Me, the Mob, and the Music
Page 22
Christmas party at Morris Levy’s nightclub the Round Table. Left to right: executive secretary of Amy/Mala/Bell Records Caroline Nikano; record company president Larry Utall; president of Calla Records and Morris’s bodyguard, Nate McCalla; senior editor of Record World magazine Bob Austin; Morris Levy; Roulette’s in-house lawyer, Normand Kurtz; and Morris’s personal secretary, Karin Grasso, 1967.
Manhattan’s famous Mutual of New York building that inspired Tommy’s smash hit “Mony Mony,” 1968.
Tommy and the Shondells on their first Ed Sullivan Show appearance. Left to right: Ed Sullivan, TJ, Ron Rosman (keyboards), Mike Vale (bass), Pete Lucia (drums), Eddie Gray (guitar), 1969.
Gaetano “Corky” Vastola was a close associate of Morris Levy. He was an underboss for the DeCavalcante family, the New Jersey wing of the Genovese family. Vastola was one of the principle owners of Roulette and was often seen with Morris discussing record company business. Ironically, one of the numerous crimes that later sent Gambino family crime boss John Gotti to prison for life was his planned hit on Vastola, whom he regarded as a stool pigeon. Vastola was ultimately convicted along with Morris in 1988 for the brutal beating and extortion of Philadelphia record retailer John LaMonte and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Morris died, however, before serving a day.
Morris Levy’s business partner and Genovese crime family head Thomas “Tommy Ryan” Eboli. Acting boss under imprisoned Don Vito Genovese, 1960–1969. Made “official successor” after Genovese’s death in ’69. Assassinated in 1972.
Dominick “Quiet Dom” Cirillo, one of Morris Levy’s associates and a Roulette regular. He originally served as a messenger between Vito Genovese and the rest of the family and later became acting boss, 1997–1998.
Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno, Morris Levy’s friend and cohort, looked after the Genovese family interests in New Jersey and later became family head, 1981–1986. “Fat Tony” was the primary model for Tony Soprano in TV’s The Sopranos, while Morris “Moish” Levy was the model for record promoter Hesh Rabkin on the same show.
Vincent “the Chin” Gigante took over as family head in 1986 after “Fat Tony” Salerno’s hundred-year sentence for racketeering and held the reins in prison until his death in 2005, the longest run in Genovese history. Before he was known as the ultimate crime boss, he was a capo and considered a major up-and-comer in the family. He is seen here in 1957, shortly after his arrest for an attempted hit on family head Frank Costello. The stage manager of that affair was none other than Morris Levy’s partner Tommy Eboli, who recruited Gigante for the hit and drove the getaway car.
Tommy and his second wife, Ronnie, arriving in Hawaii, 1969.
Morris Levy presenting Tommy with a gold record for Crimson and Clover, 1969.
Morris Levy and his son Adam at Morris’s farm in upstate New York, 1973.
“Fat Tony” Salerno in a gentler moment helping Morris’s son Adam with his winter jacket up at Morris’s farm.
Former vice president Hubert H. Humphrey presenting Tommy with a State Department award, 1975.
Roulette’s national promotion director Red Schwartz and Tommy, 1987.
Aegis Records president Ron Alexenburg, Tommy, TJ’s manager Carol Ross Durborow, and Aegis Records executive Joe Cohen, 1990.
Tommy and producer-arranger Jimmy Wisner in the studio listening to a final mix, 1995.
Tommy and Lynda James, 1990.
Tommy James today.