Seventeen individuals have been charged in New York with organizing and participating in a criminal enterprise involved in loan sharking and illegal gambling activities. The defendants face a total of 84 counts.
According to the indictment, the accused are members of the Gambino crime family, one of the five "traditional" Mafia families operating in the United States, particularly in New York. The other families include the Bonanno, Colombo, Genovese, and Lucchese families, all part of the criminal network known as the Mafia.
The indictment specifically alleges that three defendants, John J. LaForte, Anthony J. Cinque Jr., and John Matera, were responsible for controlling the illegal loansharking and gambling operations.
U.S. law enforcement authorities discovered that between September 15, 2022, and March 29, 2023, the criminal enterprise attracted 70 players who made illegal bets totaling approximately $22.7 million.
