Richard Basciano (July 16, 1925 – May 1, 2017) was an American

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

active in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

.Forum Theater almost completely razed; neighbors next in line, by Alex Rudinski, Philadelphia Real Estate Blog, 1 March 2013 Basciano was born in 1925 in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland, where his father was a professional boxer. In the 1960s, Basciano began selling pornography around New York in partnership with Gambino crime family mobster

Robert DiBernardo Robert "DiB" DiBernardo (May 31, 1937 in Hewlett, New York – June 5, 1986) was a member of the Gambino crime family and one of John Gotti's subordinates, who was reputed to control much of the commercial pornography in the US. During the 198 ...

. In the 1970s and 1980s, Basciano's

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

empire was centered on the Show World Center, New York's largest and oldest sex emporium. He was dubbed the "porn king of

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

" in press reports.The Fading Neon of Times Square's Sex Shops;Elusive, Undisputed King of Midtown Pornography May Be Forced Out of Business, by Dan Barry, New York Times, 28 October 1995 Perhaps his best-known property in Philadelphia was the Forum Theatre, an adult theatre. In early June 2013, a building controlled by Basciano at 2136 Market Street in Philadelphia collapsed during demolition, killing six and injuring thirteen. In early 2017, he was among those found to be liable for the disaster. By the mid-1990s, the adult entertainment industry was undergoing rapid change. Efforts by the city to sanitize

compounded the widespread adoption of

VCR A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...

s. Operating through ''STB Investment Group'' and other firms, Basciano sold his properties as neighborhoods became

gentrified Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

. Basciano died on May 1, 2017, in New York City at the age of 91.

References

1925 births 2017 deaths American entertainment industry businesspeople American real estate businesspeople Gambino crime family Businesspeople from Baltimore {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub