[clevfan]

06/01/2006
All bets are off
By: MARGARET GIBBONS , Times Herald Staff


District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. announced the arrests of Joseph V. Mastronardo Jr., 56, of the 1600 block of Stocton Road, Abington, and John V. Mastronardo, 50, of the first block of Devonshires Court, Blue Bell, on charges of bookmaking and conspiracy.
Joseph Mastronardo, who is the son-in-law of the late Philadelphia Mayor Frank L. Rizzo, and John Mastronardo, a former standout Villanova University wide receiver who was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1970s, were arraigned before District Judge Walter F. Gadzicki Jr.
Each was released on $100,000 or 10 percent bail.
Authorities in the next week will be arresting 16 others who had lesser roles in the betting ring, which also included an Internet betting service called "betroma.com."
With the arrests of the Mastronardo brothers imminent, county detectives went to the Web site as late as April 26 and discovered that the two were still trying to keep the site operational.
A message posted on the site said, "Sorry for the inconvenience. We will be back up shortly," according to Castor.
Castor said the Mastronardo brothers already have agreed to plead guilty to the charges against them and to forfeit the $2.57 million in illegal gambling proceeds that his office confiscated from the pair.
The brothers, both who were previously convicted of operating illegal sports betting operations in the 1980s, each face up to a maximum of 10 years in prison on the charges.
"I think prison is an appropriate disposition and we will be seeking jail time," said Castor, noting that there was no agreement on a sentence.
As with other confiscated illegal gains other than drug money, the funds will be used for general law enforcement purposes. In the past, said First Assistant District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, the office has spent this money on investigations and equipment such as bulletproof vests and technology. The funds are used not only for the district attorney's needs but also for law enforcement agencies throughout the county, she added.
County detectives Chief Oscar P. Vance Jr. said the $2.57 million is the single largest confiscation of cash that he has seen in his 43 years in law enforcement.
And, by the time the others are arrested, that sum likely will exceed $3 million, according to Castor.
The investigation that led to this gambling bust and confiscation of cash got its start in Souderton, which is served by a police force of six full-time officers including the chief.
Souderton police in early 2005 began to notice a pattern of violence by those having a Vietnamese heritage in the collection of bad sports gambling debts in that area, Castor said.
"There were three beatings in a short period of time," explained Souderton Det. Joseph Kelly Jr.
The borough police, developing informants, subsequently determined that there was a possibility of a regional sports betting operation being conducted in that area.
Realizing that further investigation would require wiretaps and undercover work, Souderton turned to the district attorney's office for assistance, Castor said.
In December 2005, a county detective began placing bets with the sports betting ring. He was eventually cut off, not by the district attorney's office even though he lost $1,000 in one week, but by the betting ring because the detective was not betting or losing enough, according to Castor.
However, by that time, the detective had developed some contacts and the surveillance began. It was at this time that authorities learned of the Internet service, which operated out of an office in Philadelphia, and, with wiretaps, authorities began moving up the ring's hierarchy until learning of the Mastronardo brothers' involvement, said Castor.
Additional wiretaps were secured. In one conversation, Castor said, there was a conversation with a cabinetmaker. In questioning this cabinetmaker, Castor said, authorities learned that he had built secret compartments in Mastronardo's Abington home and furniture to hide cash from authorities using search warrants.
In addition, information gleaned from the wiretaps indicated that the Internet service was expanding to a Glenside office and work also was under way to renovate a Lower Gwynedd office.
As a result of the wiretaps and surveillance, authorities learned at the end of April that Joe Mastronardo was bringing a large amount of cash back to Montgomery County from Florida. He was stopped in his car when he returned to the state and, at the same time, authorities implemented 24 other search warrants they had obtained, Castor said.
Castor attributed the delay between the execution of the search warrants and the arrests to the negotiations that resulted in the forfeiture of the funds and the details of the guilty pleas by the two brothers. These negotiations saved future court time and challenges, said Castor.
The other 16 suspects and the limited information provided on them in the Mastronardo criminal complaint are: Schuyler C. Twaddle of Chesterbrook in Chester County; Nickolas J. Marsilio of Croydon in Bucks County; Joseph Cardella of Philadelphia; Kenneth Cohen and Eric C. Woehlcke of Flourtown; Connell McConeghy of Blue Bell; Brian Burke of Archbald, Pa.; Bryan Marion and Ponteleone "Andy" Belardino of Trenton, N.J.; Thomas Chiantese and Edward Feighan of Towamencin; Hau Tran of Hatfield Township; Hung Pham of Harleysville; Ba Huynh of Souderton; Duong Bui of Telford; and Sam Ho, current address unknown.
The roles of the suspects in the gambling operation, according to the criminal complaint, are:
* betroma.com: Headed by the Mastronardo brothers.
* Employees of betaroma.com and/or receiving commissioners for their roles in the bookmaking: Schuyler C. Twaddle, Nickolas J. Marsilio, Joseph Cardella, Kenneth Cohen, Eric C. Woehlcke, Connell McConeghy.
* Bookmakers "laying off" to, receiving commission from or committing alleged criminal acts in association with the Mastronardo brothers: Brian Burke, Bryan Marion, Ponteleone "Andy" Belardino, Thomas Chiantese and Edward Feighan.
* Bookmaker associated with Feighan and betroma.com: Hau Tran.
* Bookmakers associated with Hau Tran and linked to the Mastronardo brothers and betroma.com by Tran's link to Feighan and who committed criminal acts: Hau Tran, Hung Pham, Ba Huynh, Duong Bui and Sam Ho.