Owner of iconic cherry company tells sister 'take care of my kids' and kills himself in the bathroom after authorities uncover evidence of drug operation behind wall in his office

• Arthur Mondella, 57, shot himself in bathroom of Dell's factory in Brooklyn
• Investigators looking into environmental offenses smelled marijuana
• Father told his sister 'take care of my kids' before pulling trigger
• Officials discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars and 80lbs of pot

By Christopher Brennan For Dailymail.com

Published: 20:57 EST, 24 February 2015 | Updated: 22:48 EST, 24 February 2015

The president and owner of an iconic cherry company shot himself Tuesday after the discovery of a suspected drug operation in his factory.

Arthur Mondella, 57, had cooperated with investigators for five hours when one smelled marijuana behind a wall in his office at Dell's Maraschino Cherries' Brooklyn factory that led to a secret room.

The owner told investigators he did not want them to go behind the wall, excused himself to go to his private bathroom, locked the door and shot himself around 1.30pm, a law enforcement source told Daily Mail Online.

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The third-generation cherry tycoon called over his sister Joanne Capece, who was present, and said 'take care of my kids'.

Those present heard a single gunshot, according to CBS New York.

Mondella later died at a local hospital from the 357 Magnum handgun wound.

Twenty-five officials from the Brooklyn District Attorney's office and environmental regulators later discovered around 80 pounds of pot and hundreds of thousands of dollars in a secret room.

Shelves operated with magnets on them had stood in front of it.

The investigators, who had been looking into the family-owned company possibly dumping hazardous material into the sewage system and waterways, also found numerous covered vehicles in a back lot.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars along with around 80 pounds of marijuana were reportedly discovered in the secret room

The iconic family-owned company supplies cherries to big-name restaurants such as Red Lobster and Buffalo Wild Wings

'It appears there was another activity going on, that's for sure,' one official said told the New York Daily News.

'I don't think you kill yourself over a bag of weed. There has to be more to it,' the official said.

Brooklyn's district attorney's office had received a tip off about the marijuana operation in 2013, the New York Post reported.

An anonymous source told the paper that they environmental offense warrants were used with hopes of finding marijuana at the factory.

The district attorney's office said 'no further information about this tragedy is available at this time'.

New York police have become involved in the investigation.

Mondella's cherry company, which has operated the factory for 76 years, had supplied their products to big buyers such as Red Lobster, Buffalo Wild Wings and TGI Fridays.

Arthur Mondella's grandfather Arthur Mondella Sr began the venture as a Brooklyn storefront in 1948.

They underwent a $5million overhaul last year and 25 investigators came to the facility at 8am on Tuesday morning with search warrants to inspect its operations.

The Brooklyn factory turns out 400,000 cherries each week.

Mondella is survived by his ex-wife Yevgeniya and their five-year-old daughter.