Indian-Origin Councillor Among 39 Charged In New Jersey Mafia-Linked Gambling Ring

<p><strong>New York:</strong> An Indian-origin municipal councillor has been charged with participating in a mafia-run gambling operation, according to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.</p>
<p>Anand Shah, 42, was one of 39 people charged with &ldquo;racketeering, gambling offences, money laundering, and other crimes&rdquo;, Platkin said on Friday.</p>
<p>He said the charges were filed following raids at 12 locations in the state, including 4 poker clubs.</p>
<p>Another person of Indian descent, Samir S Nadkarni, 48, from Longwood, Florida, was also among those charged and was described as a &ldquo;sportsbook sub-agent/poker host&rdquo;.</p>
<p>Shah was a rising politician in New Jersey serving his second term as a municipal councillor in Prospect Park, a New York suburb, and was in charge of finance, economic development, and insurance.</p>
<p>Platkin said, &ldquo;The arrest of a sitting council member only adds fuel to that fire&rdquo; of public distrust of elected officials.</p>
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<p>Shah &ldquo;was identified as allegedly managing illegal poker games and an online sportsbook in association with the Lucchese Crime Family&rdquo;, according to Platkin&rsquo;s office.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Lucchese Crime Family&rdquo; is one of the dreaded Italian-American mafia groups in the US, which also works with people of other ethnicities.</p>
<p>Sportsbook gambling involves betting on sports tournaments.</p>
<p>According to officials, the gambling operation was a $3 million operation.</p>
<p>Platkin said that while mob activity has been &ldquo;romanticised&rdquo; in movies and television, “the reality isn&rsquo;t romantic or cinematic. It&rsquo;s about breaking the laws the rest of us follow and, ultimately, it&rsquo;s about money, control, and the threat of violence&rdquo;.</p>
<p>Officials said that the gambling operations were run from social clubs or behind legitimate businesses like restaurants, and also included gambling machines.</p>
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<p><em><strong>(This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)</strong></em></p>