Daily Voice
By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice
Kim Zito was up early Sunday, Nov. 16, posting a photo of herself and her husband with a small red heart.
The post came just days after both were charged in an illegal $2 million sports betting ring, with Zito's 55-year-old husband, Joe Perna, acting as the operation's financier, according to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
According to Platkin, Perna is a soldier in the notorious Lucchese crime family, and utilized Zito's 23-year-old son, a former Bergen Catholic football player, his ex-wife, Rosanna Magno, an insurance agent, and nearly a dozen former high school and college wrestlers and football players, state officials allege.
Kim and Frank Zito, mother and son both charged in Joseph Perna's $2 million illegal betting ring.
Kim and Frank Zito, mother and son both charged in Joseph Perna's $2 million illegal betting ring.
According to court documents, Perna's son, Joseph R. Perna, 25, a former standout Ramapo High School wrestler, was essentially the day-to-day boss of the entire gambling ring, running the actual sportsbook operation. He handled the daily betting activity, managed dozens of agents — including his stepbrother Frank Zito, his cousins Joseph and Anthony Magno, and several former high school and college athletes, according to court filings — and kept the gambling records that tracked who owed money and who was collecting.
Joseph Perna, 25
Photos on Kim Zito’s Instagram page — where she goes by KimmieKeratin and counts “Mob Wives” star Renee Graziano among her friends — show tropical getaways, fancy date nights, and her little black shih tzu. The posts highlight the luxe life she was sharing online during the same period she was receiving illegal gambling payments tied to her son, according to court documents.
In September, Zito shared a quote on Instagram that says, “Once upon a time she gave a f—, the end.” She often posted home renovations, too, including a luxury bathroom she showed off with the caption, “panda tile! Obsessed! Love making my clients happy.” Her feed featured ongoing flips and remodels in Jersey City and West Orange.
According to court documents, Zito is accused of moving money she either knew or should have known came from illegal activity on Dec. 1, 2023.
Investigators say she received more than $8,000 in gambling proceeds from people connected to her son during November and December 2023, then transferred that money from her own bank account into his, according to court documents.
Kim Zito and Joseph Perna
According to property records and the New York Post, Zito and Perna live in a corner lot home in Fairfield valued at about $765,600. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house spans just over 1,720 square feet, Zillow shows.
Meanwhile, Rosanna Magno had little to no online presence. Her since-deleted LinkedIn said she was the Chief Executive Officer of Essex Retirement Services LLC: "With 8 years of experience in retirement services, I specialize in servicing companies to navigate the complexities of retirement planning and compliance."
According to her criminal complaint, Magno is accused of helping hide evidence connected to the Perna gambling operation. Investigators say she returned to her Oakland home on April 9, and took items from Perna that turned out to be handwritten gambling ledgers. When police arrived to execute a search warrant, Magno allegedly tried to keep officers from finding the ledgers by keeping them in her car, the documents show. A second warrant was later issued for the vehicle, leading to the seizure of two gambling ledgers.
Magno is charged with possessing a gambling ledger, specifically, written records used to run or promote a bookmaking operation, and with hindering apprehension or prosecution.
Zito and Magno are ordered to appear in court on Nov. 26, in Newark.
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