A Brooklyn man with a criminal record in Texas, Missouri and New York told a federal jury on Monday how he fed his gambling addiction by swindling a former Great Neck stockbroker currently on trial for fraud out of more than $100,000.

Career criminal Ronald Roth told the court that he convinced Adam Kaplan, 36 — who was indicted along with his twin brother, Daniel Kaplan, for overcharging client fees and other crimes — that he could use his connections with a former Israeli intelligence officer and organized crime to make the 21-count federal case go away.

In reality, Roth, who pleaded guilty in January to two counts of wire fraud, had no mob connections and the Mossad agent he referred to as "Ghost" was a figment of his imagination, he said.

"Adam was asking me to help him get out of

See Full Page