Allfirst probe: Neighbours shocked at claims against trader

A leafy suburb in the US was today in shock as it learned how one of its most respected citizens stands accused of a $750m (€866m).

John Rusnak’s home in the commuter belt of Baltimore is more used to being a venue for children’s get-togethers than the focus of an FBI investigation.

The €650,000 home stands in a leaf-strewn lawn with an ample driveway and plenty of space for his two children to play.

A neighbouring house has yet to take down the Christmas decorations, while in other gardens are basketball hoops, bikes and toys, testament to the peaceful life of the area known as Mount Washington.

Named after the first American president, it is a textbook US suburb, with stars and stripes flying from some houses, cars, jeeps and boat-trailers in the driveways, and mailboxes at the pavement edge waiting for the morning’s newspaper.

Property prices are high for mainly blue-collar Baltimore and the area is where people who have done well in the new service industries flock to for its schools and community atmosphere.

There is no litter or graffiti on its winding tree-lined streets, and in the evening neighbours greet each other as they walk their dogs.

Last night, one dog-walker was incredulous after learning of his neighbour’s alleged fraud.

‘‘It’s crazy, crazy,’’ said the man, who asked not to be named.

‘‘It’s not real. I mean, look at this place - this is Mount Washington, not Wall Street.’’

At the Rusnaks' home, curtains were drawn and the driveway empty as the banker laid low.

A few hundred yards further away are the community’s shops and its railway station, which shuttles commuters to their white-collar jobs in the city centre.

Today the talk on the platform and at the school gate was not of church fairs and school boards, but of the amazing allegations against the neighbour who last week was a pillar of the community and is now alleged to be a fraudster on an almost unprecedented scale.