TRENTON – The changing face of organized crime in New Jersey includes not only traditional, mob-related activity, but also street and motorcycle gangs, according to testimony from a State Commission of Investigation (SCI) public hearing today. Both are alive and well.The SCI’s hearing revealed that La Cosa Nostra (LCN) continues to exert a considerable amount of influence in the state’s gambling, loan sharking, and labor industries. In recent years, street gangs have become more organized and motorcycle gangs continue to pose a threat. Each of these groups has adapted to law enforcement tactics and are working together now more than ever.

“Although law enforcement has been successful against these groups over the recent years, it is vital that we not lose sight of the fact that organized crime is a moving target, a huge one, and one that is still operating, even if some of them are not as overt in their activity as in the past,” said SCI Chair John P. Lacey in closing remarks.

The witnesses at today’s hearing included James Gannon, Morris County Sherriff; Edwin Santana, Morris County Sherriff Gang Intelligence Unit; Edwin Torres, SCI Senior Criminal Intelligence Officer; Lieutenant Scott Sanders, New Jersey State Police; Special Agent John Havens, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Lieutenant Nicole Bradley, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Gang Intelligence Unit; Sergeant Sean Lake, Newark Police Department Gang Intelligence Unit; Andrew Varga, SCI Special Agent/Investigator; Brian Bruton, SCI Special Agent/Investigator; Special Agent Thomas Regina, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Special Agent Joseph Patricola, United States Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General.

The public hearing also featured testimony from Elaine Lou, Criminal Division Chief of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, and Martha Nye, Deputy First Assistant Attorney General of New Jersey, who reviewed their respective office’s efforts to curb organized crime activity in the state.

The SCI plans to hold another hearing in the fall, focusing on organized crime in the southern portion of the state.