BACK BEHIND BARS
‘Person of interest’ charged with stealing car of missing Bucks man; bail set at $5M
SOLEBURY TWP., PA » Cosmo DiNardo, a person of interest in the disappearance of four Bucks County men, is back behind bars.
Authorities charged DiNardo Wednesday with stealing a car of one of the missing men, Tom Meo.
According to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by The Trentonian, DiNardo, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, tried to sell Meo’s vehicle, a 1996 Nissan Maxima, to a friend who lives in Bensalem for $500 on Saturday night.
The vehicle was located Sunday in the garage of an abandoned property on the 2800 block of Aquetong Road in Solebury that is owned by DiNardo’s parents, Antonio and Sandra, court documents outline.
Meo, 21, of Plumstead Township, who was not found with the vehicle, went missing with good friend 22-year-old Mark Sturgis. of Pennsburg in Montgomery County on Friday night.
Police observed the keys and title to the vehicle “folded up and hanging up on the wall inside of the garage” of the Aquetong property. The title, however, was still listed in Meo’s name and was not endorsed for transfer, documents indicate.
“There is no legal exchange of that vehicle,” Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said Wednesday night at a press conference.
Even more troublesome, life-saving insulin supplies for Meo, who is diabetic, were found in the vehicle, foreshadowing a grim outlook that he is still alive.
The district attorney said Meo’s parents told him that “he could not survive” without his diabetic kit and “never went anywhere without it.”
“He would go into diabetic shock,” Weintraub explained.
A Nissan belonging to Sturgis, who reportedly was going to meet up with Meo that night, was also found in Peddler’s Village in nearby Buckingham, less than two miles from the Aquetong property.
DiNardo told police that he was driving a silver 2016 Ford pickup truck the night the two friends went missing.
A mobile license plate reader picked up DiNardo’s truck followed by Meo’s Maxima seconds apart at 2541 Street Road in Solebury on Friday at 7:49 p.m., the affidavit states.
Weintraub said the stolen car offense could lead to bigger charges.
“It’s possible that this charge will be enveloped in a larger set of circumstances,” the district attorney said.
At a bail hearing on Wednesday night, District Court Judge Maggie Snow set bail at $5 million cash for DiNardo on the stolen vehicle charge.
DiNardo, who has lived with his parents on the 900 block of Wayland Circle in Bensalem his entire life, appeared via video for his appearance wearing a blue tank top and his dark-frame glasses. The judge said he entered a plea of not guilty on the charge.
DiNardo responded occasionally with “Thanks, your honor,” said “Yes, I do” when asked if he had a job. His attorney, Michael Parlow, added his client works for DiNardo’s father “part time.”
But that information was disputed by the assistant District Attorney Gregg Shore, who said his father told authorities that was “not the case.”
Shore fought for the high bail due to DiNardo’s “instability” and his significant flight risk. The attorney also said the DiNardos own a $5 million property in Solebury that has no mortgage on it.
Judge Snow ultimately sided with the prosecution.
“He is a grave risk,” she ruled, also ordering the surrender of DiNardo’s passport. “I don’t know what’s
going on. I don’t know if he’s a risk to flee. I don’t know if he’s a risk to the community.”
DiNardo was charged also Monday with possession of a firearm in Bensalem Township in an unrelated case from the missing men. The charge stems from a February case that was previously dismissed in May by a district judge.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by prosecutors, DiNardo was “suffering from mental illness” at the time of his February arrest and was involuntarily committed to a mental institution for inpatient treatment. DiNardo was found to be in possession of a Savage Arms 20-gauge shotgun and ammo, court documents outline.
Shore revealed DiNardo had actually fired the shotgun at Wednesday’s hearing. The assistant district attorney also disclosed that DiNardo had a diagnosis of schizophrenia when he was committed.
DiNardo’s father provided a cashiers check for the required $100,000 to set his son free on Tuesday night before the latest charge. The family owns several construction businesses and large parcels of land in Solebury and Bensalem in Bucks County.
After DiNardo posted bail, his attorney said prosecutors “just wanted him held in” jail.
“They had this information days ago, they didn’t charge him then,” Parlow said. “Now, they charge him because he made bail. Quite frankly judge, that’s wrong.”
Two other men, Jimi Tar Patrick, 19, of Newtown Township, disappeared last Wednesday, followed by Dean Finocchiaro, 18, of Middletown Township, on Friday.
Authorities strongly suspect foul play and say they are making progress at a primary search area that is also owned by DiNardo’s parents.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, the district attorney revealed that “important pieces of evidence” have been recovered from the 90-acre property on the 6000 block of Lower York Road, which is Route 202, in Solebury and another unspecified site.
The farm property that contains a cornfield, barn and house is owned by the DiNardo family, of Bensalem.
“The search is really intensifying,” Weintraub said at another press conference later in the day, noting no human remains have been found yet. “We are going to find something for sure. I have no doubt about it. I’m very encouraged that we’re going to get some finality in this prolonged ordeal.”
Anyone with information about the disappearance of the men is asked to call 215-297-8201, or to submit a tip anonymously online at bucks.crimewatchpa.com.