Dante Vitoria – When an FBI Agent Tells You to Go to Breakfast, Do It

For over 30 years, Dante Vitoria has been running his firm the Vitoria Group, which has broad experience working with companies of various sizes to fulfill its client's financial needs. The client base is extremely diverse, ranging from international money centers, domestic banks, insurance companies, and financial firms. The group provides a vast array of financial services specifically tailored to enable clients to meet their goals, the assistance direction and access to professional banking and other facilities.   “Know when to get in, but more importantly know when you're going to get out.” Dante Vitoria   Worst investment ever Getting into Wall Street After college, the dad to one of Dante’s friends asked him to come work for him at a small but very successful investment banking firm. Though he’d never thought about getting into finance he said yes. Experiencing his first stock investment About a month and a half into his first job a doctor in Florida named Stanley Chase came up with this idea where he’d take your blood test and pronounce you AIDS-free then give you a credit card to show your AIDS-free status. A lot of brokers were interested in the idea and even tried it out. They figured they could take the doctor’s idea public. The whole firm was behind the stock. Every broker from the rookie, to the 75-year-old retired guy who'd come every day and have a cup of coffee, was buying the stock. It was the greatest stock since IBM. Getting into everyone’s favorite stock Dante, not wanting to be left behind, took all the savings he had, about $50,000 and bought the stock which was selling below $12 a share. After about a month and a half, the stock was selling at double what Dante had bought it for. Playing sheep with his investment After he had doubled his money, Dante went to a stockbroker with a ticket to sell. The trader looked at him and said, “What's wrong with you? It doesn't get any better than this. Don't do this. Let's keep it. If anything happens I will tell you to get out.” Dante listened to the trader and kept his stock. A week later the stock was trading at $31. He still doesn’t sell it. Well, the trader had not yet called to advise time to sell, so he still held onto the stock. Here comes the FBI One Monday morning, Dante stepped off his office elevator and was met by a huge guy wearing a brown polyester suit with slicked black hair. The guy asked him if he was Vitoria to which he answered in the affirmative. The guy said he was the FBI and told him to go have breakfast they had no interest in him. Confused, Dante showed him the breakfast he was carrying and said he was good. The FBI told him to leave immediately and come back after lunch. So off he went. The office building was now full of cops, plainclothes detectives and the FBI. When he came back later,...