| Nick Mileti was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 22, 1931 and graduated from Bowling Green State University and The Ohio State University, College of Law. He was honorably discharged from the Army, practiced law in Cleveland and was a prosecutor in Lakewood.
In his second career, Mr. Mileti was a consultant to non-profit groups that wanted to build housing and activity centers for older people, representing such prestigious organizations as The Episcopal Diocese of the State of Massachusetts, The Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, and The Ohio Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs.
Moving into sports and entertainment, in 1968 Mr. Mileti bought the Cleveland Arena and Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League (AHL). In 1970, he was granted an expansion team from the National Basketball Association (NBA), which he named the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also founded the Cleveland Crusaders of the now defunct World Hockey Association (WHA). To save the Cleveland Indians (MLB) for his hometown, he put together a group and bought the baseball team from Vernon Stouffer.
Mr. Mileti developed the 22,000 seat Richfield Coliseum, which Frank Sinatra opened for him in 1974. One of the many interesting events held there was the now famous Ali-Wepner fight, which Mileti promoted and on which Sylvester Stallone based his wildly successful 'Rocky' movies. He also owned and operated radio stations WWWE, a 50,000 watt clear-channel station, and WWWM, FM, both of which he purchased from the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).
In 1979, Mr, Mileti moved to Beverly Hills, where he produced and financed plays and feature motion pictures, on his own and with partners.
Seeking a different kind of culture, in 1989 he retired and moved to Rome, Italy---where he studied everything Italian for three years.
Mr. Mileti has numerous civic accomplishments including the founding (with DeArv Barton) of the Lakewood Hometown Band Concerts and the founding of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
Over the years, Mr. Mileti has received numerous awards---including being named a lifetime Honorary Jewish Big Brother, an Honorary Boston Fire Commissioner, a Boston Police Chief and a member of both the Greater Cleveland and Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. The library in the Barton Senior Center is named in his honor.
The Florida Federation of Italian American Clubs honored Mr. Mileti as their Person of the Year for 2005, and The Northern Ohio Italian American Foundation (NOIA) inducted him into its Hall of Fame.
Mr. Mileti has served on many boards, including Lakewood Hospital, the Cleveland Zoo, and the National USO, which appointed him from the membership of the Young President's Organization (YPO).
Especially dear to him is the plethora of awards his alma mater, Bowling Green, has bestowed upon him.
The University has granted him its Distinguished Alumnus Award, its Community Service Award, and an Honorary Doctorate. In addition, Bowling Green named its alumni building THE MILETI ALUMNI CENTER in his honor. Finally, he served on the University's Board of Trustees, having been appointed by then Governor Richard Celeste.
In 2002 Cleveland Magazine named Mr. Mileti one of Cleveland's thirty most influencial people of the last thirty years. In 2006, Mr. Mileti was named an Honary Member of Il Circolo, the cultural society of Palm Beach.
CLOSET ITALIANS: A Dazzling Collection of Illustrious Italians with Non-Italian Names, published in 2004, is Mr. Mileti's first book. His second book, a biographical novel entitled BEYOND MICHELANGELO: The Deadly Rivalry between Borromini and Bernini, was published in October, 2005. He is presently researching his third book, THE UNSCRUPULOUS, which is on the subject of art fraud.
Nick Mileti lives with his wife in Florida, where, if you are persistent, you can find olive trees growing among the palms. He can be reached at NMile5@bellsouth.net.
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