$3 million seized in gambling probeBy George Anastasia
Inquirer Staff Writer
He's been called "one of the largest sports bookmakers on the East Coast" by the FBI.
His highly sophisticated gambling operation grossed an estimated $50 million a year, according to a 1990 report by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
For years, the betting line he set - known as "the Vito line" - was the gold standard in bookmaking circles.
Yet, gentleman gambler Joseph "Joe Vito" Mastronardo Jr., son-in-law of the late Frank Rizzo, has had only one serious brush with the law - a 1987 conviction on federal gambling charges.
Now, though, Mastronardo, 56, is under investigation by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, which is sitting on nearly $3 million in cash seized last month from Mastronardo's car, his house, and several other locations, law enforcement sources say.
Charges have yet to be filed, and documents and records have been sealed in the case, which is still under investigation, according to those sources.
Dennis Cogan, Mastronardo's lawyer, would not comment last week. The District Attorney's Office, which is spearheading the inquiry, has a policy of not confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.
The investigation, which began earlier this year, has included wiretaps on phones used by Mastronardo and his associates and surveillance by Montgomery County detectives who, among other things, followed Mastronardo to Florida last month.
Authorities stopped the dapper bookmaker's car in Montgomery County on April 24 as he was returning from a trip south.
Investigators seized $500,000 in cash from the car and another $1 million in cash found in Mastronardo's Huntingdon Valley home that day, according to individuals familiar with the probe.
More than $1 million in cash was seized from several other locations as investigators simultaneously executed nearly two dozen search warrants, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
A legendary businessman-gambler, Mastronardo for years has run a high-stakes sports betting operation while ducking both law enforcement investigators trying to make a case against him and organized-crime figures trying to get a piece of his action, according to both law enforcement and underworld sources.
While frequently the subject of investigations, Mastronardo's one conviction came nearly 20 years ago. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
But the conviction, according to a 1990 crime commission report, had little effect on the operations of his bookmaking business, which continued even during his trial, according to the report.
In that same report, Mastronardo was described as the head of a highly sophisticated, multimillion-dollar sports betting network.
"Bets were taken over the phone on a toll-free number and all calls were recorded by the organization," the report noted. "Computerized statements or billings were prepared for clients every few days. Strong-arm tactics or violence were not used to collect debts. If a client reneged on a bet, Mastronardo would no longer do business with the bettor."
Mastronardo's apparent ability to run a lucrative, high-profile bookmaking operation while avoiding entanglements with organized crime helped create his image as a gentleman gambler.
His ties through marriage to one of Philadelphia's best known law-and-order figures added an ironic twist to that persona.
Mastronardo married Joanna Rizzo in 1978. The union created a buzz in both law enforcement and political circles.
Frank Rizzo seldom commented on the legal problems of his son-in-law but once claimed that a raid on Mastronardo's home in 1983 was "politically motivated." The raid came at a time when Rizzo was preparing for a televised debate in a campaign for mayor.
In 1991, as Rizzo was making a bid to retake the mayor's office as a Republican, the Daily News reported yet another gambling investigation in which the FBI labeled Mastronardo "one of the largest sports bookmakers on the East Coast."
That investigation led a federal judge to send Mastronardo back to prison for violating the terms of his probation in the 1987 gambling case.
Inquirer Staff Writer
He's been called "one of the largest sports bookmakers on the East Coast" by the FBI.
His highly sophisticated gambling operation grossed an estimated $50 million a year, according to a 1990 report by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
For years, the betting line he set - known as "the Vito line" - was the gold standard in bookmaking circles.
Yet, gentleman gambler Joseph "Joe Vito" Mastronardo Jr., son-in-law of the late Frank Rizzo, has had only one serious brush with the law - a 1987 conviction on federal gambling charges.
Now, though, Mastronardo, 56, is under investigation by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, which is sitting on nearly $3 million in cash seized last month from Mastronardo's car, his house, and several other locations, law enforcement sources say.
Charges have yet to be filed, and documents and records have been sealed in the case, which is still under investigation, according to those sources.
Dennis Cogan, Mastronardo's lawyer, would not comment last week. The District Attorney's Office, which is spearheading the inquiry, has a policy of not confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.
The investigation, which began earlier this year, has included wiretaps on phones used by Mastronardo and his associates and surveillance by Montgomery County detectives who, among other things, followed Mastronardo to Florida last month.
Authorities stopped the dapper bookmaker's car in Montgomery County on April 24 as he was returning from a trip south.
Investigators seized $500,000 in cash from the car and another $1 million in cash found in Mastronardo's Huntingdon Valley home that day, according to individuals familiar with the probe.
More than $1 million in cash was seized from several other locations as investigators simultaneously executed nearly two dozen search warrants, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
A legendary businessman-gambler, Mastronardo for years has run a high-stakes sports betting operation while ducking both law enforcement investigators trying to make a case against him and organized-crime figures trying to get a piece of his action, according to both law enforcement and underworld sources.
While frequently the subject of investigations, Mastronardo's one conviction came nearly 20 years ago. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
But the conviction, according to a 1990 crime commission report, had little effect on the operations of his bookmaking business, which continued even during his trial, according to the report.
In that same report, Mastronardo was described as the head of a highly sophisticated, multimillion-dollar sports betting network.
"Bets were taken over the phone on a toll-free number and all calls were recorded by the organization," the report noted. "Computerized statements or billings were prepared for clients every few days. Strong-arm tactics or violence were not used to collect debts. If a client reneged on a bet, Mastronardo would no longer do business with the bettor."
Mastronardo's apparent ability to run a lucrative, high-profile bookmaking operation while avoiding entanglements with organized crime helped create his image as a gentleman gambler.
His ties through marriage to one of Philadelphia's best known law-and-order figures added an ironic twist to that persona.
Mastronardo married Joanna Rizzo in 1978. The union created a buzz in both law enforcement and political circles.
Frank Rizzo seldom commented on the legal problems of his son-in-law but once claimed that a raid on Mastronardo's home in 1983 was "politically motivated." The raid came at a time when Rizzo was preparing for a televised debate in a campaign for mayor.
In 1991, as Rizzo was making a bid to retake the mayor's office as a Republican, the Daily News reported yet another gambling investigation in which the FBI labeled Mastronardo "one of the largest sports bookmakers on the East Coast."
That investigation led a federal judge to send Mastronardo back to prison for violating the terms of his probation in the 1987 gambling case.
