Joseph Mastronardo Jr., 'Gentleman Gambler,' dies in prison at 65

Montgomery County bookmaker Joseph "Joe Vito" Mastronardo Jr., known as the "gentleman gambler," died in federal prison Monday in Massachusetts, where he had been sentenced to 20 months for his role as the mastermind of an international multimillion-dollar sports-betting ring.

Mastronardo, the son-in-law of the late Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, was sentenced in February to the Federal Medical Center Devens in Ayer, Mass., although his attorney had sought home confinement, citing his client's serious health issues including throat cancer, bouts of pneumonia, and a recent stroke.

Dennis J. Cogan, Mastronardo's attorney over the years, confirmed that Mastronardo, 65, died at 2 p.m. Monday of complications from his medical problems.

"I represented him many times over the years. He was a very complex man. He had a really good heart," Cogan said. "He was the kind of guy who, if you could not pay a gambling debt, he would forgive the debt. The only repercussion was, he'd say 'You can't bet with me anymore.' You could never get that deal from a casino."

Mastronardo's lawyer in his latest federal case, John W. Morris, had brought in a medical expert who said that prison would likely be a death sentence.

Mastronardo, who appeared in court looking gaunt, and breathed through an oxygen tank at the sentencing, pleaded guilty in January 2014 to charges including racketeering conspiracy, money laundering, and running an illegal gambling business.

Prosecutors contended the defendant's health problems did not negate the six-year period from 2005 to 2011 in which he made so much money illegally that he buried $1.1 million in cash in PVC pipes in his back yard in Huntingdon Valley.

Mastronardo's wife, Joanna, Rizzo's daughter, was initially charged in the federal case, but the government dropped charges against her when Mastronardo, his son, his brother, and 12 other codefendants pleaded guilty.

Mastronardo was known as a premier sports bookmaker, whose organization raked in millions from high-end gamblers.

Cogan first met Mastronardo in 1979. "We had a number of state court bookmaking cases, where based on any number of technicalities, he was cleared, acquitted, or the case was dismissed."

In the 1980s, Mastronardo went to jail on bookmaking and conspiracy charges. In the 1990s, he spent more time in jail because he had some violations of his probation, Cogan said.

His first brush with the law came in 1987 and resulted in a federal sentence. Nearly a decade later he was back in Common Pleas Court in Montgomery County on another bookmaking charge.

lloyd@phillynews.com

215-854-2831@LoydLinda