In a twist, Castor may join Mastronardo defense

Former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr., who prosecuted high-stakes bookmaking brothers Joseph and John Mastronardo four years ago, could end up defending them in a new multimillion sports betting case pending in Montgomery County.

Castor, who stepped down as district attorney in January 2008 and is now a county commissioner, confirmed Thursday that he was in discussions about joining the defense team.

Castor said he had been approached by Dennis Cogan, the Mastronardos' long-time lawyer, about playing a role. He said the District Attorney's Office, where he worked for more than 20 years and which he headed for more than eight, was aware of the discussions and "has not registered any objection."

"I'm a lawyer," said Castor. "People have a right to have the lawyer of their choice."

Castor said he had met once with the Mastronardo brothers, who were arrested March 31 and are being held on $1 million each.

They have been charged in connection with what authorities have described as a multimillion-dollar sports betting operation that stretched from Florida to New York and reached west to Chicago and Las Vegas.

Castor said that negotiations were under way between Cogan and the Elliott Greenleaf law firm, which he joined after ending his career in the District Attorney's Office.

Meanwhile, a preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Friday has been postponed so defense attorneys have more time to prepare. The hearing, which was scheduled for District Court in Abington, was put off after Cogan and defense attorney Anthony Petrone asked for a continuance.

Joseph "Joe Vito" Mastronardo, 60, and his brother John, 54, are currently inmates at the Montgomery County prison, but Joseph spent two days earlier this week at Mercy Suburban Hospital in Norristown, where he was transferred after running a high fever, according to his lawyers. He was returned to the prison Thursday.

Joseph Mastronardo, who has been battling throat cancer for several years, is on a restricted diet and "needs to drink water constantly," said Petrone.

What impact his medical problems could have on the criminal prosecution is one of several unanswered questions surrounding the case. Another is whether it remains in Montgomery County Court or is shifted to U.S. District Court.

Cogan, pointing to the FBI's involvement in the probe and the interstate nature of the investigation, said last week that he expected the case to ultimately be adjudicated at the federal level.

The Mastronardos were taken into custody last week as the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, and the FBI launched a series of raids in the Philadelphia area and in Florida.

In all, authorities seized about $2 million in cash as well as documents allegedly related to an interstate bookmaking operation that some sources say may also have ties to off-shore Internet gambling sites.

Montgomery County detectives and the FBI spent several hours at the Abington Township home of Joseph Mastronardo Jr., using shovels and a backhoe to dig up his property.

The search and attendant publicity once again put the "gentleman gambler" in the spotlight.

Well-known in law enforcement and sports betting circles, Mastronardo's notoriety comes in part from his 30-year career as a professional gambler. The FBI once described him as one of the "largest sports bookmakers on the East Coast."

Twenty years ago, state authorities were estimating that his business generated $50 million annually.

But the media focus also comes in part from the fact that he is the son-in-law of the late Frank L. Rizzo, the tough-talking, law-and-order police commissioner and mayor.

The current investigation is built on wiretapped conversations and information provided by at least two confidential informants, according to a 41-page sworn affidavit filed by Lt. Detective Stephen Forzato and Detective Michael J. Reynolds of the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

According to several sources, close to $1 million was found during the search last week at Joseph Mastronardo Jr.'s Stocton Road home in the Meadowbrook section of Abington.

The cash was found inside the home or secreted in small sections of capped PVC pipe that had been buried on the property.

Authorities also seized $242,690 in cash found in the home of John Mastronardo and Joseph Mastronardo Sr. in Blue Bell and $400,000 in the home of a suspected bookmaking associate in Boca Raton, Fla.

In addition to gambling and money-laundering charges based on the ongoing investigation, both brothers have been charged with violating the terms of their probation from a 2006 gambling case.

Four years ago, authorities seized an estimated $2.7 million from the brothers, who were charged with bookmaking offenses.

In a plea deal worked out with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office - headed by Castor - the Mastronardos pleaded guilty to gambling offenses that carried no significant jail time and gave up any claim to the cash that had been seized.