Six Gambino e-porn thugs jailed

NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Six of New York City's Gambino mobsters began serving prison terms Tuesday for the biggest consumer fraud in U.S. history involving Internet pornography.

Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said thousands of customers in the United States, Europe and Asia were victimized by the vast $650 million operation between 1996 and 2002.

The six men made last-minute deals where racketeering charges were dropped in exchange for guilty pleas, the New York Daily News said.

Mauskopf said the pleas will ensure the defendants "will serve significant time in prison, but they also will forfeit the spoils of their crimes, including luxury homes and other significant assets, which will be used to compensate the victims."

Under the deal struck Monday just hours before jury selection, one defendant agreed to the harshest sentence of 10 years in prison and forfeiting $15 million.

Operating behind a maze of 64 companies, they lured surfers to X-rated Web sites promising "free tours" of the lurid content. The viewers were required to give their credit or debit card numbers as proof of age and the unwitting victims were hit with charges of up to $90 on their card, the report said.