Times Online - World

Times Online - WorldSIX reputed mobsters from New York’s Gambino crime family have pleaded guilty to using internet porn sites and “free” sex lines to cheat users across the globe out of $650 million (£344 million) in one of the biggest consumer frauds in American history.

One of the charges involved an extortion attempt against the former porn publisher Richard Desmond, the proprietor of the Daily Express. One of his executives was beaten by the gang.

An alleged Gambino captain, a soldier and four associates admitted their involvement on Monday just before the start of their trial in Brooklyn. Prosecutors said that they advertised “free” phone numbers offering adult entertainment, horoscope readings and telephone dating and then billed callers $40 (£22) a month for “voice mail” — a practice known as phone “cramming”.