~JON D’AMORE . . . and THE REAL ‘FAMILY BUSINESS’ – PIX from the BOOKSIGNING, JERSEY CITY, MAY 21, 2012
FILE UNDER: THIS is the real family BIZ !!
JON D’AMORE at a local booksigning for his new book, ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – a “novel based on a true story” – of growing up in the “family business” . . . aka as “the mafia”. with him, longtime childhood friend, DIANE LOMBARDI FLEMING – The Five Corners Branch Public Library, Jersey City, N.J. May 21, 2012.
so, how far do Jon and Diane go back ? Diane relates that their moms were pregnant at the same time – they were friends who both worked at the Lipton Tea Co., and their dads both worked at Union Textile, in Secaucus – in the 50s.
the crew !!
Cousin Jerry, Uncle Dominic and Rocky D’Amore, (Jon’s dad !!), North Hudson County Park, North Bergen, NJ, 1947.
“Shortly after Rocky returned from the Army. Three men Jon grew up loving. Jerry would become Jon’s Godfather.”
Jon was born about 5 or 6 years later.
His dad, Carmine “Rocky” D’Amore had been shipped overseas to fight for the American forces, in WWII, when he was 20, and stayed on in Germany for two years after WWII as a sergeant in the American Military Police.
“JON D’AMORE, Belmar, NJ, Summer, 1979: With LAS VEGAS just a memory and his music career doing very well … Jon took a break down at the Jersey Shore to see some friends.”
JON’s talk at the booksigning, was brief, too brief – he didn’t want to give away the whole story !!
but the bits and pieces – were fascinating.
he seems to have taken after his mother – and yes, she was a real original Italian Jersey babe, and so was Diane’s mother !! the “family business” just wasn’t in his genes – music was !! but somehow, he got caught up in the prevalent “culture”. as he relates, you couldn’t avoid it, it was just family. it was just how the newest wave of immigrants to America – took care of “business” . . . kept order, and made some dough along the way, esp – cousin Jerry !!
but more importantly, he said he always felt from day one: that this was a time, and a place – and a group of real characters, whose story needed telling, and he was determined to do it – the crew was down with that, but, he was told: he had to wait until 3 key players were dead (!!) . . . so the book was a long time, in the making.
JON D’AMORE went on to become a local musician of some considerable renown, & charm (!!) playing in bar bands, and as a studio musician on the Jersey Shore, and other local hangouts. looks like he got a whole lot of other stories, of his own, to tell, too !!
top left: “JON D’AMORE, Fort Lee, NJ. November, 1977: A favorite photo of Jon’s, this was taken in Palisades Interstate Park directly under The George Washington Bridge.”
top right: “JON D’AMORE, Belmar, NJ, 1979.”
bottom: “Jon D’Amore, 1980: In the studio doing what he enjoyed the most.”
“Jon (holding the machine gun) and Friends, May 1, 1982: It was a day to party and dress up. The car was used in The Godfather.”
yep, JON is a man with a story to tell, and tell it well – he does !!
the book also has a small, but real nice selection of archival photos – including one of his family at a dinner table – with a young FRANK SINATRA !! in LAS VEGA, NEVADA, circa 1957 !! but I’m with Jon – if you want to see the pix – BUY THE BOOK !!
“JON D’AMORE, LAS VEGAS, 1976: on the balcony of his 25th floor suite of the original MGM Grand on the Vegas Strip.”
Apparently Jon at one time worked for a union, guesting members in Vegas on a hefty expense accountant, but the real story, is the famous casino ‘scam’ his family pulled off. apparently Jersey-bred cousin Jerry took a trip to Las Vegas, took one look at the early frontier of legalized gambling – and didn’t come back. THIS is Jon’s story – as he relates how his “family” pulled off one of the biggest scams in the city’s history, and how he got sucked up into it. It all started when he was 22, and his cousin Jerry invited him down, for “his birthday” . . . !!
as Jon relates, it was just the culture of the times back then . . you had the corporate, educated white collar crooks, in high places, and the new immigrant Italian mob – on the other side of the game. all playing for big stakes. all crooks. (so, what else is new ?) he said his Italian “family” were just the newest wave of immigrant underdogs in the game, uneducated, and rough – but “they were very creative” when it came to thinking up new scams, and making off with big big piles of dough. he was, and still is, very respectful of their unorthodox ways – and he said ultimately, it all came down to one word: respect. and, they were all “larger than life.”
he said you couldn’t get away with something like that today, “too many security checks”, ha. so, the notorious caper, 100% true, and apparently way huge, a original Jersey-bred “family”-in-Vegas scam – is pretty much the dominant focus of his book, ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’, and he seems pretty proud of it, too. it is – what it was !!
just one flip of a random page – will tell you it’s – a real page turner !! 100% entertainment through and through.
JON D’AMORE – ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – cover art by IRENE A. LoPRESTO, copyright 2012.
so, YEAH !!
JON D’AMORE’S – ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – ‘A Novel Based on a True Story’ – by a real Jersey ‘boy’ who grew up with “Family biz” all around him – looks to be the sleeper hit – and best beach read – of the summer of 2012.
yep, it’s the REAL DEAL !!
PUBLISHED BY JON D’AMORE, 2012, with 311 pages, it’s $13 for the soft cover, and $22 for the hard cover edition.
you can order it: directly from Jon, for now !!
it will be available – at BARNES & NOBLE, by this AUGUST 2012.
IT’S also available, right now !! in e-book format at Amazon for KINDLE – & – Barnes and Noble for NOOK.
for more info, on the book & author, see: THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK – OFFICIAL WEBSITE
PHOTO OF JON D’AMORE and DIANE LOMBARDI FLEMING at THE JERSEY CITY BOOK SIGNING – & – the ARCHIVAL PHOTO SCANS BY: NANCY SMITH, COPYRIGHT MAY 21, 2012.
JON D’AMORE, ‘THE BOSS ALWAYS SITS IN THE BACK’ – REVIEWED BY: NANCY SMITH, ARTLOVERSNEWYORK.COM – MAY 22, 2012.