then developed Los Angeles Recording Company (LARC), distributed through MCA Records. LARC signed acts The Chi-Lites, The Dells, The Staple Singers and Bonnie Pointer. Soon after the formation of LARC Records, Isgro established a second label, Private I Records, distributed through Columbia Records. The first release of Private I Records was Matthew Wilder’s "Break My Stride", which peaked at number one on the US chart position. It would be the first of Private I's 27 charting singles. In 1992, Isgro produced the film Hoffa, starring Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito and Armand Assante. It was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Currently, Isgro is a producer at Raging Bull Productions His projects include the films Lucky Luciano, Pablo Escobar and The Stone Pony. Isgro secured the rights for the Luciano story in 2007 and the film is currently in pre-production. Legal trials In September 1990, Isgro and two other defendants were prosecuted for 57 counts of payola-related offenses, including racketeering, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice. The case was dismissed by federal Judge James M. Ideman on grounds of "outrageous government misconduct." On March 25, 2000, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and the Beverly Hills Police Department arrested the label owner and former independent promotion and charged him with a federal felony complaint of extortion. He was convicted and sentenced to 50 months in federal prison. According to an FBI affidavit, Isgro and a crew of collectors and enforcers extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from scores of victims, charging interest rates of up to 5% a week. The loan sharking operation had been going on since 1994, the FBI said. According to criminal complaints filed in the case, a Rancho Palos Verdes, California, man, Bernard Beyda, complained to Beverly Hills police in January that he was threatened after he had difficulty making "loan" payments, which included 5% in weekly interest, to Saitta. On July 30, 2014, Isgro pleaded not guilty in New York State Supreme Court to charges of gambling, conspiracy, and money laundering. He was released on $250,000 bail. See also List of people from Philadelphia List of film producers List of record producers References External links Living people Year of birth uncertain 1940s births Film producers from Pennsylvania Record producers from Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Philadelphia United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War American gangsters of Italian descent