On July 7, Dinardo told investigators, he agreed to sell a quarter-pound of marijuana to Finocchiaro for about $700, the affidavit states. Dinardo first picked up Kratz, whom he described as his cousin, and drove to Finocchiaro's home in Middletown, agreeing on the way that they would rob him, the affidavit says.
Dinardo said he gave Kratz a .357 handgun belonging to his mother, and then drove all three to the Solebury property. According to the affidavit, he said Kratz shot Finocchiaro in the head as they were leaving a barn on the site. Dinardo told investigators he then took the gun and shot Finocchiaro a second time as the victim lay on the ground.
Also on July 7, Dinardo said he met Meo and Sturgis at a church parking lot in Peddlers Village, a short distance west of the Dinardo property on Route 202 in Lahaska, the court records say. Dinardo told investigators that he had a marijuana "deal" set up with Meo, according to the affidavit.
Meo and Sturgis followed Dinardo to the Solebury property in Meo's Nissan Maxima, Dinardo told investigators, the documents say. After parking the Nissan at 2827 Aquetong Road, Meo and Sturgis rode with Dinardo in his truck to the adjacent Lower York Road property, where Kratz awaited, the affidavit states.
After the men exited the truck, Dinardo said, he shot Meo in the back with the .357 handgun, then fired several times at Sturgis as he fled, felling him, the affidavit states. Dinardo said he then ran over Meo with the backhoe before using it to lift both bodies into a metal tank where he already had placed Finocchiaro's corpse, the court records say.
The following day, Dinardo told police, he and Kratz returned to the property, where Dinardo used the backhoe to dig a deep hole and bury the tank containing the three bodies, the affidavit says.
Kratz gave a similar statement to detectives on Thursday night, the affidavit says, but said that it was Dinardo who shot Finocchiaro, not him.
