Authorities spent Wednesday at the home of Joseph and Joanne Mastronardo. Joanne is the daughter of the late mayor Frank Rizzo of Philadelphia.
A small army of authorities descended on the million dollar plus home in the 1600 block of Stockton Road early Wednesday morning startling neighbors in the exclusive neighborhood.
"There were all these SUVs and other cars and there were like 20 or 30 people descending on the house around 7:30 this morning," neighbor Richard Weiner said.
Authorities spent most of the day combing through the home and digging though large parts of the property. At one point, they used a backhoe.
Sources say they found a substantial amount of cash buried on the property. Specifics about the elaborate search are sealed, but Action News has learned this is part of a nationwide probe into money laundering and other crimes.
Back in 2006, /*Joseph Mastronardo*/ and his brother John pled guilty to gambling charges amidst allegations they were running a multimillion dollar gambling ring.
Authorities found almost $3-million in cash in John Mastronardo's home during that investigation. At the time, the brothers, who listed their jobs as professional gamblers, had been described as among the largest sports bookmakers on the east coast.
As such, some neighbors were not surprised at Wednesday's raid.
"We know what business he was in, the gambling business; it isn't a shock," neighbor Phil Uchitel said.
As /*Joanne Mastronardo*/ was letting agents in and out of the home, one neighbor recalled how generous she was when his daughter and other kids went trick or treating at the home two years ago.
"There were three kids and a woman giving each $20, which we thought was pretty generous and normally doesn't happen anywhere on Halloween, so now in retrospect, it may mean something," Weiner said.
As authorities work to connect all the dots, Joe Mastronardo was on probation at the time of the raid. As a result, he is now behind bars for violating the terms of that parole.
