Wall Man Among Those Charged In Mob Arrests

A Wall Township man was among 13 people associated with the Genovese organized crime family who were charged Tuesday with running an illegal online gambling operation, authorities said.

Michael O’Donnell, 48, was charged with racketeering conspiracy, along with the other 12 arrested by the FBI. Two are still at large, while the remainder were scheduled to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark S. Falk, sitting in Newark,  according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

O’Donnell, also known as “Mikey O’’, was a foot soldier in the “Lascala Crew” headed by Joseph Lascala, 80, of Monroe, who is a made member of the Genovese crime family, according to the release.

The Lascala Crew used the website Beteagle.com -- which was maintained in Costa Rica -- to profit from an illegal gambling business that operated in North Jersey, according to the release.

“The acts alleged in this criminal complaint show that traditional organized crime continues to pursue its bread and butter – illegal gambling, loan-sharking and cargo theft,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said in the release. “The new wrinkle here is the use of off-shore sites and the Internet for processing bets. Law enforcement will use countermeasures that are just as sophisticated to bring these criminal enterprises to justice.”

Members of the crew maintained their own stable of bettors and shared their profits with Lascala. Unlike similar gambling sites, bettors made in-person payments instead of using a credit card, according to the release.

Debts of bettors' losses were tracked with exorbitant interest rates, authorities said.

Lascala’s crew operated social clubs in North Jersey where the crew profited from card games and other illegal games of chance, according to the release.