Part 3 – The Final Chapter For Dominic Fragomeli @ Nash’s

Start reading the previous chapters about Dom here. RIP Dom.

From Lee @ Starwood. The Final Chapter of Dominic Fragomeli’s Demise:

Hey, Hope all is well. Amazing how much stuff starts to come back when you start writing it. I do Know what Dom was doing just prior to his death. They put up on the Starwood marquee: “Starwood Studios, Showcase, Performance,  For Rental.”  And Dom was supposed to (I guess he did) Run it. I remember that Missing Persons played at the KROQ Christmas party held there that year. It was a great show. Dale Bozzio wore almost nothing but a bra that was 2 square boxes. Tony Miguel took some great pictures of that show. Have any luck finding him? Tony and I later cleaned up Ed’s after the 2nd raid. But there wasn’t much going on there (at Starwood Studios). People were living there and I really thought it would probably burn down for insurance or something. It WAS an awful firetrap. And people living there who use drugs? Anytime it could have happened. On purpose or not.

Now Gary Fontenot was put in charge of renovating the ” Seven Sea’s” Restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. Right across the Blvd. from the Chinese theatre . The famous one with the footprints. The 7 Sea’s was a Polynesian restaurant that Ed owned. No-one ever ate there and it was the greatest location in the world. They had a cute little trick of bringing you a big blue drink with Dry ice in it which looked like a big blue volcano. But that was the only trick it had really.  So Ed wanted to turn it into a disco. Even in trouble and drug addicted, no one EVER said Ed Nash was stupid.

The Seven Sea’s as a disco was Hugely Popular. I helped do some of the Renovation work there. Dave ( DeMarco?) from Guitar Center did the sound system. Stand in front of those stacks and it’d blow your hair straight back. Eventually that’s what did it in. The city said it was shaking the building down and it had to close. When I went there I was treated as a total V.I.P! Bout time Id gotten a little respect. To this day when I hear the Flock of seagulls or Soft-cell Or the Motels. Romeo-void.  I think of the Seven Sea’s. I think Dom was a goner before it even opened though. It took several months plus a few more to get it going. I don’t recall who actually Ran the place. I think Hal Glickman might have for a little bit. Before he ran the Kit-Klap. (Pun intended.)

When Dominic was found dead in a smaller bedroom off the west hallway it was by Desi, His G/f. Who had been sleeping right next to him the whole time. She told me that She reached over to shake him awake ’cause it was morning and he was cold as ice. She jumped up and looked at him and he was on his stomach. Facing away from her. With whats called: “Marked Lividly”. See his corpse was horizontal with a line of demarcation running horizontal down his side. She said the bottom 1/2 was dark blue. And the top 1/2 where the blood had drained totally down,,,,    Was Ivory White. Not uncommon I understand. So he had been dead for several hours. He was overweight and drank and took drugs and never looked REAL healthy. Not for L.A.  Or anywhere. But it was still a surprise. I can’t understand why Ed didn’t KNOW that the pigs were going to come? Maybe he was that much out of it? And Come the Pigs Did! I can’t recall how much time was between the 2 events but it was close enough that when I heard ED got raided again, My first thought was that it was because of Dom Kacking Down the hall there.

Does Any of this help you in Your research. Your Blog is incredibly thorough and well researched. Hope My story helps fill in some blanks. Give me a couple of days and I’ll tell you what Ed’s house was like after the raid. I and Tony Miguel were the 1st people there after the pigs hauled off everyone who was there after all. And the Wonders we saw! And we kept EVERYONE else who wanted to come in OUT! And More than a couple of Vultures, Smelling rank meat, Came to that house. And were very dissappointed. That it was in our hands already. Oh And I can prove Scott Thorson a liar when he says the things he says.   Cool?  Talk at you soon.

Bobby Fuller, P.J.’s & The Starwood Club – A Photo Gallery

Before it was the Starwood Club, the place was called “P.J.’s”. It was owned by Dominic Lucci and Eddie Nash. 60’s rocker, Bobby Fuller, played at P.J.’s and was no stranger to Eddie Nash. Thus, the circumstances surrounding Bobby’s death and rumors about Fuller being murdered by a jealous Eddie Nash or Dominic Lucci, over a woman, are not entirely unbelievable or unfounded. In the past, I made a blog post about Bobby’s murder here.

Liz says hello.

3 babes go to see The Byrds.

P.J.’s

Classic drive-in theater fare.

The Palladium.

The Starwood.

Chuck Negron.

John Stewart.

Ron Stigwood, 2nd from right. I forget his name, but the guy pointing would be dead in a few days.

P.J.’s

P.J.’s

Bobby Fuller’s grave.

Sambo’s.

The Troubador.

P.J.’s

P.J.’s

The Troubador.

Doug Weston of the Troubador fame, and an Elton John impersonator.

Bobby Fuller, found slumped over in his car.

The gas can in Bobby’s car.

The Weiss Family Tragedy

I blogged about the murder of sports agent Vic Weiss in the past, and there was even a loose Ron Launius/Horace McKenna connection. Nil Grevillius and I even spoke about the case in our interview. The sad part about this tragedy is that deaths in the Weiss family did not stop with Vic. His son, Wolf, would die as a contractor working in Iraq in 2004. Vic’s old widow, Rose, would be murdered at age 69, by their troubled daughter, Lauren, in 2008. Author Michael Connelly is also quoted below. Connelly once investigated and wrote about the Vic Weiss murder.

Vic’s son, Wolf, certainly led an interesting life. At a young age, the former Marine swore revenge in finding his dad’s killer(s). I guess that’s why he joined the Marines in the first place, so that he could be a bad ass dude. He was also in a heavy metal rock band. You can sample his music here. Wolf even does a cover of Cliff Richard’s “Devil Woman”. Ugh. Play at your own risk!

Lauren would be judged insane and end up in the nut house. At the time of the murder, she was a transient, only occasionally allowed to stay at her mother’s home. When captured after the murder, she was attempting to split town via the train station. I think she had two kids.

Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell relied on court documents and mental health reports that detailed abandonment, sexual molestation, the death of a brother in Iraq, her husband’s suicide and placement in numerous health facilities.

Donahue killed 69-year-old Rose Weiss in a bathroom in 2008 before dragging her body to the backyard to hide it in thick shrubbery.

Rose Weiss. Murdered in 2008 by she and Vic’s troubled daughter, Lauren Donahue.

He was also in a heavy metal band. What. The. Heck.

Daughter Held In Fatal Stabbing Of Simi Woman | Feb 7, 2008 | Ventura County Star

A 41-year-old woman was booked Wednesday into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of fatally stabbing her mother in Simi Valley, authorities said.

Police found the body of Rose Weiss, 69, at her home in the 5300 block of Diane Street at 2:44 p.m. Tuesday after responding to a call asking them to check on her. Sgt. Adam Darough, a spokesman for Simi Valley police, would not say who called police.

Darough said Weiss was stabbed multiple times.

She had likely been dead for several hours by the time police arrived, said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy medical examiner.

Police later arrested Weiss’ daughter, Lauren Donahue, in Santa Clarita. Darough would not offer any details on Donahue’s arrest or what led police to her.

Police did say they learned Donahue "may have boarded a train in the San Fernando Valley," and they later found her at the Santa Clarita train station. Donahue was being held in jail in lieu of $515,000 bail.

Donahue was listed as a transient by police. Police would not say if Weiss lived with anyone at the home.

Court records show Donahue was convicted in 2007 of felony possession of a controlled substance.

Detectives on Wednesday had not yet determined a possible motive for Weiss’ killing, authorities said.

Neighbor Mike Seguin said the street was normally quiet, except for periodic police visits to the Weiss house. "It didn’t happen every week, but it happened often enough," he said.

Darough confirmed police had responded to the home numerous times but would not say why.

Seguin said he would sometimes see Donahue in front of her mother’s home or nearby, and she always seemed to want to be left alone. "If she saw someone coming her way, she would go to the other side of the street," Seguin said.

Seguin said he didn’t see Weiss as often, “but she seemed like a nice, quiet person”.

According to Social Security and Internet database records, Weiss was married to Victor Weiss, a well-known sports promoter found slain in North Hollywood in 1979. Simi Valley police, however, would not confirm the relationship, and other family members could not be reached Wednesday.

Best-selling author Michael Connelly, who wrote an article about the 1979 killing for the Los Angeles Times a decade later, called the unsolved crime “one of the longer-lasting mysteries of Los Angeles”.

Victor Weiss was reported missing by his wife, Rose. He was found dead three days later, stuffed into the trunk of his Rolls-Royce with two gunshot wounds to his head. Los Angeles police suspected Weiss was killed by mobsters because he had accumulated sports-betting debts and was skimming laundered money, Connelly wrote. Connelly’s novel, "Trunk Music," is based on Weiss’ killing.

Victor’s son, Wolf Weiss, was killed in 2004 in Iraq, where he was working for a private security firm, according to neighbors in Simi Valley and published reports.

Wolf Weiss, 36, told Rolling Stone magazine in 2004 that he had joined the Marines at 18 partly because he wanted to hunt down his father’s killers. His mother eventually talked him out of revenge. He became a mercenary after a career as a rock musician.

After hearing about Rose Weiss’ killing, Connelly said Wednesday that the tragedy was one more strange twist in a saga that has stuck with him. “It’s a pretty surprising story”, said Connelly, who now lives in Florida.

Hollywood Murders & Scandals: The Master List

This is a huge list that someone put together featuring locations and addresses of many famous L.A., Hollywood crimes, alleged hauntings and other scandals. The park bathroom where George Michael was busted has a nickname “The George Michael Performing Arts Center”. Ha!

THE MASTER LIST:

First of all, you will need a jumping-off point– NOT the Hollywood sign!– (sorry, couldn’t resist), that is, a centrally-located hotel. If you want to go wild, stay at the Chateau Marmont– where John Belushi checked in and never checked out. I would strongly suggest staying in Beverly Hills or on Sunset in West Hollywood. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel has a lot of history (and, it seems, ghosts), so that’s a great choice in that town.

The Hollywood Forever Cemetery, I believe, will give you a high hit ratio vis-à-vis Hollywood celebrity stiffs. The cemetery in Westwood where you find Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood is hard to find (behind the Avco Cinema on Wilshire), but you’ll see some notable names there on the crypts.

I don’t know about the tours themselves, since I live outside of LA and just go places when I feel like it. I would have loved the Graveline Tour, but…. Oh well.

I have made a pit stop in the very Beverly Hills park bathroom George Michael got busted in (which I now call the George Michael Performing Arts Center), so there you have my moment of scandal-mongering. What other moments of Bad Star Behavior will you be looking into? A pilgrimage to the Viper Room (where poor River Phoenix OD’d) is always in order.

• FainaAgain on Aug 13, 03 at 6:26pm

  Is there a monument or at least a plaque to mark the place where Hugh Grant got caught?

• rjw_lgb_ca on Aug 13, 03 at 6:32pm

  Faina: I don’t think so…. But if you want to see where it went down (so to speak), start by going to Sunset and Courtney in Hollywood, where Mr. Grant picked up Ms. Divine Brown. Then, head to Hawthorn and Carson (a few blocks east, I think), where the pair were busted mid-transaction. A Norman Rockwell moment, I bet.

• Surfergirl on Aug 18, 03 at 6:44am

  I have a book that I picked up some years ago called Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles, which gave good descriptions of the places in his books and in the movies that followed — many of the buildings still exist, and if you’re in to Chandler, it would be a fun place to start.

• KE1TH on Aug 18, 03 at 8:20am

  Check out this web site for lots of info on Hollywood and Los Angeles. It has most of the celebrity grave sites, star homes, etc. Very comprehensive.

  http://www.hollywoodusa.co.uk/index.htm

  Keith

• jlsolomon on Aug 20, 03 at 3:04pm

  Definitely go to the Hollywood Forever cemetery. They even have a map with famous stars’ graves. Even better, they’ve just started screening old movies outdoors there on the weekend! We haven’t gone yet, but I hear it’s graet. You can check to see what movies will be playing at http://cinespia.org/index.html

• mdv on Aug 20, 03 at 3:16pm

  Hollywood Forever is a good choice. The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is supposedly haunted by Marilyn Monroe? Montgormery Clift? somebody on this board willknow.Chateau Marmont ( John Belushi suicide various other scandals) is worth a look. I have a list of murders etc somewhere. When I find it, I’ll repost.
  If you want an architectural tour , the Los Angeles Conservancy operates a tour of the grand ( and they are) movie palaces of downtown. Their tours are very good. They have a website with the times and tours. Have fun.

• mdv on Aug 20, 03 at 3:45pm

  The Oscar for Hollywood crime scenes goes to 404-B South Alvarado, as the location of the first big Hollywood crime. As notorious in its day as any other crime scene, even as history fades our memories, this location must hold a special place in our crime-scandal ridden hearts.
  At the northeast corner of Alvarado & Maryland in Los Angeles, it was the location of the 1922 death of Paramount film director William Desmond Taylor. The first big crime to dominate the headlines of the period ? the birth of Hollywood ? the birth of Hollywood crime. The list of suspects included many showbiz figures, including silent film actress Mabel Normand (Mack Sennett’s leading lady).
  The case was never solved. Therefore, no appeal was ever filed.1. The Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short, no pun intended, as she was cut in half, was found at 3925 S. Norton Avenue (just south of 39th Street) ? unsolved ? no appeal. Short lived at 1851 Ivar Street, Alto Nido Aparments.2. Bugsy Siegel – murder victim (for once) – 810 Linden Drive, Beverly Hills

  3. The Glove Don?t Fit?

  3A. OJ Simpson residence 360 N. Rockingham.

  3B. Nicole Simpson residence and murder scene – 3875 Bundy.

  3C. Mezzaluna Restaurant where Ronald Goldman worked – 11750 San Vicente Blvd Brentwood

  4. Lana Turner’s 14-year-old daughter (Cheryl Crane) stabbed Lana?s lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato, to death – 730 N. Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, Good Friday 1958.

  5 Haing Ngor, Oscar winner, Killing Fields, ironically, murder scene 945 Beaudry Avenue

  6. Enis Cosby murder scene, The Skirball Center Drive exit to the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway

  7. Notorious B.I.G. (aka Christopher Wallace) murder scene 6060 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, the Petersen Automotive Museum,

  8. Sam Cooke murder scene 9137 S. Figueroa Street – site of the former Hacienda Motel (now the Star Motel)

  9. Marilyn Monroe death scene 12305 Fifth Helena Drive ? technically not a crime, unless you are conspiratorially inclined

  10. Robert F. Kennedy murder scene The Ambassador Hotel 3400 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

  11. I Love You, Charlie

  11A. Sharon Tate (and others) Murder scene 10050 Cielo Drive (now changed to 10066), Beverly Hills. Former residence of Cary Grant and Henry Fonda

  11B. Residence of Charles Manson and family – the Spahn Movie Ranch, Santa Susana Pass Road west of Topanga Canyon Road, Chatsworth, CA. Interesting historical not e: Years before, Tom Mix movie Westerns were shot there.

  11C. La Bianca (other Manson murder victims) house 3267 Waverly Drive

  12. Janis Joplin overdosed on heroin – 7047 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood previously the Landmark Motor Hotel (now called the Highland Gardens Hotel), room 105

  13. John Belushi overdose 8221 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood: the Chateau Marmont hotel, Bungalow #2

  14. Marvin Gaye murder scene – 2101 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles: the family home where singer Marvin Gaye

  15. Centerfold Dorothy Stratten murder scene – 10881 Clarkson Road, West Los Angeles, by her husband after he learned of her relationship with director Peter Bogdanovich

  16. Patty Hearst captured – 11425 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Inglewood: former site of Mel’s Sporting Goods store

  16A. Six SLA members die in shoot out. 54th Street 1466 E (near Compton Ave.), Los Angeles May 17, 1974

  17. Lyle & Erik Menendez family home and murder scene parti/matricide – 722 N. Elm Drive, Beverly Hills

  18. Sal Mineo (“Rebel Without a Cause”) murder scene – 8563 Holloway Drive

  19. Hugh Grant arrested for solicitation for prostitution Sunset Boulevard & Courtney Avenue

  20. George Michael (formerly of Wham!) arrested for performing a lewd act (while alone) – Will Rogers Memorial Park, at 9650 Sunset Blvd., in Beverly Hills

  21. Oliver Stone arrested for drunk driving and felony possession of hashish – the 2200 block of Benedict Canyon Drive, in Beverly Hills

  22. Robert Downey Jr, arrested (one of the times) for drugs 29169 Heathercliff Road, Malibu

  23. Christian Slater assault & battery at 10445 Wilshire Blvd., West Los Angeles: the L’Elysee condominium

  24. Tommy Lee (of Mötley Crüe) battery 8852 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, the Viper Room

  25. Zsa Zsa Gabor battery on a Beverly Hills Police officer – the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Le Doux Road (the 8500 block of Olympic), one block west of La Cienega Boulevard, on the outskirts of Beverly Hills (on the west side of La Cienega Park and the Academy Library) June 29 of 1989

  26. Michael Jackson?s residence, lewd act on a minor – 4641 Havenhurst Avenue, Encino

  27. Jack Nicholson assault and battery, when he jumps out of his car and attacks motorist Robert Blank’s Mercedes-Benz with a golf club – the corner of Riverside Drive & Moorpark Street in Studio City (near the Lakeside Golf Course.)

  28. Winona Rider shoplifting ? Saks Fifth Avenue 9600 Wilshire Boulevard
  Beverly Hills

  29. Halle Berry felony hit and run – intersection of Sunset Blvd & Doheny Drive
  ? probation, $14,000 in fines, 200 hours of community service.

  30. Dudley Moore domestic violence scene 5505 Ocean Front Walk, Venice

  31. Richard Pryor drugs (setting himself of fire ? ooops) 17267 Parthenia Street (west of Hayvenhurst), Northridge

  32. Roman Polanski lewd act on a minor 12850 Mulholland Drive.

  33. Cotton Club murders

  33A Shooting and body dump Coswell Canyon, northwest corner of Los Angeles County

  33B Kidnap at Sunset near La Cienega

  34. Stephanie Kuhen murder (baby in the ?Wrong Way Alley Case) the alley next to Bank Street Highland Park,

  35. Robert Blake murder scene. ? here

  36. River Phoenix ? drug overdose- 8852 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, the Viper Room

  37. Phil Hartman residence where he was shot to death in his sleep by his wife, Brynn, 5065 Encino Avenue.

  38. Marlon Brando’s house – where his son, Christian Brando, shot and killed his half-sister’s lover, Dag Drollet 12900 Mulholland Drive.

  39. Director Quentin Tarantino assault on co-producer Don Murphy – 8478 Melrose Ave.

  40. Gary Coleman misdemeanor assault & battery charges 13248 Hawthorne Blvd.

  41. Freddie Prinze suicide 865 Comstock Avenue.

  42. George Reeves suicide 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive. Family suspects murder

  43. Offices of Philip Marlowe the Cahuenga Building, downtown Los Angeles.

  44. Murder of Dominique Dunne, actress, the older sister, ?Dana?, in the “Poltergeist.” – 8723 Rangely Ave.

  45. Jack Nance, Eraserhead star, muttered something nasty to a couple of gangbangers outside the Winchell?s Donuts at 438 S. Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, and got hit on the head, causing him to fall down and hit his head on the concrete. Walked home to 505 S. Fair Oaks. Died the next day of a subdural hemotoma caused by blunt force trauma. Ruled a homicide. Never solved. No appeal.

  46. Lenny Bruce?s home where he died from an overdose of drugs – 8825 W. Hollywood Boulevard, West Hollywood.

  47. Death site of Thelma Todd – 17531 Posetano Road, Pacific Palisades:, on Dec. 16, 1935. “Horse Feathers,” “Monkey Business. She was found dead in her car, still parked in the garage above the café she owned. It was ruled an accidental suicide, yet the bloody scene suggested a murder, and many people suspected a cover-up of a gangland slaying.

  48. Race car guru Mickey Thompson and is wife Trudy. Gunned down in the driveway of their home at 53 Woodlyn Lane, Bradbury Estates. Thompson?s business partner Micheal Goodwin (no relation) was prime suspect, but never arrested. No appeal.

  49. Wonderalnd Murders ? 8763 Wonderland Avenue, Los Angeles. Quadruple homicide of Ronald Lanius, Joy Audrey Miller, Willeam Deveral, and Barbara Lee Richardson. The home was owned by porn star John Holmes who was very short, only being 14 inches. Eddie Nash, nightclub owner and Holmes?s connection was suspect. First jury deadlocks ? second acquits. No appeal.

  50. Natalie Wood ? Blue Cavern Point, Catalina ? drowned. Another murder for conspiracy nuts.

  51. Rodney King.

  51A King gets beaten across the street from the Mountainback Apartments, 11777 Foothill Boulevard, Lake View Terrace.

  51B Riot (or civil disobedience center for the politically correct) epicenter at 1400 W. Florence Avenue and Corner of 7100 S. Normandie Avenue, South Central Los Angeles.

  52. Greystone, 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, mansion and murder location of Edward Doheny, Jr. oil developer involved in the Teapot Dome Scandal.

  SNAP, CRACKLE, AND POP
  (THE NOTORIOUS CEREAL KILLERS)

  53. Richard Ramirez ? Night Stalker

  53A Downtown hotels where he stayed: Hotel Rosslyn – 112 W. Fifth Street, Frontier Hotel ? 111 W. Fifth Street, Cecil Hotel 640 S. Main Street, and the Hotel Huntingon 725 S. Main Street.

  53B Residence of victim 2: Jennie Vincow ? 3330 Champman Street, #2, Glassell Park

  53C Spotted at 819 S. Towne Avenue, and chase begins leading to his arrest, chased to, and caught at 3737 E. Hubbard Street by a group of citizens who beat him up. Crowd not charged with assault.

  54. Angelo Buono (No relation to Sonny) Hillside Strangler.

  54A. Residences and business
  Childhood home ? 3113 LaClede Avenue, Glendale
  Buono?s auto shop ? 703 E. Colorado Street, Glendale
  Apartment ? 809 E. Garfiled Avenue, Glendale

  54B Dump sites of some victims:
  6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Burbank ? Yolanda Washington
  2844 Alta Terrace Drive ? Judith Miller
  3067 E. Chevy Chase Drive ? Lissa Kastin
  4100 N. Ranons Aven ? Kristina Weckler
  Los Feliz exit, westbound of Interstate 5 ? Jane King
  1500 Landa Street (currently 1600) Dolores Cepeda and Sonja Johnson

  54C Kenneth Bianci?s (co-defendant) apartment, Tamirand Apartment, 1950 Tamirand Avenue.

  55. Freeway Killer William Bonin, murder of 14 teenage boys, sexually assaulting them and dumping their bodies along the freeways:
  Bonin?s residence ? 10282 Angel Street, Downey
  Bonin?s arrest ? 5101 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood

  56. Robert Diaz, Jr. ?Grim Reaper? nurse convicted of killing 12 patients (charged with 27) ? 2224 Medical Center Drive, Perris.

  57. 1428 Genesse Street, used as 1428 Elm Street in ?Nightmare of Elm Street? movie with Freddie Krueger.

  THE TRADITIONS CONTINUE
  (i.e. the most recent)

  58. Phil Spector arrested for murder of B actress Lana Clarkson, preliminary hearing not set, neighbor hears three shots, ?boom, boom, boom.? Goodbye Accident Defense ? in Alhambra, near intersection of Grandview and Valley, 1700 block of S. Grandview, look for ?turreted mansion.?

  ?Le legendary producing Phil Spector (62 years), which revolutionized the pop one at the beginning of the Sixties by creating famous “the Wall of Sound” (“wall of the sound”), was stopped for murder, Monday, in its property of Los Angeles, before being accused then slackened against a guarantee of a million of dollars.?

  59. Finally, for criminal appellate defense attorneys, honorable mention goes to The Sleepy Lagoon Murder. Jose Dias?s body was body found at 5500 Slauson Boulevard, formerly a reservoir. Press hysteria and bigotry led to the arrest of 300 Mexican American youths and one of the most corrupt trials in Los Angeles history, ending in the conviction of 17 defendants, 12 of whom were convicted for murder. The Court of Appeals overturned the convictions as a miscarriage of justice. (People v. Zammora (1944) 66 Cal.App.2d 166.) The precursor of the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, and the inspiration for the play Zoot Suit, the Sleepy Lagoon ca se is one of the most important events in the social history of Los Angeles, and therefore one of the most important criminal appeals in California.

  AND WHILE IN L.A.

  For your holiday shopping needs visit ?Skeletons in the Closet,? the gift shop in the Coroner?s office, 1102 N. Mission Road. Toe tags, beach blankets with chalk outlines of bodies, and other merry items.

  And don?t forget to visit the Museum of Death 6340 Hollywood Blvd.

Nostalgic Disco Site Has Rare "Club Odyssey" Photos

For more info, photos and entertaining stories from club goers and employees go to the site.

FYI – There is a Chris Cox sighting below.  He’s a semi-famous nightclub guy who knew Eddie Nash back in those days. Chris is also quoted in a few of the classic articles over the years regarding Wonderland, Thorson, Holmes and Ed Nash. It’s been said that Cox introduced Holmes to Nash. I hope to interview Chris soon.

The Back-story For Today’s Image Gallery:

These photos were taken at a 1979 gay pride parade. Club Odyssey had their own float.

Ron Howard filmed a scene for his early 80’s movie, Night Shift, at Club Odyssey. It starred Henry Winkler (below) and Michael Keaton. A cult classic.

Go to the DiscoMusic Odyssey page for more pics, great stories and remembrances of club-goers and insiders.

Henry Winkler at Odyssey

Ron Howard

Chris Cox, second from left? According to caption.

The original caption stated Chris Cox is 2nd from left.

Hovsep Mikaelian Is A Free Man

Joe MacLean, aka Hovsep Mikaelian, is now a free man. Between his trips to Vegas and Armenia, however, he works selling used cars, which is probably a front for his parole and court obligations to get a paycheck. I doubt he’s allowed to work in bars, casinos, entertainment, scams, etc., unless it’s secret. And to spite the court, I read that he is only making $50 monthly payments towards his fine. $50 is the minimum, according to an article about Joe’s release. His slimy lawyer claims that Joe has no income. On the eve of his arrest, he transferred “six figures” to an overseas bank, according to the Justice Dept.

Joe served hard time for this RICO stuff though, and was only released a few years ago. Shit man, he hated jail, look at the quotes below to see how much he hated it. He was scrambling to win that appeal, but in cry-baby ways. If Joe was indeed involved in Wonderland, as the witness stated to the Grand Jury, then he served the most time of them all. Like 14 years. Diles and Nash served maybe 3 to 5 years each at best for their other crimes and L.A. county jail time shenanigans.

I guess that “Joe MacLean” had been in jail about 3-4 years by this point after his 1995 arrest for racketeering and tax fraud, among other charges …. and wow, this guy is a real a piece of work, his own sister-in-law turned on him:

In August 1996, Mikaelian’s sister-in-law, a designated paralegal for Mikaelian, called Stephen Larson, the Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) in Mikaelian’s case, and made an appointment to meet with him. AUSA Larson and the paralegal met the next day. AUSA Larson immediately called defense counsel after the meeting, and followed up with a letter. The letter stated that the paralegal told AUSA Larson that she had just met with Mikaelian in jail, and that Mikaelian wanted her to claim (1) she was having an affair with AUSA Larson, (2) Mikaelian’s counsel was a “double agent” for the government, (3) Mikaelian had been under the influence of drugs when he signed the plea agreement, (4) Mikaelian had never read the plea agreement, and (5) Mikaelian’s counsel had never explained the agreement to him. The paralegal wanted to be relieved of her position.

Later on, this happens:

Mikaelian has filed to allege that the heroin he distributed was of such low purity that it took his case outside the “heartland” of the applicable Guideline. Although he characterizes four percent heroin as “very impure” or “junk” heroin, he presented no evidence that heroin of four percent purity is unusually impure, nor did he even indicate that the expert witness he requested would so testify.

Mikaelian’s 4% grade heroin was just above the lowest street level purity: 2%. The court ruled that street level purity is generally 2 to 10%.

And the best part:

The district court declined to exercise its discretion to depart downward based on Mikaelian’s mental condition, including his severe headaches. Such a discretionary refusal to depart is not reviewable on appeal.

And he has only paid a few hundred dollars, claiming he has no income or assets:

Mikaelian contends it was an abuse of discretion to order him to pay restitution, jointly and severally with his codefendants, in the amount of $2,435,280.

US v. Mikaelian, 1999. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Author John Gilmore Talks “Nash” With VICE Magazine

So according to Gilmore, Eddie Nash was in some pornos? I read that paragraph 4 times. What. The. Hell. Actually, I just checked the book, and he is talking about Holmes there and the dead girl. Read more quotes from Gilmore’s web site at the bottom of this post.

From the original article:

VICE: Your most recent true-crime book, LA Despair, centers on five separate, equally tantalizing stories. The first is about John Holmes, the donkey-dicked 70s porn star involved in the Wonderland Avenue “Four-on-the-Floor” murders. But you focus on the guy who most likely pulled the strings, an oily creep named Eddie Nash. Was Nash a born psycho, or was it just the 24/7 freebasing?

John Gilmore: That certainly helped. Eddie was a guy who just wanted to make as much money as he could and live the ultimate cool life in Hollywood. And that’s what he did. He opened a little hamburger stand on Hollywood Boulevard in 1959. I remember going there a couple of times with [actress] Susan Oliver. He got increasingly involved in the porno thing in the Valley, and it got bad. There was a producer-director guy shooting a movie for him, and the girl OD’d in the middle of screwing him. He was only concerned about the footage. “Turn her around, we can finish it with an over-the-shoulder shot. We won’t show her face.” As the years went by I accumulated bits and pieces of things that interested me. I thought, “I’m just going to write about all of these things as short pieces.” That’s how LA Despair came into existence.

What’s weird is that Eddie Nash wasn’t busted for the Wonderland murders at first. He was busted for cocaine possession and got out early because he bribed a judge. Then later, when he was under the gun again for another aspect of the killings, he got off by bribing a juror. Did he ever do any hard time?

He only served 30 months or something.

Any idea what he’s doing now?

Nobody knows what Eddie Nash is up to these days. He bought a home for his mother.

Do you think John Holmes had a criminal mind? Or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

John wanted fame. He wanted to be admired and respected, not simply because he had a big dick. He started getting into porno and getting heavily into dope. He’d go through thousands of dollars of coke in one weekend.

Which seems like the wrong drug to take if you’re trying to maintain an erection.

Yeah, that bothered him a lot. And then people just took advantage of him. He got himself in way over his head. Basically he was a nice guy. The first time I met him was on Santa Monica Boulevard. It was a vacant lot and they used to have swap meets there. He was selling some kind of Indian jewelry and leather jackets. This was way back, before he was famous.

Q&A from John Gilmore’s web site:

Let’s talk about the John Holmes piece. What do Holmes and Eddie Nash mean or symbolise to you?

John Holmes is like an LA Frankenstein monster. He comes here. He prospers. And then through drugs and sex and the whole scene, he becomes a Frankenstein. To me, that section, Bad Eddie, represents the core, the basis of what LA is all about. It’s a whole other world. The whole Laurel Canyon scene. The hip Hollywood world of the cheesy nightclubs and dope. Nash owned this club called Starwood, and all the kids went there because all the major rock groups went there. It was a major disco place, and they’d give kids dope as they walked inside. They’d actually dish out coke. It was their policy. Nash was a major crime figure. You could not touch Eddie Nash. He was too fucking smart. There were murders and everything going on all the time, but they could never pin anything on Eddie.

Holmes comes to LA almost innocent, and is then corrupted, but Nash comes to LA on the make, and thrives…

Well, if you’re evil, you can come to LA and you can do your thing. From day one, Eddie Nash was like a hungry wolf. I don’t think Eddie Nash ever did anything for anyone where he could not exploit it or benefit from it. His whole raison d’être was to get what he could out of everything and be on top. He always felt like he was on the run. So he had to keep running, and grab things as he went, like nightclubs. He bought judges, jurors, people downtown [in city government]. Have murders going on. Pay people off. LA is the place where you can do your thing. The city doesn’t care what you do. You couldn’t pull off what Eddie Nash did in New York, it’d be of a whole different structure. But out here it’s the West. And there’s still kind of a shoot-’em-up mentality.

John Holmes, though, mutated from that innocent thing you mention. He liked to work with his hands. He loved thrift shops and buying old furniture and fixing it up. Even in the porn scene, he was kind of an outsider. But drugs took him to the other extreme. He was a lost cause with drugs. It destroyed him. And drugs were available. It was part of everything out here. It’s interesting that the juries trying the Wonderland murder cases [where four members of a drug den were bludgeoned to death] hated everyone who got killed. They felt it was good all these people got killed because they were rotten people anyway.

I’m not interested in making a historical document. I recreate these things. My presentation is a very clear portrait of the city. The only part that drifts from the city, although it starts there, is the Billy Cook case. This is a book about the way things are, not the way Hollywood wants to see them.

Considering your view of LA, why do you live there?

Put it this way, you come here and you write your own ticket. Eddie Nash wrote his own ticket. John Holmes wrote his ticket, though it might not have been the one that was most favourable to him. Certainly the ticket Barbara Graham wrote was not in her best interests, but if that’s the ticket you want to write, it’s your ride, baby. Why am I here? Well, I’m writing my ticket, and LA says, “Cool, man, go for it.”

McNeil Prison Closed in 2011; Prisoners Have Reunion

I was reading a sample of Lee’s book about the Starwood, Hollywood and his life in Rock n Roll. Good work, Lee! That is a great story. I can’t believe how many times that you saw Holmes at Nash’s… or the orderly procession, however slow, that it took each guy to get in to see Ed in his inner sanctum. Just Amazing work, my friend. Stay in touch.

I guess that either Wonderland or the Liberace movie was on TV yesterday. … because the site received 2,000 visitors. Several dozen people even searched “people that entered witness protection after Wonderland” or something like that. I don’t think there is a list online but, nobody is on it anyway. The only person offered a deal was Holmes or Thorson. And they blew it.

Site of the former Naylors Cafe, where Dottie Glickman allegedly picked up Holmes 7/1/81.

Hollywood in 1977. I wonder if that is Dom’s red van? 😉

Check out the date that McNeil officially closed… spooky.

We have discussed Ron’s prison time before on this blog. Ron was sentenced in 1973-74, and probably served 3 years up at McNeil… with a final year in SoCal at Chino or elsewhere near Los Angeles. McNeil was closing as a federal prison and Washington state was taking it over. They had to empty and transfer the federal prisoners by 1981. Alvin “Creepy” Karpis of the Ma Barker Gang died just a few years before Ron’s arrival. Al was 147 years old.

Even though McNeil Island operated as a modern institution, in 1976 the Bureau of Prisons decided to phase out the 107-year-old federal penitentiary, declaring it “obsolete” — too big, too old, too remote, and too expensive to maintain and renovate. The trend was toward smaller, more manageable prisons, housing no more than 500 inmates.

By 1979, the shutdown operation was in full swing. At the Federal Work Camp, the beef and dairy herds were moved to the Federal Correctional Institution at Lompoc, California, and the rest of the livestock was sold. The Federal Prison Industries shops and equipment were moved to other federal institutions.

In 1980, at the request of Senator Warren G. Magnuson (1905-1989), the Bureau of Prisons agreed not to further dismantle the penitentiary. Washington state wanted to use the facility temporarily, to help relieve overcrowding in the state’s institutions. In February 1981, Governor John D. Spellman (b. 1926) negotiated a contract with the General Services Administration to lease the prison for three years, with two one year extensions permitted, for $350,000 a year.

In March 1981, the last of the federal prisoners were transferred out and the first state prisoners moved into the penitentiary. Control of McNeil Island was formally turned over to Washington State Department of Corrections on…. July 1, 1981.

Source: HistoryLink.org

After his release, I don’t know how Ron skated through parole without keeping a job, unless someone helped him, or he had a medical exemption (Agent Orange?) or if the parole office had bigger fish to fry. Many questions….

If the men in the 8 man dorm were your friends, I guess you could call that “Easy Time”:

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The article below is satire but it cracked me up. Carly Simon…

“Sentimental Prisoners Remember McNeil Island Penitentiary”

Closing Prison Hosts Prisoner Reunion

McNeil Island – McNeil Island Corrections center will close its portcullis this month after 136 years housing federal and state criminals.  An unlikely gathering of past prisoners is gathering to say final farewells and share memories of the isolated prison. They silently debark from the ferry, Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run” playing on the boombox of a Maratrucha 13 gang member. Real teardrops glisten like dew in the spiderweb tattoo covering his face and neck.

“I can’t believe it’s really closing,” chokes the Pokey Puppy, an inmate who spent decades moldering in Cell Block 2. “I mean, it was a shithole, but a historicshithole.” Several of the inmates expressed difficulty coming to grips with the closure. They laughingly compare knife wounds  and wonder whatever happened to the serial rapist who escaped through the sewer back in ’96.

(There are some recent photos here but I gathered most of these from the Washington state archives, and sorted by Ron’s stay, with a liberal date range from about ’73 to ’78)

“There Was Love Here”

Perhaps it’s not surprising to see such an upwelling of emotion from prisoners; after all, incarceration can turn the most hardened sociopath into a professional regretter. But there are things about the prison to miss: the glorious views of the South Puget Sound, the corner of the yard where prisoners would gather around a new, stripped prisoner, spontaneous shankings in the chow hall, and the way the spilled blood would blossom on the white floor.

“I had hopes that one day my son would do time in this prison.” A bald man with a swastika tastefully embroidered on his flight jacket murmurs. “I could have given him some good advice to get along in here. Son, I’d say, sign up for the Aryan Brotherhood Leadership Development classes right away. They taught me to properly manage the accounting side of my burgeoning meth lab chain.”

One Last Memory

Staring at the imposing structure, one man has reluctant words torn from him. “I entered this prison as a federal agent posing as a DC Black in 1988, but what I found was true friendsh-” before he could finish he was set upon by former members of the United Blood Nation gang who expertly gave him a Columbian Necktie and spit on him as he gurgled his last breath.

“Blood in blood out, pig.” Says Pokey, wiping blood flecks from his hands. Then he sighs. “I sure will miss this place.”