Good Fella/Bad Fella: Actor Anthony Borgese, a/k/a Tony Darrow Indicted on Extortion Charges
Anthony Borgese played mob tough guys in films such as Good Fellas and on television shows such as The Sopranos. However, Borgese may have played a tough guy in real life as well, as reported by John Marzulli in the New York Daily News. The 70 year-old actor was arrested by FBI agents at LaGuardia airport in New York on Thursday and pled not guilty on Friday to charges of extortion against an unidentified victim in Monticello, in upstate New York. Borgese is alleged to have engaged in the extortion with an alleged “soldier” of the Gambino crime family, Joseph “Joey Boy” Orlando and alleged mob boss associate Giovanni Monteleone.
Borgese was born in East New York and used the stage name Tony Darrow. His most well-known role was as Sonny Bunz, the owner of the bar the Bamboo Lounge in the movie Good Fellas, who gets into a fight with Tommy DeVito, played by actor Joe Pesci, who breaks a bottle over his head. Borgese had worked at the real Bamboo Lounge in Canarsie, Brooklyn, which was frequented by Luchese crime family figures including Henry Hill, the main character in Good Fellas.
Borgese also appeared in 14 episodes of The Sopranos as Larry Boy Barese. He has also appeared in several films by director Woody Allen, and has had a nightclub act in Las Vegas.
Borgese was released on a $750,000 bond secured by his home in upstate New York and $50,000 cash. Monteleone was also released on bail. Orlando is currently serving a 33-month sentence for another extortion conviction.
