Reputed mob figure among those indicted in Burlco frauds

A reputed Trenton-area organized crime associate is one of 14 people indicted in a series of unrelated alleged fraud cases that the Burlington County prosecutor said involved "scammers and thieves posing as legitimate business people."

Two of the alleged scams were conducted over the Internet.

The indictments, returned over the last two weeks and announced yesterday by County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi, covered a potpourri of consumer fraud involving home-improvement companies, carpet installers, a photographer and an accountant, according to the prosecutor's office.

Those charged included Anthony Iannuzzio, 68, of Trenton, who has been identified by law enforcement agencies as a long-time organized-crime associate.

Iannuzzio, according to a New Jersey State Commission of Investigation report, was part of a mob crew that reported to the late Albert "Reds" Pontani, a mobster who represented the interests of the Philadelphia crime family in the Trenton area in the 1980s.

Iannuzzio has been charged with scamming two homeowners out of more than $8,000 by allegedly accepting payment for work that was never done.

One indictment charges that between November 2006 and May 2007 a Chesterfield resident paid $6,850 to Iannuzzio, but that he failed to perform the construction work for which he was contracted. In April of this year, a second indictment charges, a Bordentown homeowner gave Iannuzzio a $1,200 deposit to construct a retaining wall, but Iannuzzio never returned to complete the work.

Iannuzzio was convicted and sentenced for five years in prison in 1987 on similar charges, according to the SCI report.

Five years ago, Iannuzzio was charged by the New Jersey Attorney General's Division of Criminal Justice with operating an illegal solid waste collection operation in the Trenton area.

The charges centered on the illegal collection and dumping of construction related debris and resulted in a second five-year prison sentence, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Two of the 13 other defendants charged in the indictments announced yesterday were accused of scamming consumers on-line.

Robert J. Kennedy, 51, of Browns Mills, allegedly collected $450 from eight different customers for items such as DVDs, a TV stand, a garden bench and pillows that were never delivered.

Philip Dahling, 26, of Shamong, was charged with selling a Mickey Mantle baseball card for $410 on eBay but never delivering the card.