10-07-04 -- Perna, Ralph et al. -- Indictment -- News Release

Four North Jersey Men, Including a Father and Two Sons, Indicted for Running Illegal Gambling Business

NEWARK - Four North Jersey men, including a father and two of his sons, were arrested today and charged in an Indictment with running an illegal gambling business, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Ralph Perna, 58, of East Hanover, Joseph Perna, 34, of Franklin Lakes (formerly of West Caldwell), John Perna, 27, of West New York, and John Mangrella, 61, of Newark, were charged in a one-count Indictment unsealed with the arrest of the defendants early this morning at their residences by Special Agents of the FBI, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald D. Wigler.

All four defendants were scheduled to make initial appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo at 2 p.m.

The Indictment alleges that from in or about October 1999 through in or about June 2000, the defendants knowingly conducted an illegal gambling business and had gross revenues of more than $2,000 in any single day. Count One carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the judge to whom the case is assigned would, upon conviction, determine the actual sentences based upon a formula that takes into account the severity and characteristics of the offenses and criminal histories, if any. Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, defendants who are given federal custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

An Indictment is a formal charge made by a grand jury, a body of 16 to 23 citizens, Christie noted. A grand jury may vote an Indictment if 12 or more jurors find probable cause to believe that the defendants have committed the crime or crimes charged.

Despite Indictment, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI, under the direction of Joseph Billy, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Newark office, with developing the case against the defendants.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wigler of the U.S. Attorney's Organized Crime Strike Force Unit in Newark.

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Defense Counsel:

For Joseph Perna: Anthony J. Pope, Esq. Newark

Others to be clarified at initial appearances