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Organized Crime Figure. Born Tommaso Eboli in Scisciano, near Naples, Italy, to Louis and Madalena Maddalone. Tommy immigrated to the U.S. with his parents as an infant. Tommy was the brother of Genovese crime family capo (captain) Pasquale Eboli. To hide his Italian heritage, Eboli adopted the nickname “Tommy Ryan” from professional boxer Tommy Ryan. As a young man, Tommy worked as a professional boxer. In the early 1920s, during Prohibition, he became a bootlegger for future crime boss Charles Luciano. By the early 1930s, Tommy had become the personal bodyguard for Luciano’s underboss, Vito Genovese. In 1933, Tommy was arrested on six counts of illegal gambling and disorderly conduct. In 1957 what made Tommy boss was that Genovese was set up for a drug bust and would die in prison. Now Thomas Eboli was the boss of what some call the most powerful family mostly because they had a boss like Luciano. His power as the acting boss would last for a little less than a decade. He became a U.S. citizen in August, 1960, he married twice and between the two wives, he produced five children. In early 1972, his downfall was swift when Tommy got mixed up in a $4 million dollar drug deal, he borrowed money from Carlo Gambino. Louis Cirillo, Tommy’s partner, was caught with the drugs by the police, sentenced to 25 years and the drugs and money taken. When Gambino told Tommy to repay him he refused. In July, 1972, around 1:00 a.m. Tommy was leaving the apartment of a girlfriend. As he reached his car he was shot five times, no one was ever arrested for the murder of Thomas “Tommy Ryan” Eboli.