SEARCH NEWS:

 

Feds Say Betting Ring Siphoned $170,000

``Mimmo Marzullo, 39, of Montclair, and Michael Ferrante, 27, of Verona, were arrested at their homes by agents from the FBI's organized crime unit. A third defendant, Keith Cimera, 44, of North Caldwell, surrendered to agents in Newark after learning of the charges.

``…Authorities contend Marzullo and Ferrante operated an illegal sports betting ring from 1999 through last fall. The pair also allegedly acted as loan sharks. The indictment names four extortion victims, identified only by initials, who paid exorbitant interest on loans.

``Among them was ‘F.P.,’ a Verona resident and financial analyst and billing coordinator for Ernst & Young who, by December 2001, had built 'a significant gambling debt' to Ferrante and Marzullo, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

``Ferrante then ‘suggested to F.P. that he steal checks from his employer, Ernst & Young, in order to pay off his gambling debt,’ the indictment said. The gambler stole six checks totaling $6,670 in the next three months.

``... From April to June 2002, F.P. drafted fake invoices for checks that he sent to the firm's Dallas office and requested the checks be sent to him at its New York office, according to the indictment. After F.P. received the checks, he allegedly passed them to Ferrante, who then cashed them at Cimera's business…”

< Gaming News