Toni Parravano „FBI Wanted „ -Poster....

Was there ever any significant news after his disappearance?

I agree though, it would be interesting to know the story.

 

didn't our own Ed Niles do an article on him sometime back?

 

I'm sure they'd provide a hard copy to you from Washington, DC....as it's still an open case! LOL!

Old Guy and I chatted about it briefly....rumors of sightings in Mexico and Italy but nothing of any substance ever surfaced....

He was a major concrete contractor, after all.......

 

here you go, from the FCA-SW website. It wouldn't let me copy the link for some reason, so i've copied the whole article. I've spent some time around 0538M and have always been fascinated by the Parravano cars.

Oldtimer's Corner - Tony Parravano
By Ed Niles
When I returned from that grand week in Monterey (and wasn’t it a Grand week?!), I found a phone message from Ron Parravano. It turns out that Ron, an attorney in Carmel, is the son of Tony Parravano, a colorful figure among a cast of colorful characters in sports car racing in the mid 50’s. Ron explained to me that he had been talking with Peter Sachs, owner of the magnificent 121LM which had been owned by Tony Parravano, and that Peter had given him my name. Ron said that some day he hopes to write a book about his father’s life.

Ron’s call brought back such a flood of memories that I thought it might be worth sharing a few of them here.

When World War II ended in 1948, the country was literally starving for many things: gasoline and tires has been strictly rationed, there were no civilian automobiles being sold, an acute housing shortage was developing, and many food items had been unobtainable for several years.

In the late 40’s, there were enough sports car enthusiasts that the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) was able to begin promoting a series of sports car races. The leaders of this organization, known in the press as "The Westport Pharaohs," felt strongly that the entrants of these races should be "Sportsman owner-drivers." In other words, any hint of commercialism was abhorrent. On the left coast, however, there was a different feeling, and gradually the California Sports Car Club ("Cal Club") took over the majority of the races. This climate was made to order for wealthy individuals who could afford to buy the latest Ferraris and had the best drivers. John Von Neumann and John Edgar both owned small stables of Ferraris, sometimes running several of their cars in the same races. But none burst onto the scene so spectacularly, and certainly none disappeared so mysteriously, as Tony Parravano. Who was this man?

I first met Jack McAfee around 1949, when I was courting my first serious girlfriend, and Jack was calling on her older sister. I remember being quite impressed that he would arrive in what we would now call a "T-Bucket Roadster," and he was barely 17. After the war ended, Jack had his own shop, and one of the cars he took care of was a Cadillac (a 1949 Sedanette, if memory serves) owned by Tony Parravano. Jack persuaded Tony to let him run the car in the Mexican Road Race, and Tony was bitten by the racing bug. Later, Tony bought a Ferrari 340 America Ghia Coupe (s/n 0150AM) which Jack drove to a 5th overall in the 1953 Mexican Road Race. The car was essentially as delivered from the factory, although Jack added a small louver at the front of each rear fender, to aid in the rear brake cooling, and mounted Halibrand magnesium wheels. Jack also drove the car, with some success, at local venues such as Torrey Pines.

Tony Parravano, dark, short and slightly built, had arrived in Southern California after the war from Chicago, with "mysterious sources of funds." Southern California writers have always been fascinated by tales of the mob, since it never really got a strong foothold here, so many people were quick to put his Chicago roots together with his Italian-sounding name, and reached conclusions which may or may not have been correct. In any event, Tony was obviously a guy who was highly motivated and was not afraid of success on a grand scale. His first major venture was in frozen foods, a concept that was just a bit before its time. After that misadventure, he began building tract homes around the suburbs of Los Angeles. Already, he had focused on two of the things which Southern California was most starved for: food and housing. And his hobby involved the third element - automobiles.

Apparently, he did well as a building contractor; how could he not, when new homes were selling like the proverbial hot cakes? In an article in Sport Cars Illustrated in 1957, Parravano was described as a "Millionaire Building Contractor".

It was in 1955 that Tony Parravano hit his stride, automotively speaking. It was said that, at one time, he had 13 Maseratis and 11 Ferraris. It is interesting to focus on just a few of his Ferraris, and to reflect on the proximity of their serial numbers: 0478AM, a 375 Plus; 0484LM, a 121LM; 0538M, a 750 Monza; 0590CM and 0592CM, both 410 Sport Spyders; and 0585GT, a 250 GT Berlinetta. All of these cars were built in 1955, except for the Berlinetta, which left the factory on November 15, 1956.

There is no record of Tony Parravano ever having seriously raced any of these cars himself. Thus, he was exactly the sort of person that the Westport Pharaohs detested: A man with a "foreign-sounding name", with new money, who hired professional and semiprofessional drivers. It wasn’t long before the SCCA pulled his license. This is probably as good a reason as any that we only saw Tony’s cars being raced around Southern California. But what drivers he had! They included the aforementioned Jack McAfee, Carroll Shelby, Richie Ginther, Dan Gurney, Bob Drake, and Phil Hill.

With such sensational cars and great drivers, one would think that everyone connected with the sport would have known Tony Parravano. But even those who drove for him don’t seem to have much to say about him. He was described as soft-spoken, yet extremely persuasive and blunt. Several people have described him as being very intense. One of his drivers said he was "rude, crude, and socially unacceptable." Two of them used identical language: "a funny little guy." Above all, it seemed that he wanted to keep a low profile. If that was his desire, however, he was certainly going about it the wrong way. His cars and his drivers made quite an impact on sports car racing as it was known in California in the mid 50’s!

By 1956, however, his cars seemed to have disappeared from sight, and in 1957 a warrant was issued for his arrest on Federal charges. A few of his cars were seized by agents of the IRS, and sold at auction. But most of the cars, like Tony himself, simply disappeared.

One by one, the cars have surfaced. Some of them had been taken South, to San Diego, and even to Tijuana and Ensenada, Baja California. Today, none of Tony’s cars remain unaccounted for, and most of them have been beautifully restored. David Smith’s exploits with 0538M have already been documented, and those who were at Monterey this year were knocked out by the work that Peter Sachs did on the 121LM s/n 0484LM.

But what of Tony? He disappeared in 1957, leaving family in California. He was variously reported as having been sighted in parts of Italy and in particularly Sicily. Is he still alive somewhere (he would be in his late 70’s by now). Or, as his son Ron believes, did he die in the Southern California desert, heartbroken because of all of his problems with the Federal Government? Or was he the victim of a mob hit? A photographer who followed the Grand Prix events in the late 50’s swears he ran into Tony in a laundromat South of Rome, and that Tony gave him a wink but then refused to talk to him.

At one time, the U.S. Attorney General had a "Parravano Room!" Think of it. Not a file drawer, or even a file cabinet, but a whole room of evidence! Maybe Tony did the taxpayers a favor by disappearing!

Tony’s abrupt departure leaves us with many questions. Why, if all of his cars were designed for sprint races, did they have extra gas tanks? Why did Tony feel compelled to pay Scaglietti extra money for his cars to have special bodies, not quite like any other Ferrari? Why did Tony get mad at Ferrari and start buying Maseratis? What was the source of Tony’s funding? Was it really mob money, or was he just an extraordinarily successful and highly motivated business man? Did the mob arrange for his concrete coffin? Did Tony secretly finance Enzo Ferrari? Why were the Feds after Tony? Were the Westport Pharaohs right?

We'll probably never know.

About the author: Ed Niles, a lawyer in the San Fernando Valley, has been active in the world of Ferraris for more than 35 years. During that time he has owned more than 100 of Maranello’s products and has met some strange and wonderful characters. During occasional moments of lucidity, he will share remembrances of cars and people he has known and loved.

 

Thanks Bryan, and Mr. Ed Niles!

There's a pretty good story, written by Ron Parravano, in the 1998 book American Sports Car Racing in the 50s by T Lynch, William Edgar and Ron Parravano.

Certainly recommended reading, by and about, some fascinating characters.

 

Thanks, Bryan, for remembering that tale. I had actually forgotten that I had written it! The memory's the second thing to go; I forget what the first is! Ed

 

My intent is not to blow sunshine up your skirt, Ed, but I think it is really important to get these first-hand accounts of Ferrari's early days in the US written down! I love all of your Oldtimer's Corner articles for this very reason. My sense is that there is a disconnect between the "new" Ferrari generations and the "old/vintage" generation. To watch the faces of the 30-somethings at a show when Dick Merritt reels off a tale of the old days is priceless - the characters were outrageous and the casual matter-of-factness with which really, really significant cars were driven/sold/wrecked, etc. is pretty mind-numbing through today's lens.

I am on a crusade to get you first-generation guys to write your stories - I am working on my dad and Dick Merritt to write theirs (I think Dick may be waiting for certain statutes of limitations to run . . . I kid, I kid) just because I know them and see them on a regular basis. I know folks like Gerald Roush, David Seibert, Denise McCluggage, Jim Sitz, Ed Gilbertson, Alan Boe, Sam Smith, Don Fitch, Mike Lynch and others I'm not recalling must have great tales to tell.

 

Bryan,

I too feel the same that the "newer" crowd doesn't appreciate how different the scene was even in the mid to late 70s. People like Ken Starbird using his comp Daytona as a daily/regular driver, open exhausts and all. Bob epstien with 5909LM driving from the Bay Area to Riverside Raceway leading a Northern California group down for a Ferrari Owner's Club track event. Etc., etc.

Jeff Kennedy

 

Hell, Jeff, you're forgetting that Ken and Rosi used the 250LM and the P-car as drivers before he traded them for the Daytona! Yes, those were very different days, indeed. And Bryan, don't worry about my skirts, which are just fine. I agree that some of the old-timers should get it down on paper while they can. I've given some thought to compiling my existing tales, together with some still in my head, into a book of some kind. But I still have a very busy practice, and can't seem to find the time. Sometimes I wish some magic book fairy would just come along, open up my skull, dig 'em out, and just do it! For sure, Dick Merritt has more tales than I, and some pretty entertaining ones at that. The others you mentioned, too. Maybe we all need a co-author. Anyone???

 

Didn't he come back from 'Nam with The Bronze Star?

 

Denise McCluggage HAS written a book, 'Brooks too broad for Leeping', or something like that, and is also covered along with other female 60s racers in "Fast Women" which I recently purchased at Borders......

'Sports Car Racing of the 50s' does indeed have some rare color photography work in it.....'four stars' on that one also!

 

I am on a crusade to get you first-generation guys to write your stories - I am working on my dad and Dick Merritt to write theirs (I think Dick may be waiting for certain statutes of limitations to run . . . I kid, I kid) just because I know them and see them on a regular basis. I know folks like Gerald Roush, David Seibert, Denise McCluggage, Jim Sitz, Ed Gilbertson, Alan Boe, Sam Smith, Don Fitch, Mike Lynch and others I'm not recalling must have great tales to tell.


And do not forget there were many many others who added to the early history of Ferrari in the USA. Just one of those that comes to mind was George Reed owner and racer from RRR Motors near Chicago. His colorful career and list of Ferraris has only been talked about in the Midwest, but his cars were full of history. Jim

 

There is an interesting thread with more info on George Reed here:

http://forums.autosport.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=92144&highlight=george+reed

and Jimmyr- I second your need for some of these legends to put their histories in print...and to include photos...

 

Lots of guys have stories to tell but never find the time to write them down. They are too busy creating new ones! How about using the podcast section of this site? Swapping stories for an hour with some of these guys in the presence of a digital recorder would document information that would take months for them to write. They are fun to listen to as well...

 

The problem is that a lot of very active people don't have the right mindset and experience to write properly: it comes out as tedious awful gibberish. Denise McCluggage put it best: linear thinkers. I went through a few of those interviews where the words "at that point" kept coming back all the time a bit like Al Unser junior with a microphone oh you know being 50% of his speech.

Of course in all fairness I wish I had the ability to make money that many of these ilustrious interviewees have

Just my 2 cents.