Cigar industry mourns Tony Barone

Cigar icon Tony Barone died this week after a brief battle with cancer. Barone’s passing comes less than two years after he retired from Commonwealth-Altadis, following a long and illustrious career.

The family will hold a “life celebration” for Barone on Saturday, on Feb. 14 in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA.

Born in Tampa, Florida Barone was the fourth generation in his family to work with cigars. He started his career at BIC Corp. and later joined Hav-A-Tampa, where he served in various sales and marketing functions.

Barone’s sales skills were legendary. Colleagues said he could sell a million cigars by simply picking up the phone.