Before the Lights

Send us Fan Mail We start the podcast with what Italian means to Mike and his favorite Italian word. Hint (Earmuffs!). He tells us what his household was like as a child and what influences he took from his family to start the business. Mike gives us where the whole concept originated from, how it began with just one shirt on Ebay.  He graduated from NIU with a Business Administration degree, did...

Send us Fan Mail We begin the discussion by learning of Antonino’s childhood and the influences that steered him to writing. The conversation then goes into how he got started and what was his A-ha moment that led him to the career he has. What are the hurdles and struggles of being a film producer? Hear how film producers make money along with the cost of putting a documentary together. (It is no...

Send us Fan Mail The author of the book- The Last Casino begins our show by explaining what it was like growing up in NY right after WWII. Ralph takes about an incident as a young kid fishing that shook him and led to him seeing a movie in a way you more than likely have not.  We hear a great story about Ralph being a shoe salesman that led to get some inside tips on horse betting that at first wa...

Send us Fan Mail Whitney is back with her new EP- Heartbreaker! Her first EP in almost a decade and she tells why she decided to do another solo project. Whitney tells us how long this has been in the works and what tracks she wrote herself.  What does the title track- Heartbreaker mean to her? The blood, sweat, tears she has poured into this project along with some insight into the tracks of: Hom...

Send us Fan Mail We begin this show by becoming aware of the date and how long Damon has been clean. We then dive into Damon as a child athlete and the sexual abuse at age 9 from a babysitter and what this led to. We discuss being under the Friday Night Lights in 5A of Texas football. Damon had the very rare opportunity to be on the sidelines of the Dallas Cowboys with Coach Jimmy Johnson and how...

Send us Fan Mail We hear and learn about Coach Suhr’s original career aspirations, how and why those changed. He discusses how he shaped himself to where he is today. We get his perspective on why the game of basketball is so loved and revered and how he knew he was making an impact not on the game but on the lives of those he touched.  Get an inside scoop on being an assistant coach for Dick Vita...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you to my guests for all the kind remarks! Spread the word and tell one person about Before the Lights.  Rate & Review the show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/before-the-lights/id1501245041 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beforethelightspodcast/ Become a member of the BTL Crew: https://www.patreon.com/beforethelights Merch! : https://www.beforet...

Send us Fan Mail Who was Bob Delaney as a child? Learn about Bob as an athlete. Why he decided to take the NJ Trooper exam in 1972 and how he was chosen to go undercover? What sports taught him that he could use undercover and how he earned the trust of the mafia guys? We speak about the times his cover was almost blown and the wires that were placed. The stress of being undercover and having a th...

Send us Fan Mail On this bonus episode we learn about how long Casey has been involved in music and where his influence came from. We talk about his work being a drummer, a composer and putting together music for podcasts and documentaries. Casey discusses being a singer/songwriter and his upcoming EP “Gangsters & Ghosts” that will be out in 2021.  Where did his interest in organized crime com...

Send us Fan Mail We are joined by the VP of Exhibits & Program of the Mob Museum- Geoff Schumacher. Get an in-depth insight of the Mob Museum that includes the music that begins on the steps to the museum, where the idea originated from, the history of the building and the date it was opened that is a historical date in organized crime.  Hear about some of the exhibits on display that includes...

Send us Fan Mail Ben’s childhood influences that pertained to getting him into music, the age when he started playing in bands and how the move to Memphis, TN happened. He reflects on his days with the band Red 40 and how the name Lucero was chosen.  Who the band was influenced by in its early days, learn about Lucero Family Block Parties, and having April 13th being named Lucero Day. What album d...

Send us Fan Mail We begin the show by learning that Pam was a devoted Mormon but at age 16 that changed: Why? How did she get into beauty pageants and what is was like to go from being a devoted Mormon to a topless dancer on the Las Vegas Strip? She explains how she got her first gig as a showgirl, the challenges of being a Vegas showgirl, and all the shows Pamela performed in.  Getting hired as a...

Send us Fan Mail We are joined by some of our Patreon members of the BTL Crew from a recent zoom call. Those on the call include: My mother (Cheryl), Jeff Horaney (IL-OH), Missy Mital (IL), and special guest Larry Henry, previous guest and was kind enough to meet a few of our members. Larry is a veteran print journalist, and runs the LV Mafia History and Mob Summit FB pages.   On this day when we...

Send us Fan Mail We begin with Joe talking about the Lunardi lineage at St. Joe’s University and his brief stint in CA for high school. Joe talks about all the positions he held at St. Joe’s and we discuss if Joe has seen more live St. Joe's Men’s Basketball games than anyone alive. We transition to talking about his time with Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and some history about the...

Send us Fan Mail The show starts with Whitney talking being from a small town of 900 people in Tennessee called Scotts Hill. She talks about how her Grandfather was the one who introduced her to music and starting to sing at age 3. At age 12-13 she was offered a record deal that led to her connection today that helped pave the way for her music career.  Performing at Tootsie’s in downtown Nashvill...

Send us Fan Mail Back by popular demand, Craig kicks off the show telling us about the book, OPEN by Andre Agassi and then about his junior golf days. His early mentors, what junior golf was then, and the clubs he used. What are the costs to play on the mini tour, and the PGA Tour as well as what caddies are paid?  Craig talks about what it was like being a rookie on the tour and how each new play...

Send us Fan Mail Larry tells the when, why, and how the love of writing/reporting began and how he did baseball dictation for the Associated Press (AP) in 1980. Hear his story about the night Paul Castellano (head of the Gambino Crime Family) was murdered outside Sparks Steak House in 1985, running into the Gotti brothers in a restroom and we discuss Larry’s coverage of Sammy “The Bull” Gravano te...

Send us Fan Mail What does STL mean to Larry and what was growing up in St. Louis like for him as a child? Being at Christian Brothers College HS and winning the 1997 State Championship. We talk about grassroots AAU for him and his team that won the AAU 17U National Championship with the St. Louis Eagles. We then hit on the 97 McDonalds All-American Game where he dropped 21 points against some of...

Send us Fan Mail Grandson of Diamond Jim Moran was a restauranteur in New Orleans in 40’s & 50”s tells us what comes to mind when hears the word food, & his jobs as a child working in families many restaurants. Bobby has served in the US Marines, Army National Guard and Air National Guard. Talks about being a lead mechanic & what that position entails. Why did he write the book? “Food...

Send us Fan Mail We begin this show hearing about how John's  youth and childhood shaped him into who he is today. Being a Certified Critical Incident in Stress Management and Behavior Intervention Team, you find out how his father’s career along with training Police and SWAT Teams aided in this. What are the responsibilities of being a Dean of Students at a D1 University?  How does one handl...

Send us Fan Mail Coach Pilipovich starts the show asking who in Las Vegas has the best sub sandwich? After a brief conversation about the food in Vegas we start down his path. Where did his love of hoops begin and what were his obstacles in playing the game?  Who were a few of his early coaching mentors, after sending out several applications for a job how he handled some rejection and then gettin...

Send us Fan Mail 26 years of service and over 100 undercover operations- Thank You for your service! We start with what it is was like growing up in Havana, Cuba as a child, ending up in the Bronx, NY, and his football days. Jack talks about applying for the FBI and how needing to be a US Citizenship was holding his application.  What is mob school, was it made for Jack, and the details he needed...

Send us Fan Mail Just how big is high school football in the state of Texas? Is winning the Texas State Title for football the hardest thing to do in high school sports? Where did his love of the game of football begin and what does the word “Character” mean to Coach Allen. Coach recalls playing in the state championship in 1967 and the controversy of the last second decision the seniors made and...

Send us Fan Mail We begin this show with Gary telling us why and how he got involved with law enforcement. The process behind becoming a detective and then how he landed a position with the KC Police Intelligence Unit. Gary talks in detail about his first assignment watching a car lot from a cemetery and how that led to the investigation of the Civella-Spero Mob War. After that surveillance was ov...

Send us Fan Mail Timothy begins the show talking about what living in Cali was like in the 60’s, the inspiration from his Mother and how seeing firsthand what his father (James Drury) did for a living made him realize what he did not want to do in life. His once in a lifetime evening meeting iconic movie stars.  We start through Timothy’s road to where he is today by beginning as a staff writer wi...