John Romani figured there would be a lot of attention. He gets the appeal: He’s Italian, the son of a cop, a Philly native. “Mayor Rizzo was talked about on a daily, weekly basis in my house,” said the certified appraiser. Along with his mother, Romani has run Sales by Helen, a firm specializing in high-end estate sales, for 30 years. But they’ve never experienced anything like the buzz around the sale of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo’s home and its contents.

The Daily Mail, a British tabloid, did a story. Buckingham Palace called about a pair of signed photos given to Rizzo by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. “Someone from France called to do an interview just about the nightstick,” Romani added.