Antonio DiNardo seen outside of a police headquarters.
After a week of searching, authorities located the bodies of four missing men in Bucks County, Pennsylvania buried on the property of Antonio and Sandra DiNardo.
The property was a secluded 90-acre farm in Solebury Township, and the men were found buried in two separate graves on the property.
Police formally charged 20-year-old cousins Cosmo DiNardo, Antonio and Sandra’s son, and Sean Kratz, of Northeast Philadelphia in the murders on July 14. The two are cousins.
The four men who were murdered were: 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro, 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Thomas Meo and 19-year-old Jimi Taro Patrick.
In a confession to police July 13, Cosmo admitted to killing the four men over the span of two days as they tried to purchase marijuana from him at the family property. Before burying the bodies in the graves, Cosmo told police that he and Kratz attempted to burn them inside a “pig roaster.”
“I’m sorry.” Cosmo DiNardo apologizes to the families of Bucks County missing men after alleged confession t.co/oXnjQORADR
To read more details on Cosmo’s gruesome confession, click here.
As the case was still being investigated, Fox 29 reported that Antonio and Sandra appeared in front of the grand jury during the morning on July 13 to answer questions in relation to the case.
Here’s what you need to know about Cosmo’s parents, Antonio and Sandra:
1. Authorities Seized Their Cell Phones as They Sought Answers
Sources told Fox 29 that the reason the parents of 20-year-old Cosmo were questioned in the case was because investigators wanted to ask them about their son’s whereabouts one week prior, when the four men were reported missing.
Before Cosmo’s confession, investigators tried to put together a timeline of his whereabouts since July 5. A source told the news outlet that they seized the cell phones of Antonio, as well as Sandra.
There were a few places of interest in the case with one of them being the DiNardos’ property in Solebury, which is located off of a secluded country road about 30 miles north of Philadelphia.
Authorities brought in heavy construction equipment and cadaver dogs to search the large property along with agents from the F.B.I.’s evidence response team. The search came up empty, but a major break in the case was made when they found human remains of three of the men inside a 12-foot deep grave on the property.
Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub announced the discovery at a rare late night press conference July 13.
Watch that press conference by clicking here.
The body of Patrick was located a good distance away from the others in a 6-foot grave.
2. Antonio Posted Cosmo’s Bond the First Time Around
Antonio DiNardo’s father posted part of his son’s bond.
Two weeks before he was named a “person of interest” by authorities in the case, prosecutors in Bucks County had asked the Bensalem Police Department to arrest Cosmo for a weapons charge, which was previously dismissed. The Morning Call reported that DiNardo’s gun charge was in relation to a violation of mental health laws.
According to the report, Cosmo was in possession of a Savage Arms 20 gauge shotgun and ammunition. Pennsylvania law says that Cosmo wasn’t allowed to be in possession of a gun because he was once committed into a mental health hospital.
Police finally acted on that weapons charge, and he was arrested by officers from the Bensalem Police Department on July 10 and held on $1 million bond. He was released from jail after his father posted 10 percent of that $1 million bail in cash.
He spent less than 24 hours outside of jail until he was charged with stealing a car that belonged to one of the missing men — Tom Meo — and trying to sell it to a friend for $500. His bail was set at $5 million after the car was located on a property belonging to the DiNardos. Meo’s 1996 Nissan Maxima was found with his life-saving medication left inside.
Meo was a diabetic and his insulin and other medical equipment that he’d need to survive was located inside. Police said that they keys to his vehicle were found hanging up inside of the DiNardo’s garage.
Cosmo told police that he shot and killed Meo along with Sturgis. The two arrived at the property in the Maxima and were led to a secluded area on the property, where they were murdered. As Meo was laying on the ground, Cosmo said he used a backhoe — that he used to dig the graves — to run over Meo’s body. He then used the backhoe to lift their dead bodies up and put them into a “pig roaster” to burn them before burying them.
3. Antonio & Sandra Hired a Prominent Lawyer to Defend Them
Fortunato N. Perri Jr.
Once the couple were subpoenaed by authorities, they hired a prominent defense lawyer.
Antonio and Sandra are being represented by Fortunato Perri Jr., who was one of the attorneys on Bill Cosby’s defense team when he was being tried for a sexual assault allegation. That case has been declared a mistrial and is scheduled to be held again later in the year.
But for now, Perri will represent Cosmo’s parents.
Perri is a partner at the Law Offices of McMonagle, Perri, McHugh & Mischak, located in Philadelphia.
Perri started his career as a prosecutor inside the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office and, according to his biography, has become “one of the top trial attorneys in the county.” He’s able to practice law before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania and United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in the State and Federal Courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, California, Florida, Texas and Delaware.
In 2005, Perri defended rapper Beanie Sigel on an attempted murder charge.
4. Antonio Is the President of a Concrete Business
Instagram/Cosmo DiNardoCosmo DiNardo pictured on his Instagram page.
The family is in the concrete business, and Antonio is the president and treasurer of Dinardo Bros. Materials, Inc. According to state business records, the business was formed in 1998 and operates out of the DiNardos’ home in Bensalem. The business is also the owner of Metro Ready Mix & Supplies, a concrete contractor based in Philadelphia.
According to tax records obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the DiNardos have $16,684 in outstanding taxes owed to the state. In the past, they’ve owed sums of $186,000 to the federal government and $128,616 to the state of Pennsylvania. Those sums were paid to the IRS, the records said.
5. Sandra Founded a Trucking Company Over a Decade Ago
Facebook/Bucks County District Attorney Cosmo DiNardo, left, in his mugshot after his arrest on a gun charge on July 11, and in a photo with an unidentified woman posted to his Facebook page in 2016.
According to a report by The Trentonian, DiNardo lived with his parents at the family’s property in Bensalem.
The concrete business isn’t the only one that they own, either. In 2005, Sandra founded a company called Bella Trucking Corp., which is registered to the family’s home.
In addition to the property where the men were murdered, the DiNardos also own a piece of property on the 2800 block of Aquetong Road. That’s where authorities recovered Meo’s car. Property records obtained by The Trentonian also show that they own a “large amount of land” on Rising Sun Avenue in Bensalem.