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Anthony Gold was a member of criminal syndicate Maggia, initially active in Detroit. For his failure to set up the Maggia in Las Vegas, foiled by Michael Berengetti and his enforcer Mr. Fixit, he was killed by his superiors.

History

Tony Gold was a member of the organized crime syndicate Maggia.[2][3] He was active in Detroit with an illegal business based on drugs; rumor said that the law enforcement there was laying siege to Gold's activity with the idea of shutting it down soon.[1]

Gold's Maggia leaders tasked him with taking over the Las Vegas casinos for them; they told him that this was a test for him, and that they would not interfere while he was dealing with the matter.[2] Gold bought the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which had been recently burned to a ruin, to use as his base of operations, and traveled to Las Vegas, where he managed a team of at least twenty-five armed thugs. In the city, he quickly understood that the most important and powerful businessman was Michael Berengetti, owner of the Coliseum Casino: If Gold managed to subdue Berengetti, the other businessmen in Las Vegas would accept his conditions. To this end, Gold sent his agent Harry to make an offer to Berengetti to "share the wealth" of the city, with veiled threats if he did not give in to the extortion. Berengetti was not impressed with Gold's reputation and turned Harry down: He didn't want to do business with drug dealers, he didn't want to mess the balance of the city up, and instead his counteroffer was for Gold to leave Las Vegas, indicating that he knew of Gold's troubles in Detroit.[1]

Harry informed Gold when he was in a sauna. Gold insisted that Berengetti was to be convinced, so he had his men force Gold to go to the Carlton as soon as he left the Coliseum. Berengetti agreed to be led there, but sent a warning message to his new enforcer, Mr. Fixit, who interrupted a date with the statuesque Marlo Chandler to go there. Before Fixit arrived, Gold introduced himself, surrounded by armed men, and in this new environment asked Berengetti to relent. Berengetti accused Gold of being a trashy scoundrel with no style, and even punched Gold in the gut, knowing that the thugs would grab him immediately afterwards and beat him up. Berengetti still wouldn't give up, so Gold had his men prepare their weapons to shoot him, or his girlfriend who had also been kidnapped - but then the super-powerful Fixit burst into the dilapidated hotel, breaking floors and ceilings, putting himself between Berengetti and his thugs, and protecting him from bullets with his invulnerability. Gold let his goons deal with him while he tried to hide in the steam room, but Fixit got rid of the hitmen and then grabbed Gold, breaking a wall in the process. Berengetti was satisfied with Gold's humiliation and decided not to kill him, hoping that Gold, now battered and bruised, had learned his lesson.[1]

Gold instead hired a supervillain, the Absorbing Man, to deal with his superhuman enemy.[1] The Absorbing Man met with Gold at the Carlton,[1][4] and asked for a million dollars for his work. Gold accepted, hoping to renegotiate it later, although the Absorbing Man threatened him if he tried to trick him. Gold sent the Absorbing Man to the Coliseum to deal with Berengetti and Fixit; and before the supervillain arrived, he telephoned Berengetti to give him another chance to surrender; Berengetti responded that Gold must have left Las Vegas by now. The Absorbing Man was however defeated (and probably never asked for the money).[4]

Shortly after, Gold prepared a new plan to embarrass Berengetti but, before he could execute it, his Maggia bosses visited him in person and told him that he would no longer be in charge of the matter. Gold tried to convince them that the situation was under control, but the other Maggiosi shot him dead.[2]

When Maggia continued to go after Berengetti's business, Berengetti believed that Gold was still after the Maggiosi, until the Maggiosi told him that Gold was "permanently unemployed."[3]

Attributes

Abilities

Tony Gold showed certain administrative skills within organized crime and was able to manage a several-dozen team of thugs. He could also beat a man himself.[1]

Weaknesses

Tony Gold was far from a great maggioso: He was unable to stop the Detroit police to hander his illegal drug businesses, and failed to get rid of Las Vegas entrepreneur Michael Berengetti,[1] earning his superiors' wrath.[2] Gold also lacked style.[1]

Trivia

  • Gold's filiation with the Maggia was not revealed during his attempt, only after his death the syndicate's name is mentioned.[3]

See Also

Links and References

References

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