Anthony "Gay Tony" Prince (1958-) was a famous American nightclub owner who was known for owning all the most popular gay and straight clubs in New York City during the early 2000s. Prince had to deal with several legal issues, however, as he had to deal with being massively in debt to the American Mafia, being partners with the criminal Luis Fernando Lopez (which led to the Russian Mafia becoming enemies with him), and with a cocaine addiction.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Anthony Prince's birth year and birthplace is unknown; the NYPD criminal database listed his birth year as 1958 and his birthplace as a Midwestern state, while he claimed that he was born in 1963. Prince grew up in the Queens borough of New York City in a Jewish family, although he would attempt to hide the fact that he was from Queens in later years. Prince entered the blooming nightclub industry during the 1980s, and he built his own empire of gay and straight clubs in the city. In 1985, he was convicted of tax evasion, followed by possession of cocaine in 1996 and public lewdness in 1999.
Nightclub owner[]
Prince opened successful clubs such as Bahama Mamas, Maisonette 9, and Hercules, but he fell into the debt of the American Mafia and several loan sharks, including Mori Kibbutz. The District Attorney's office failed to make any Mafia-related charges stick, but it was fairly common knowledge that Prince was in business with criminals; his personal bodyguard, Luis Fernando Lopez, was an associate of Washington Heights drug dealers Armando Torres and Henrique Bardas. He was also often seen in the company of Don Giovanni Ancelotti's daughter Grace, with whom he did cocaine.
In 2008, the NYPD carried out numerous raids to check the safety standards and underage admittance policy of his clubs, Hercules and Maisonette 9. The economic crisis, a worsening cocaine addiction, and his on-again, off-again relationship with his boyfriend Evan Moss led to Prince becoming despondent, and he relied on Lopez to help him out with his problems. Lopez paid off his debts to the loan sharks, and he also scared the Ancelotti crime family into backing down.
Gay Tony in 2008.
Prince overcame his emotional distress after his boyfriend and negative influence Evan Moss was murdered, and he later decided to move to a spa town in the Midwest. Prince would sell his clubs to real estate developer Yusuf Amir, and took a long break from the nightlife, doing interviews and living an extravagant lifestyle in peace.
Return to nightclubs[]
In 2018, Prince made a return to the nightclub business by opening ten new clubs in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, that deal fell through, and the sites ended up under foreclosure. Prince would eventually work with an investor and Prince's accomplice English Dave to open the chain, succeeding in it.
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