Now Former NJ Politician Resigns After Illegal Gambling Plea Deal Surfaces

Prospect Park Councilman Anand Shah has been banned from holding public office due to his involvement with an illegal gambling ring involving a prominent syndicate, the Lucchese crime family. Official Takes Plea Deal, Awaits Sentencing and Faces up to 10 Years Behind Bars As part of his involvement, Shah generated nearly $1 million in proceeds. He has ended up pleading guilty to racketeering, money laundering, and official misconduct and faces up to 10 years behind bars. New Jersey’s Attorney General, Jennifer Davenport, revealed more details on Friday, August 28, detailing the 44-year-old politician’s involvement in the scheme. He was acting as a sportsbook agent and poker manager in the gambling ring that operated across Morris, Passaic, and Bergen counties, using restaurants as fronts. Davenport argued that public officials had a special duty to uphold the letter of the law. She accused Davenport of not only breaking the law but of using the proceeds to fund his political career. Shah’s guilty plea also sends a very clear message – nobody is above the law. The scheme was conducted over the course of almost six years between January 2017 and August 2023. Shah previously served as the Finance Insurance councilmember for the Borough of Prospect Park and hosted ilelgal poker games. He took a cut – known as rake in a poker parlor – that led to a profit of $900,084. Criminals Continue to Operate, But Law Enforcement Isn’t Backing Down He further used his poker game influence to fund his campaign, with Shah confirming that people who owed him money over poker were let off the hook if they instead contributed to his political campaign. The criminal ring investigation established that alleged criminals would hide as much as $4.79 million in their ill-gotten proceeds. NJ Division of Criminal Justice director Theresa L. Hilton commented on this particular aspect of the activity: “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.” Prosecutors have recommended the maximum sentence for Shah – ten years. The politician resigned last Friday, after his plea deal was announced publicly.