Managing Editor
Yesterday, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office announced the indictment of 14 suspects on charges of illegal gambling linked to the Lucchese crime family. The alleged mastermind of the scheme is Joseph M. “Little Joe” Perna, 55, while most of the other defendants are in their 20s and are accused of helping with Perna’s operation in various ways, such as acting as bookmakers or assisting with money laundering.
The list of indicted individuals includes Perna’s sons, stepson, nephews, wife, and ex-wife. According to the press release accompanying the announcement, some of the younger defendants are involved in college athletics. One of these is Spencer Speziale, of Wyckoff, NJ. His LinkedIn profile includes a post from March, celebrating his passing of the National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA) Agent Certification Examination and becoming a licensed player agent.
Last month, over 40 other individuals were arrested by federal agents on gambling-related charges, including three prominent figures within the NBA. Although the specifics of those charges differ from the current indictment, the Lucchese family was also implicated.
This latest set of charges includes racketeering, money laundering, gambling offenses, and conspiracy. Perna is accused of running a national gambling ring out of northeastern New Jersey and moving, with the other defendants’ help, nearly $2 million in funds related to those gambling transactions.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said:
We may all think that the portrayal of organized crime we remember from movies and television shows and books no longer exists, but we are announcing charges today that allege it still does. Despite the proliferation of legal betting of all kinds, gambling remains a mainstay of members and associates of organized crime.
At Least One NBA Player Was Coerced Using Gambling Debts
The two cases may have more in common than just the Lucchese family. The October indictments involved the use of athletes to either rig the outcome of sports bets or to attract gamblers to rigged poker games.
That mass indictment came amid other individual arrests on similar charges. In particular, Jontay Porter, formerly of the Toronto Raptors, was banned from the NBA this spring and pleaded guilty this summer to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. More recently, two MLB pitchers were been arrested for allegedly taking bribes to throw balls on particular pitches.
One remarkable thing about those allegations is that some of the sums of money involved seem small in comparison to the salaries of major league athletes and coaches. The rigged poker ring is alleged to have defrauded players of millions of dollars, but there were several dozen people involved and the NBA participants are only alleged to have had a small role in it. The individual bribes allegedly paid to the MLB pitchers — Luis Leandro Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase de la Cruz — were as low as $5,000.
Porter’s case may provide a clue as to why seemingly well-off celebrities would jeopardize their careers for much less money than those careers were worth. US Attorney Joseph Nocella indicated in a press conference that Porter’s arrest was related to the larger investigation and that his participation had been coerced by threats due to existing gambling debts.
Illegal Gambling is More Niche in the Legal Sports Betting Era
As more facts come to light, another piece of the puzzle that may become important is why illegal sports betting continues to exist at all in the modern era, when legal sports betting is so widely available.
One answer to that is that legal sports betting still isn’t available in every state. Although New Jersey was an early adopter, Perna’s ring is alleged to have been operating nationwide.
However, the other reason is that even legal sports betting isn’t legal for everyone. Potential customers for illegal bookmakers include people who are self-excluded from legal gambling, people who are underage, and people whose jobs prohibit them from gambling, such as professional athletes.
The Attorney General’s announcement made a point of emphasizing the connection that some of the defendants have to college athletics, without being specific. Based on PokerScout’s research, that includes at least:
- Nicholas Raimo, who wrestled for Rutgers in 2021-2022,
- Joseph Janish, who studied Sports Media at the University of Alabama, participated in football, baseball, and wrestling, and lists “sports agent” as a career goal on his LinkedIn bio, and
- Spencer Speziale, who as stated earlier, obtained his agent certification this year.
Thus, at least two of the accused bookmakers have stated career ambitions that would have them working with college athletes transitioning into professional sports careers.
