A $600,000 home in New Jersey was fraudulently purchased by John LaForte, his wife Tracy Alfano, and two other individuals. They have been charged in a separate indictment for their involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme.
In a statement released on Wednesday, James highlighted that illegal gambling and loan sharking schemes have been long-standing tactics in the mob’s playbook.
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“We are shutting down several members of the Gambino family today, putting a halt to their criminal activities that have cost New Yorkers tens of millions of dollars and forced many into dangerous levels of debt,” she emphasized, while acknowledging that organized crime may still persist in New York.
According to a press release from James’ office, the inquiry into the illicit gambling and loan-sharking activities utilized court-approved wiretaps and bugs, as well as hidden video cameras for covert surveillance. The operation also involved search warrants for an offshore illegal gambling website and various residential properties.
According to the indictment, Falcone and Edward LaForte, who both had past experience with the New York Police Department, worked together as loan sharks. They kept meticulous records that included the names of their victims and the exorbitant amounts of money that they had borrowed. On occasion, they required approval from John LaForte and Cinque in order to issue these predatory loans.
According to prosecutors, Edward LaForte was involved in running an illegal sports gambling operation through a website that was not authorized by the state of New York. The investigation found that the operation had processed over $22 million in bets from September 2022 to March 2023.
According to the indictment, Edward LaForte oversaw a group of co-defendants known as “sheetholders”. These individuals were responsible for managing bets and collections on behalf of individual bettors. The group included Fusco, Pomponio, Matera, Bogan, Falcone Sr., Frederick Falcone Jr., Robert Carter, Arthur Geller, Daniel Scarabaggio, Daniel Shah, Vincent Ricciardi, and Louis Palombo.
According to prosecutors, Amy McLaughlin, 44, is accused of aiding in the organization and upkeep of the gambling operation. Her responsibilities included recording the weekly gambling earnings and managing the distribution of profits.
According to the indictment, James Miranda, the 23-year-old son of McLaughlin, is facing charges of being a courier who collected and distributed the profits from the loan-sharking and gambling activities.
