(Photo courtesy of NJ Department of Law and Public Safety. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A Red Bank man identified as a high-ranking member of the Lucchese crime family was arrested in a predawn raid of his West Front Street condominium and charged along with 38 others with racketeering and other crimes tied to organized crime this week.
The alleged high-level managers of the criminal enterprise include George Zappola, 65, of Red Bank, long known in mafia circles and to law enforcement as “Georgie Neck,” who once drew headlines for his role in mob-related murders and reportedly paying guards to smuggle his sperm past prison gates.
Also arrested were Joseph R. “Big Joe” Perna, 56, of Belleville, New Jersey; John Perna, 47, of Little Falls, New Jersey; and Wayne Cross, 75, of Spring Lake, New Jersey. They are charged with first-degree racketeering and second-degree conspiracy to promote gambling and money laundering, among other crimes.
Neighbors described a predawn raid Wednesday by heavily armed SWAT officers of a condominium complex at 22-24 West Front Street (pictured below) where a man matching Zappola’s name is listed as living.
A chart of the alleged operation prepared by the NJ Department of Law and Public Safety.
State Attorney General Matthew Platkin Friday announced a series of raids and arrests Wednesday at seven residences and four poker clubs located in Totowa, Garfield, and Woodland Park, including two clubs where backroom poker games were hidden behind functioning restaurants; a business in Paterson storing gambling machines; and seven residences of individuals alleged to be managing the gambling activities.
The arrests follow a two-year investigation into illegal gambling activities tied to the Lucchese Crime Family, Platkin said.
“Romanticized versions of organized crime have been the subject of countless movies and television shows, often set right here in the Garden State,” said Attorney General Platkin. “But the reality isn’t romantic or cinematic. It’s about breaking the laws the rest of us follow and, ultimately, it’s about money, control, and the threat of violence. My office is bringing every resource available to crack down on violent criminals – including organized crime – and will root it out in all of its forms. And that is exactly what we have done.”
A press release from the NJ Department of Law and Public Safety included the following:
A Prospect Park council member and local business owner – Anand Shah, 42, of Prospect Park, New Jersey – was identified as allegedly managing illegal poker games and an online sportsbook in association with the Lucchese Crime Family. The investigation uncovered additional poker clubs, the involvement of dozens of individuals alleged to have hosted poker games and worked at the poker clubs, and managed bettors on an illegal online sportsbook.
The upper management of the gambling enterprise allegedly oversaw the gambling activities and received a portion of the criminal proceeds. The investigation resulted in the identification of more than $3 million in suspected criminal proceeds. Members of the criminal enterprise used multiple shell corporations and functioning businesses to conceal their illegal gambling proceeds.
As alleged, the high-level management made operational decisions, settled disputes, and used threats to collect overdue debts. The enterprise also used websites to facilitate illegal online sports betting. The websites, through the individuals that owned, operated, and controlled them, were one part of this criminal enterprise controlling illegal gambling activities in northern New Jersey and other areas. The websites allowed traditional organized crime members and associates to use the internet and current technology to engage in the same criminal acts that traditional organized crime has engaged in since the 19th century.”
Zappola is identified in Platkin’s press release as a member of the “Lucchese ruling panel.” 
According to press accounts and a US Department of Justice Office of Inspector General report, Zappola was sentenced in 1996 to 22 years in prison for murder and attempted murder.
A federal prosector’s brief described his role in six murders and subsequent attempts to bribe prison guards. He drew tabloid headlines – and outrage from relatives of his victims – when investigations revealed he and other locked up mobsters were enjoying sausages, veal cutlets, eggplant, vodka, wine and drugs while behind bars. It was also reported that he had paid a bribe to a guard to deliver his sperm to his then-girlfriend to have herself impregnated at a Manhattan fertility clinic.
John Perna, who also served prison time for mob-related crimes most recently drew headlines in December 2020 when he pled guilty to planning and carrying out an aggravated assault against the current husband of one of the former stars of the Bravo television show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey”.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
