Relatively young, only 61.
Feel bad for the family, the guy recently gets out of jail only to get a heart attack a few months later.
He couldn't stay out of prison, Nicky. He was just too aggressive--which is usually a good trait in any business--but not up there. I mean no disrespect by this because I have a lot of friends in lower Connecticut. But it's a rat state.
In the past year, Stamford has lost virtually every one of their big moneymakers from the '80s. Johnny "Stoogie" DePoli, Taylor Breton, Johnny Rosa and now Tony. 25 years ago if you went on a casino junket to the Showboat with them, you'd easily see a million in craps bets over a weekend. Taylor was about Tony's age. At one time, the Feds called him the biggest gambler in the United States. But he ran a fucking HUGE sports office out of Greenwich of all places. His daughter had to borrow money to bury him. A gambler's story.
Stoogie lived a long life. He was like 91 or 92 when he died. He was a love him or hate him kind of guy. I loved him. He could stand at a craps table for twelve hours. But he didn't leave much money behind either. Johnny Rosa was up there in age, too. He didn't make as much as the other guys I mentioned, but he was a great guy. His nephew ran a big office up there years ago, too.
And Tony? He was counting on Football to get back in action. He was also talking about getting something legit going with the golf course concessions up there. He had the right guy, too. It's a fucking shame.
His family's gonna have some debt. He did a ton of fucking time overall. I hope they do the right thing, but I'm not holding my breath.