Former Record Promoter Joe Isgro Back In Court

Joe Isgro

Joe Isgro had been one of the nation's most influential record promoters, the producer of an Oscar-nominated movie, a defendant who successfully fought racketeering charges in a high-profile payola case and an admitted loan shark who shook down borrowers in ritzy Beverly Hills.

Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter,  the roller-coaster life of Isgro is taking another plunge, with new charges that he helped run a mob-linked gambling operation.

Isgro, who once helped get airplay for songs by such stars as Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson, pleaded not guilty to gambling, conspiracy and money laundering charges today in New York City. For years he has denied any connection to organized crime.

Isgro declined to comment as he left court, but his lawyer, Aaron M. Rubin, said his client "strenuously denies the charges."

Isgro, 66, had been a music-business player for decades, coming to prominence when independent promoters exerted enormous influence over what songs Americans heard on Top 40 radio. As a leading promoter, Isgro ran a company that grossed as much as $10 million a year during the 1980s.

He came under scrutiny after a 1986 NBC News story examined what it called the resurgence of payola — bribing radio station employees to play certain records, a practice that spurred congressional hearings and legislation in the 1960s. The TV report suggested promoters were winning airplay with cash and cocaine and raised the specter of Mafia involvement.

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