Two New Jersey men arrested as part of a probe into the International Longshoremen's Association have pleaded guilty to money laundering and loan sharking.
Joseph Queli of Wall and Nicholas Bergamotto of Newark pleaded guilty Friday in Monmouth County.
Queli admitted loaning money to members of the longshoremen's union at a rate of over 50 percent per year. Bergamotto acknowledged collecting payments on the loans.
The state Attorney General's Office is seeking a seven-year sentence for Queli and probation for Bergamotto.
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The men were charged last year as part of an investigation into an alleged criminal enterprise operating at the New Jersey waterfront that is accused of extorting payments from dock workers for better jobs and pay. Cases against several other defendants are pending.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
