Now Comes The Cash: Guilty Pleas And $3.7 Million In Forfietures For Philadelphia Gambler Joe Vito Mastronardo

Veteran organized crime reporter George Anastasia is covering organized crime trials in Philadelphia and South Jersey for Bigtrial.net.

First came the guilty pleas.

Now comes the cash.

A federal judge yesterday entered a preliminary forfeiture order that will have gentlemen gambler Joe Vito Mastronardo forking over $3 million seized by authorities during an investigation that targeted his international bookmaking operation. More than $1.2 million was found stashed in PVC pipes that had been buried in the backyard of his posh Italianate mini-mansion in the Meadowbrook section of Abington Township.

The government will get an additional $700,00 from co-defendants in the case, including Mastronardo's brother John. The authorities also get to keep Joe Vito's 2001 Cadillac DeVille and a 2009 Nissan Altima used by another key figure in the bookmaking operation, according to the preliminary court order signed by U.S. District Court Judge Jan DuBois.

The forfeitures come in the wake of a global guilty plea entered by Mastronardo and 12 co-defendants in January. As part of that plea deal, prosecutors have agreed to drop a money-laundering charge against Joanna Mastronardo, Joe Vito's wife. She was the only defendant not charged with racketeering.

Joanna Mastronardo is the only daughter of the late Frank L. Rizzo, the former law-and-order Mayor and Police Commissioner of Philadelphia. Joe Vito was Rizzo's son-in-law. The Mastronardo's only child, a son named Joe, was Rizzo's only grandchild. Joe Mastronardo, 31, is a co-defendant in the case and is awaiting sentencing.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2014/03/guilty-pleas-and-37-million-in.html

You can also read an earlier post on Mastronardo via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2012/08/philadelphia-area-members-of-alleged.html











 

Philadelphia Cosa Nostra Associate Sentenced to 96 Months In Prison

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information today:

Gary Battaglini was sentenced today to serve 96 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving loan sharking and illegal gambling, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

Battaglini, 52, of Sewell, N.J., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  In addition to his prison term, Battaglini was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release.

 On Feb. 5, 2013, after a four-month trial, a jury convicted Battaglini of conspiring to conduct and participate in the affairs of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family through a pattern of racketeering activity.  The evidence at trial proved that, in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, Battaglini, as an LCN Family “associate,” engaged in loan sharking and illegal sports bookmaking activities on behalf of the mob.  Battaglini exploited the violent reputation of the Philadelphia LCN Family in extending usurious loans and collecting payments on the loans, leaving the borrowers in fear of physical harm if they did not pay promptly. 

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III and Suzanne B. Ercole of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  Valuable prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.

 A total of 12 leaders, members and associates of the Philadelphia LCN Family have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury as part of this case. Six of the defendants, including Battaglini, have been sentenced, and six are awaiting sentencing.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, New Jersey State Police, Philadelphia Police Department, U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.  Additional assistance was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.