DIANE MAKAR MURPHY Tony Lariccia's Youngstown fame goes back to a class reunion

Most Y-towners know the name Tony Lariccia. He's the really little guy who does the really big things with his money. Not a bad reputation to have. But not everyone knows why Lariccia is so philanthropic. This is that story. We might call it, "A reunion, a classmate and a promise."
Just 15 years ago, Lariccia was ready to throw in the towel. He was a successful stockbroker, rich by anyone's standards, on Friday, Oct. 16, 1987. But by the end of work Monday -- the day the market fell so far it earned the name "Black Monday" -- he was devastated.
"It was also my birthday," Lariccia lamented. "I went in to work on Oct. 19, and my secretary had tied balloons to my desk." By 3 o'clock, the festive mood was long gone; the market was already down 300 points.
"When I went home after," he said, "I pulled into the garage, and Mary [his wife] opened the door and said it dropped another 200 points."
Lariccia, a Boardman resident, lost about 75 percent of his wealth.
"I was so down I wanted to quit my job," he said. "I thought there was no way I'd come out of this."
Lariccia remembers that season as one of defeats.
"A couple months later, in the AFC Championship game, [Bernie] Kosar handed off to Earnest Byner, and he fumbled it near the goal line," he said, recalling the heartbreaking, final minutes loss of the Browns to the Broncos.
Grim and pessimistic, Lariccia nonetheless made plans to attend his 25th high school reunion. As a Struthers graduate, he was proud of the Class of '63's perfect record in staging a reunion every five years. And though the smile was absent from his face, Lariccia attended the affair with his wife. It made quite an impact on his future -- and the future of our community.
Change in attitude
That night, a Clemente Ambulance arrived transporting a former classmate of Lariccia's. Jack Shaffer, Struthers class of '63, had cancer. He was dying at 43, and yet he insisted on attending his reunion to see his classmates one last time.
"He sat in a wheelchair with a blanket over his lap," Lariccia recalled. "It was so solemn, I can't even explain it. I became so grateful that me and my wife at that time had our health. And me and my classmates saw how God was good to us.
"That '88 reunion turned me around, and I decided that I would never forget my community and my classmates. ... I made a promise to God."
Lariccia's 40th class reunion was Saturday, and he's kept his word. The Lariccias have donated about $3.5 million since then to the new YMCA, Boardman High School's auditorium, Angels for Animals new facility, and Struthers and Chaney high schools, among others.
Giving from the heart
Lariccia has paid for the class of '63 reunion celebrations since 1993. This year's was at the grand ballroom at Holiday Inn in Boardman and featured Chubby Checker, the guy who gave rock 'n' roll its first official dance.
In 1995, the year the class of '63 grads turned 50, Lariccia hosted a birthday bash.
I asked Tony how it felt to give away so much money.
"When I was 21, I worked at Republic," he said. "Across the street, there was a black woman who would sweep her sidewalk. If you said hello to her, she invited you in to have pie. She didn't have much, but she asked you in for pie. Now that is goodness, not just writing a check.
"I do feel good in trying to help the community. But, I also try to give my time. I mentor at Boardman, Chaney and Struthers [high schools]. We live in a home like yours. I'm deathly afraid of materialism. I never wanted to be ostentatious. I avoid mansions and Mercedes.
Beware of flash
"My dad always said, 'Beware of flash; stick with cash.' "
He promotes the same mentality with his daughters Natalie and Dana.
And a large part of that is due to a reunion and a dying man's wish to be with his friends. No doubt Lariccia was thinking about it Saturday as he and his former classmates got to twist the night away.
murphy@vindy.com