Passaic County Sheriff's detectives say they uncovered a hidden chute running from behind the counter of a Paterson grocery store straight into a concealed basement compartment, part of what investigators describe as an illegal Dominican Republic lottery operation. Two Paterson men, 44-year-old Alejandro Munoz-Soriano and 42-year-old Cesar Munoz-Soriano, were charged with promoting gambling, possession of gambling records, and possession of gambling devices after the search, and both were released pending court appearances.
The investigation into Angel's Rosa Parks Food Center at 92 Rosa Parks Boulevard began in June 2026, after detectives received numerous tip-line complaints about illegal gambling at the store, according to Daily Voice. Detectives eventually obtained search warrants and, per the same account, determined that an illegal Dominican Republic lottery was allegedly being run out of the store, according to Sheriff Thomas Adamo. When they moved in, investigators recovered hundreds of printed receipts and other evidence consistent with a significant illegal gambling operation, along with a .38 special revolver found inside the establishment.
Cash Vault Hidden Behind an Aftermarket Chute
The most striking discovery, per the report, was the setup itself: a chute built behind the store counter that led directly into a concealed basement compartment. Investigators say the cash they found, more than $95,000 in suspected illegal gambling proceeds seized on August 26, 2026, was stashed in an aftermarket hidden compartment built into the basement. The physical modifications consisted of the chute and concealed basement compartment, and the discovery echoes a pattern of informal Dominican lottery networks, often called Palé or Lotería Nacional, that have long operated quietly through bodegas in Dominican immigrant communities across New Jersey and New York, sometimes drawing in federal agencies like Homeland Security Investigations, per U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It is not the first time Passaic County law enforcement has broken up a bodega-based lottery ring in Paterson. Back in October 2014, the Passaic County Sheriff's Office arrested six people connected to illegal Dominican Republic lottery rings operating out of Market Street bodegas and a tire shop, according to the Paterson Times. The recurrence of these operations in retail storefronts underscores a long-running enforcement concern in the city.
A Store With a Troubled Recent History
Angel's Rosa Parks Food Center has been the scene of tragedy before. In May 2025, 42-year-old Paterson resident Rulsy Mata Sosa was fatally shot outside the store during an attempted robbery, the Paterson Times previously reported. Mata Sosa was originally from Laguna Salada in the Valverde province of the Dominican Republic, according to the Passaic County Sheriff's Office's relay of Independent Online News reporting on Facebook.
The search warrants at the address were carried out with tactical assistance from the Fugitive Warrant Squad and the Haledon Police Department, Daily Voice reported. Sheriff Adamo thanked the Haledon Police Department for its help and commended the detectives who worked the case. Under New Jersey law, promoting gambling under N.J.S.A. 2C:37-2 is a third-degree crime when a lottery operation takes in more than $100 in a single day or accepts money and records from non-players, carrying penalties of three to five years in state prison and fines up to $35,000, according to the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall.
More Charges Could Be Coming
Possession of gambling records under N.J.S.A. 2C:37-3 is graded as a third- or fourth-degree offense depending on the volume of records seized, according to legal statutes cited by Mercer County Criminal Lawyer. The charge was among those brought against the men.
Sheriff Adamo said the sheriff's office will continue to actively pursue and investigate illegal activity, and authorities say additional arrests are anticipated as the investigation continues. Both Munoz-Soriano men, who live in Paterson, remain free pending their court appearances, and the case remains active. In this investigation, tip-line complaints helped authorities identify alleged criminal activity at the commercial storefront.
