sinatragottiandme

Rich Herschlag

Rich Herschlag’s previous book, Pat Cooper: How Dare You Say How Dare Me (Square One, 2010), was a collaboration with Pat Cooper and Steve Garrin. The book is the legendary comedian’s memoir and tour de force.

Herschlag’s other published books include Jack of All Trades (Northwest, 1994), Lay Low and Don’t Make the Big Mistake (Simon & Schuster, 1997), The Interceptor (Ballantine, 1998), Women Are From Manhattan, Men Are From Brooklyn (Black Maverick, 2002), and  Before the Glory (HCI, 2007).

Before the Glory, co-authored with Bill Staples, features inspirational childhood tales from twenty baseball heroes, including eleven Hall-of-Famers. Lay Low, a humorous but practical guide to gliding through corporate America on minimal effort, resulted in over 175 radio and TV interviews across the country. The book was the subject of a feature article in USA Today, highlighted in Reader’s Digest, and quoted on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Lay Low was also translated into Chinese. The Interceptor, a political and environmental thriller set above and below the streets of New York, was reviewed favorably by numerous publications including the New York Times, the New York Daily News, and the New York Post.

Rich Herschlag earned a bachelors degree in science and engineering from Princeton University in 1984. In 1991, he received his license as a professional engineer from the State of New York and went to work as Chief Borough Engineer for the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, where he stayed until early 1995. Since then he has run a consulting business, Turnkey Structural, that specializes in the rehabilitation of older residential and commercial buildings. The website is www.turnkeystructural.com

Herschlag lives in Easton, PA, with Susan, his wife of twenty-two years, and their daughters Rachel, 19, and Elise, 14.

Tony Delvecchio

Tony Delvecchio was born in 1940 in the First Ward of Newark, New Jersey. He played varsity football for Barringer High School. During these years he ran numbers and was mentored by Smudgie Antonelli of the Boiardo crew in Newark.

After Smudgie almost lost his life at the hands of the Boiardos, Tony focused his energy on a variety of entrepreneurial ventures, including booking major musical acts, operating a hairdressing salon, and eventually running a very successful nightclub in western New Jersey. This caught the attention of some of his old friends, and in 1976, Tony Delvecchio was asked to run Jilly’s, Frank Sinatra’s favorite New York hangout.

Following a successful but stressful four year run at Jilly’s, Tony and partner Jilly Rizzo put together a group of investors for the purpose of developing a major hotel and resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The venture ended in the prosecution of fifty-two defendants by the FBI and in a prison term of eighteen months for Tony. Following release from Allenwood Federal Penitentiary, Tony Delvecchio established a radio show, “All About This,” which ran in various formats for ten years.

Tony passed on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, 2009 and is fondly remembered by his wife, Katherine, his sons, his grandchildren, and the countless people he helped while he was here on Earth.