Gang associate arrested

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002 | 9:36 a.m.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A Massachusetts man was arrested at the Mohegan Sun casino Tuesday on allegations he offered thousands of dollars in loans to Asian-American gamblers and threatened to harm them if the loans were not repaid quickly.

Mu Can Lin, 42, was charged with extortionate extension of credit and held in lieu of $100,000 bail before appearing in Norwich Superior Court Tuesday.

Lin offered the loans to patrons at the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino, according to court records. He required the loans to be repaid within days at interest rates of 10 percent or more, authorities say.

Lin often threatened to dispatch an Asian-American gang, according to court records.

The gang, known as the Black Society, is an Asian-American organized crime group that operates in Boston and New York, court documents say. It is accused of collecting payments from Asian-American businesses and cash-strapped casino patrons who prefer to comply rather than turn to federal or local law enforcement officials.