Cedar Grove Man Pleads Guilty to Gambling Charges

A Cedar Grove man pleaded guilty today in Morris County Superior Court for his role in a gambling ring state justice officials say is part of a sophisticated criminal enterprise purportedly run by the Lucchese crime family.

Michael A. Maffucci, 25, of Cedar Grove, pleaded guilty to a third-degree charge of promoting gambling before Superior Court Judge David Ironson in Morris County Superior Court in Morristown on Friday morning.

The gambling operation Maffucci and other alleged co-conspirators were involved in handled billions of dollars in illegal wagers on sporting events using a web site, toll-free phone numbers and an offshore wire room to facilitate the activity, officials said.

Maffucci was one of 35 alleged members of the crime family named in an indictment handed down in May of last year following an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice & Organized Crime Bureau dubbed "Operation Heat." The investigation netted 32 associates and two ruling members, including the alleged current and former top New Jersey capos, Ralph V. Perna and Nicodemo Scarfo Jr., who both were indicted on first degree racketeering and predicate offenses.

The indictment alleges members of the crime family also engaged in a wide variety of criminal activities, including extortion, narcotics distribution, possession of weapons and explosives, money laundering, theft and bribery of public officials.

Maffucci is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 9. Under the terms of his plea agreement, he will serve three to five years in state prison, and must cooperate with prosecutors by testifying against other alleged crime family members in the ongoing prosecution.