The Valley took some time Wednesday to remember a former Youngstown man killed last week in Florida.
The last few minutes of Bob Tombo's life were caught on surveillance cameras at a park in North Miami, where he was gunned down in his van. Funeral services were held for Tombo in Poland Wednesday.
"It's kind of ironic," said Ed Marsco, referring to when he learned of his friend's death. "I found out while I was setting up my karaoke show over at the Quaker Steak and Lube in Sharon."
It was ironic because it was he who introduced Marsco, of Simply Ed's Karaoke, to the karaoke business in 1990. That's when Tombo bought the area's first karaoke machine.
"We sat in his garage, and we stared at the TV and said this is going to be the next big thing," Marsco said.
Tombo's career began in 1983 spinning records at Liberty's Fox & Hound night club and later at The Boatyard. From there, his interest in music became his business, RT Audio. He even installed audio systems in both Powers and Stambaugh auditoriums along with at Youngstown State University's football stadium.
"His footprint is all over this Valley," Marsco said. "And I know it'll be a great tribute to him, anytime you walk into any of these places or anyone he's installed work for."
Three years ago, Tombo moved his family and business to Florida. And it is there where police said he was brutally murdered.
The surveillance video shows a man walking across a parking lot and up to the white van where Tombo sat alone in the driver's seat. They talk for a few seconds until the man pulls out a gun and shoots Tombo at point-blank range before running away.
Now, even a thousand miles away from where he was killed, Tombo's friends here in the Valley said he will always be remembered.
"He was a fabulous person," Marsco said. "He's really going to be missed."
So far, police in North Miami continue to investigate Tombo's murder but have made no arrests.
