M. “Little Joe” Perna, a soldier in the Lucchese crime family. Perna acted as the “financier,” who supported the operation.
NJ AG authorites stated Perna’s son, Joseph R. Perna, 25, of Oakland, New Jersey, conducted the daily operations of the sportsbook, facilitating dozens of subordinate agents, including his brother, Anthony Perna, 23, of Oakland; his stepbrother, Frank Zito, 23, of Fairfield; and his cousins, Dominic Perna, 23, of Newark, and Michael Cetta, 23, of North Haledon.
Co-defendants Tyler Schnorrbusch, 23, of Wyckoff; Nicholas Raimo, 25, of East Hanover; Joseph Janish, 23, of North Caldwell; William Medeiros, 22, of North Kingstown, Rhode Island; Spencer Speziale, 22, of Wyckoff; and Devon Shuster, 28, of Gainesville, Florida, are all high-level agents of the enterprise who managed their own sportsbooks within the Perna enterprise, NJ AG Officials say.
In November and December 2023, Joseph M. Perna’s wife and Frank Zito’s mother, Kim Zito, 53, of Fairfield, New Jersey, allegedly received several payments from known conspirators of Frank Zito that were derived from illegal gambling, NG AG Officials stated.
According to NJ AG officials, in April 2025, Rosanna Magno, 52, of Oakland, New Jersey, Joseph M. Perna’s ex-wife, mother of Joseph R. and Anthony Perna, and aunt to Michael Cetta, allegedly attempted to conceal what were later determined to be gambling ledgers from police during an investigative stop.