Indian-origin politician in US arrested in gambling racket

In USA, an Indian-origin municipal councillor and high-ranking the notorious Italian-American mafia,  Lucchese crime family members are among dozens nabbed in a massive mobbed-up gambling ring allegedly run out of restaurants across the New York State, officials announced Friday. According to New York Post report, Prospect Park Councilman Anand Shah, 42, allegedly managed illegal poker games and ran an online sportsbook tied to four members of the mob family, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin alleged at a press conference in Newark. They all are  charged with "racketeering, gambling offences, money laundering, and other crimes. The charges were filed following raids at 12 locations in the state, including 4 poker clubs.
Shah was one of 37 people arrested and 39 people charged in the sweeping gambling case that was part of a two-year investigation that uncovered illegal operations in Woodland Park, Garfield, and Totowa that netted $3 million in illegal profits, the AG alleged.“This was a highly structured, highly profitable criminal enterprise run by people who thought they were above the law,” said Theresa Hilton, the director of the Division of Criminal Justice.
Another person of Indian descent, Samir S Nadkarni, 48, from Longwood, Florida, was also among those charged and was described as a "sportsbook sub-agent/poker host". Shah was a rising politician in New Jersey, serving his second term as a municipal councillor in Prospect Park, a New York suburb, and was in charge of finance, economic development, and insurance. Platkin said, "The arrest of a sitting council member only adds fuel to that fire" of public distrust of elected officials.
"Lucchese Crime Family" is one of the dreaded Italian-American mafia groups in the US, which also works with people of other ethnicities. Sportsbook gambling involves betting on sports tournaments. According to officials, the gambling operation was a $3 million operation.Officials said that the gambling operations were run from social clubs or behind legitimate businesses like restaurants, and also included gambling machines.
The raids revealed that several poker games were being run surreptitiously, with restaurants serving as fronts. The proceeds from the crime were then layered through multiple shell corporations and other business fronts. According to the probe, the daily operations of the poker clubs were overseen by managers, who, in turn, reported to high-level supervisors - each pocketing a small share of the criminal proceeds. There were agents who ran online poker games on websites, attracting funds from outside US even.