The members of New York City’s notorious “Five Families” are known by many names: wise guys, goodfellas, friends of ours. At least a dozen men with alleged ties to the Mafia can now add a new moniker to the mix: defendants in a federal investigation dubbed “Operation Royal Flush.”

The sprawling illegal gambling case announced by federal officials this week names 34 defendants in total — among them a dozen men the government says are members or associates of New York’s notorious Genovese, Gambino, Bonanno and Lucchese crime families. They are accused of orchestrating a high-tech poker rigging scheme that duped unsuspecting gamblers and raked in millions of dollars over six years.

“This alleged scheme wreaked havoc across the nation, exploiting the notoriety of some and the wallets of

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