Tony was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts.  He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida. While attending Eckerd, he studied Politics in London, England; and he was a campaign worker during Peter Rudy Wallace's first bid for the Florida House of Representatives. Tony obtained his Master's Degree in Business/Sports Administration from St. Thomas University. While at St. Thomas, he served an Internship in Sports Marketing with the Communications Group in Boca Raton, Florida. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from St. Thomas University School of Law, and as a law student he served as a Teaching Assistant in Computerized Legal Research.  Upon graduation, he became an Assistant Public Defender in Monroe County, Florida, defending misdemeanor, traffic and felony cases. He later re-located to Tallahassee and became a Prosecutor for the Florida Department of Professional Regulation. After leaving the Department in 1994, Tony managed a solo practice in Tallahassee until 1997, when he returned to the Public Defender's Office, in Leon County, where he served as a Felony Division Chief.