Feds say betting ring siphoned $170,000
3 Essex men charged in extortion scheme
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
BY JOHN P. MARTIN
Star-Ledger Staff
Federal authorities yesterday arrested three Essex County men they say ran an illegal gambling ring and siphoned more than $170,000 from the accounting giant Ernst & Young with the help of an employee deep in their debt.
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.
In a 15-count indictment later unsealed, prosecutors accused the men of conspiracy, extortion, illegal gambling and transporting stolen checks.
According to the indictment, Marzullo is co-owner of two eateries, Marzullo Brothers Deli in Montclair and Cafi Via Veneto in Newark. Cimera operates a check-cashing business a half-mile from the deli in Montclair.
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.
Then the stakes rose. 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.
In all, the men cashed six checks totaling $166,212, prosecutors said. Ferrante and Cimera allegedly kept 90 percent of the money and applied the remaining 10 percent to F.P.'s gambling debt.
Kenneth Kerrigan, a spokesman for Ernst & Young, said officials at the company detected the misappropriated money and notified federal investigators. He said F.P. was an administrative employee who never had access to client accounts.
"He was terminated when we found out" last August, Kerrigan said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Wigler declined to discuss details of the case, including F.P.'s identity, debts or the scope of the gambling ring. He would not say if the betting ring is still operating, but said any time authorities make such an arrest, "there's always some disruption" to the operation.
The defendants each appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Susan Wigenton and said they would plead not guilty to the charges. They were released on $100,000 bail.
None of the defendants' attorneys returned calls seeking comment yesterday afternoon. Neither Marzullo nor Cimera returned calls left at their businesses.
Marzullo, accused of extortion and illegal gambling, faces up to 145 years in prison, while Cimera, charged with illegally transporting stolen checks across state lines, could receive a maximum of 65 years in prison, Wigler said.
Ferrante is the only defendant charged in all 15 counts of the indictment. They carry a potential combined term of 210 years in prison.
3 Essex men charged in extortion scheme
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
BY JOHN P. MARTIN
Star-Ledger Staff
Federal authorities yesterday arrested three Essex County men they say ran an illegal gambling ring and siphoned more than $170,000 from the accounting giant Ernst & Young with the help of an employee deep in their debt.
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.
In a 15-count indictment later unsealed, prosecutors accused the men of conspiracy, extortion, illegal gambling and transporting stolen checks.
According to the indictment, Marzullo is co-owner of two eateries, Marzullo Brothers Deli in Montclair and Cafi Via Veneto in Newark. Cimera operates a check-cashing business a half-mile from the deli in Montclair.
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.
Then the stakes rose. 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.
In all, the men cashed six checks totaling $166,212, prosecutors said. Ferrante and Cimera allegedly kept 90 percent of the money and applied the remaining 10 percent to F.P.'s gambling debt.
Kenneth Kerrigan, a spokesman for Ernst & Young, said officials at the company detected the misappropriated money and notified federal investigators. He said F.P. was an administrative employee who never had access to client accounts.
"He was terminated when we found out" last August, Kerrigan said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Wigler declined to discuss details of the case, including F.P.'s identity, debts or the scope of the gambling ring. He would not say if the betting ring is still operating, but said any time authorities make such an arrest, "there's always some disruption" to the operation.
The defendants each appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Susan Wigenton and said they would plead not guilty to the charges. They were released on $100,000 bail.
None of the defendants' attorneys returned calls seeking comment yesterday afternoon. Neither Marzullo nor Cimera returned calls left at their businesses.
Marzullo, accused of extortion and illegal gambling, faces up to 145 years in prison, while Cimera, charged with illegally transporting stolen checks across state lines, could receive a maximum of 65 years in prison, Wigler said.
Ferrante is the only defendant charged in all 15 counts of the indictment. They carry a potential combined term of 210 years in prison.
