ROTTERDAM Hard work repaid with horsepower Italian immigrant had nothing, now owns 3 Ferraris BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Tony Serafini has a philosophy about the United States that seems to fit right in with the American Dream. “If you want to work hard, it’s here,” he said. And he has the life story to prove it. He went from a penniless Italian immigrant in 1955 to becoming a successful real estate mogul with enough capital to afford Ferraris, a car he dreamed of purchasing all his life. Now, after more than a half-century of hard work and dedication, Serafini has three of the sleek roadsters, enough to leave automobile aficionados breathless. His first came from an import dealer in North Carolina who sold him a 12-cylinder Testarossa 512M. The vehicle is one of only 500 that ever rolled out of Ferrari’s factory in Maranello, Italy. Serafini’s second Ferrari was even rarer — a 1999 355 Fiorano Series that was among only 100 built. He rounded out his collection with a 2003 Ferrari 360 Spider. “Ferraris are a dream and a passion for me,” he said. It took work. Each car represents a portion of his life dedicated to establishing a reputation as a builder of quality custom homes. “I worked all the time and I didn’t have any vices,” he recalled from the brick courtyard of his Rotterdam home. “That was it, putting it in the bank without wasting it.” ARRIVAL IN U.S. Serafini arrived in New York City with his father and sister in 1955 on his 17th birthday. His father was drawn to the United States by the promise of earning money to take back to Italy. For their first six months in the United States, they lived with Serafini’s uncle in Schenectady, who helped him and his father find work as builders. Serafini recalls being a jack of all trades and working on a variety of projects, including the Northway. In his free time, Serafini took night classes to learn English. At the age of 23, he began building his first house in Guilderland. He built it on speculation and quickly sold it to a local engineer who marveled at his handiwork. The home turned out to be a calling for Serafini. Over the next three decades, he would build roughly 150 homes in Guilderland ..................>>>>................>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....1&Continuation=1
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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