New Jersey Councilman Banished From Public Office Over Lucchese Gambling Racket [WATCH]

A New Jersey councilman has been permanently barred from public office after admitting that he participated in an illegal gambling operation tied to the Lucchese crime family.

Authorities say he collected nearly $1 million from the racket and directed much of that dirty money into his political campaign.

Prospect Park Councilman Anand Shah pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering, and official misconduct, according to New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport.

The 44-year-old Democrat politician now faces a recommended sentence of 10 years in state prison under his plea agreement.

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Investigators said Shah worked as a sportsbook agent and poker manager for an organization that operated across Morris, Passaic, and Bergen counties.

The gambling enterprise ran from January 2017 through August 2023, giving Shah years to blend local politics with organized criminal activity.

Shah served as the Finance & (Economic Development) Insurance councilmember for the Borough of Prospect Park.

While entrusted with public responsibilities, prosecutors said he hosted illegal poker games, managed subagents, and collected “rakes” that generated $900,084 in profits for him.

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The arrangement became even more brazen when campaign money entered the picture.

Shah admitted that he forgave outstanding gambling balances for people who owed him money if they instead contributed to his political campaign, turning criminal debts into campaign support.

“Public officials have a special duty to ensure that they follow the law,” Davenport said.

“The defendant not only broke the law, but he then used criminal proceeds to fund his political campaign. Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that no one is above the law.”

The Lucchese family allegedly oversaw the poker games, placing a familiar organized crime operation behind the supposedly respectable face of municipal government.

Officials eventually charged 42 people in connection with the backroom gambling network, exposing an operation that stretched far beyond one compromised councilman.

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Police raided four illegal poker clubs linked to the crime family in April 2025.

Those searches uncovered additional locations associated with the ring and helped authorities map a sprawling network of gambling rooms, financial conduits, and participants operating throughout northern New Jersey.

The years long investigation identified approximately $4.79 million in suspected criminal proceeds.

According to Davenport’s office, mob figures relied on shell corporations and ordinary businesses to conceal where the money originated and to move profits without drawing immediate attention from authorities.

“Traditional organized crime remains a real problem in New Jersey,” New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice Director Theresa L. Hilton said.

“Even with a variety of legal gambling options, illegal gambling rings run by organized crime continue to operate in backrooms and online. Law enforcement will continue to dismantle these criminal enterprises no matter where they operate.”

Thirty eight defendants have already pleaded guilty for their involvement in the gambling investigation, while two others continue to face charges.

The numbers reveal an entrenched operation that relied on organizers, managers, agents, property operators, and financial channels to keep the cash moving.

Alleged Lucchese family members George Zappola, Joseph R. Perna, and John G. Perna were identified as high level organizers.

Each pleaded guilty to racketeering in exchange for recommendations of lighter prison sentences, according to officials handling the sprawling prosecution.

Shah is awaiting sentencing, where prosecutors will recommend 10 years in state prison as required by the plea deal.

He must also surrender his political office and is permanently prohibited from holding public office again, an appropriate ending for a politician who treated campaign finance like another gambling table.

Shah resigned Friday after his plea became public, Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed T Khairullah announced.

He had remained in office following his April 2025 indictment, despite calls from the mayor and other council members for him to leave.

“When Mr. Shah was first charged in 2025, I joined my colleagues in calling for his resignation,” Khairullah said.

“At the same time, we respected his right to due process and allowed the judicial process to take its course.”

The mayor’s office will now begin the process of filling Shah’s vacant seat while continuing municipal operations.

Residents are left with the ugly spectacle of an elected finance official admitting that criminal proceeds helped fuel his political ambitions.

“Prospect Park is bigger than any one individual. We will move forward together,” Khairullah said.

The borough may move forward, but Shah’s guilty plea offers another blunt reminder that old fashioned mob corruption never vanished, it merely found new campaign paperwork.

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