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1624-3 Clubs • PRT 3 of 30, 1 Terms mhcur SOBE NIGHTLIFE KING PLEADS GUILTY IN N.Y. CRIME SPREE 10/14/2000 THE MIAMI HERALD Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: Copyright (c) 2000, The Miami Herald DATE: Saturday, October 14, 2000 EDITION: Final SECTION: Front PAGE: lA LENGTH: 87 lines ILLUSTRATION: color photo: Chris Paciello (a) , Chris Pacielle with Ingrid Casares and Sofia Vergara (a) SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: From Herald Staff and Wire Reports DATELINE: NEW YORK SOBE NIGHTLIFE KING PLEADS GUILTY IN N.Y. CRIME SPREE Chris Paciello, a reputed would-be mobster who reinvented himself as a South Beach nightclub impresario worth millions, pleaded guilty Friday to being part of a crime spree that left a Staten Island woman dead. The plea in Brooklyn federal court came on the eve of Paciello's trial on racketeering charges. It means Paciello - who once boasted he would never : 'go down" like jailed mob boss John Gotti - faces up to 33 years and seven.,months in prison and must pay a $400,000 fine, prosecutors said. No sentencing date was set. In court, a somber Paciello, 29, confessed to crimes he had steadfastly denied since his arrest late last year. Teaming with Ingrid Casares - daughter of a rich Cuban family and a close friend of Madonna - Paciello opened South Beach celebrity hangouts Liquid and Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑Bar Room and a restaurant, Joia. As his profile rose, so did stories linking him romantically to the likes of model Niki Taylor and actress Daisy Fuentes. "I understand that Chris made this decision in order to close this chapter of his life and accept responsibility for crimes he participated in many years ago, " Casares said Friday through a spokeswoman. His admissions of guilt left some Miami friends shocked and others saddened. "I'm pr-opfoundly sorry for him and his mother. How long is she going to have to go visit him in jail?" asked longtime Beach doorman Gilbert Stafford. "It reminds me of the quote from Shakespeare - how low the mighty have fallen. " Veteran Miami Beach club promoter Michael Capponi, who helped Paciello open the nightspot Bar Room on Lincoln Road in 1999, said he was grateful for Paciello's help and wishes him "only the best. " "Since the time I knew Chris in Miami, he treated me very well, " said Capponi, new co-owner of 320, the club that replaced Bar Room. "I don't know what he did in the past, but I do know I wouldn't be where I am now if Chris hadn't given me a shot at being one of the heads of Bar Room. " 'HIS LAWYER'S IDEA'; Lynn Howard, a former employee of Bar Room, said: "I'm shocked. Sounds like it must have been his lawyer's idea to get him a lesser sentence. " Paciello, whose legal name is Christian Ludwigsen, told Magistrate Joan Azrack he drove a getaway car for a holdup team that raided the home of Judith Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑Shemtov in 1993 on a tip that her businessman husband had $200,000 stashed in a safe. One of the bandits accidentally shot the victim in the head. The defendant also admitted he was a lookout in an armed robbery of a Staten Island bank in 1992 that netted $300,000. He said he used a walkie-talkie "to let the others know when the money was being removed from the vault. " WITHOUT COMMENT Paciello, still under house arrest at his mother's home on Staten Island, left court without comment. "He's very sad about the plea, as anyone would be, " his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters. "It's acknowledging you did something terribly wrong. " Before Friday, Brafman claimed his client was the victim of prosecutors seeking a high-profile scapegoat in their case against the "Bath Avenue Crew, " a Bonanno-organized crime family gang responsible for at least a half-dozen murders. But Paciello's chances for acquittal grew dimmer with each passing guilty plea by several co-defendants, including some expected to testify against him at a trial that had been set to start Tuesday. Lawyer Samuel Burstyn of Miami, who represents Paciello's brother George on unrelated federal bank robbery charges, said Friday night that the government cut a deal with Chris Paciello because prosecutors were "not at all thrilled about having to base their case on the testimony of murder conspirators. " HIGHER SIGHTS Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ "More importantly, " Burstyn said, "it seems that these murder conspirators who have pleaded guilty are maybe providing information in-other, much more substantial cases. If the government can keep its witnesses pristine to catch a bigger fish, that's what they're going to do. " In a letter filed last week, prosecutors also revealed that an undercover agent planned to testify that before Paciello's arrest, the defendant told him he had been involved with a violent group of friends and that they had committed robberies together. " Paciello "went on to state that he did not intend to 'go down' like John Gotti, " the letter said. "He then opined that [mob turncoat Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano] should have been murdered with his family. " In his plea, Paciello did not admit any mob affiliation. But authorities have alleged he used mob money and strong-arm tactics to launch his career in South Beach. Herald staff writers Brett O'Bourke, Gail Epstein Nieves and Tara Solomon contributed to this report. KEYWORDS: MIAMI BEACH PACIELLE CRIME MOBSTER FRAUD RACKETEERING ROBBERY SHOOTING VICTIM AZRACK STATEN ISLAND TAG: 0010170078 5 of 30, 1 Terms mhcur HIS MONKEYING AROUND HAS FANS GOING BANANAS 08/27/2000 Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 2000, The Miami Herald DATE: Sunday, August 27, 2000 EDITION: Broward SECTION: Local PAGE: 2B LENGTH: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: gorilla (a) SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: Joan Fleischman, jfleischman@herald.com HIS MONKEYING AROUND HAS FANS GOING BANANAS Miami's ranking Sex Machine is age 16. After fooling around with four sisters, he fathered four babies. Now, two more are on the way. His name is Moja - and he is a real gorilla. Moja, matter of fact, is a five-foot-nine-inch 305-pound western lowland gorilla, born and raised at Metrozoo. He got shipped to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, because zoo keepers there wanted more gorillas. Mission accomplished, says Jerry Stones, general curator of the Texas zoo. "He's been a busy boy. " Recent urine tests and an ultrasound by Dr. Manuel Guajardo, a gyno for humans, confirmed the two new pregnancies. Moja's vital statistics: Born March 10, 1984. Father: Jimmy, who died in August '96 at age 30. Mom: Josephine, 33, still at Metrozoo. A brother, J.J. , 21, is also at Metrozoo. Favorite treat: lemons. Least favorite food: tomato. "Won't eat Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑'em, " Stones says. Moja lived here until '95, when he was dispatched to the St. Louis Zoo to participate in a "species survival plan. " Zoos routinely loan animals to mate with unrelated members of their own species to avoid inbreeding. But there was no chemistry between Moja and the girls in St. Louis, says Metrozoo general curator Steve Conners, so Moja got shipped to Brownsville where, clearly, things clicked. Moja twice impregnanted Mary, 121/2, fathering Nzinga, 2, and Ceaser, 1. He and Kayla, 91/2, have a 1-year-old, Harambe. And he and Martha, 101/2, have baby Uzuri, who turns 1 next month. Now, the oldest of the sisters, Penney, age 13, is expecting her first in December or January. And Kayla is pregnant again, due the same time. The four sisters don't mind sharing their fella. "No jealousy, " says Stones. "If he gets out of line, they all gang up on him. " Stones denies rumors that they call Moja "Stud Muffin. " In fact, says Stones, Moja probably will get a breeding break. "We may put the females on birth control. " OUT AND ABOUT This week's People mag splashes a paparazzi shot of a muy pregnant Ingrid Casares. But if you want a live look, try getting a table at Touch, the new restaurant on Lincoln Road, where Casares is throwing her first bash of the season on Thursday, 9 p.m. to midnight. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ "Haven't been out since New Year's, " says Casares, 36, due Oct. 14. Is her baby a party boy or party girl? "Don't want to know until I actually deliver. " That hasn't stopped her from shopping. "I just go white and yellow. " The baby's dad, German-born Ford model Dennis Schaller, 25, intends to help with the birth. Casares just signed a deal with .Touch co-owner Bobby Rifkin to do special events. She still is partners with Brooklyn bad boy Christian Ludwigsen a k a Chris Paciello a k a "The Binger" in Liquid nightclubs in South Beach and Palm Beach, and.the SoBe restaurant Joia. Will she attend her pal's Sept. 21 New York trial for bank robbery, burglary and murder? Too close to her due date. "Can't fly. " TREADING LIGHTLY Exercise devotee Dorothy St. Jean, a regular at U.S. 1 Fitness, won't be working out any time soon. St. Jean, 70, broke two bones in her right wrist when she tumbled from the treadmill during a power outage. "I turned to get off and just as I got to the end of the machine, it went back on, " says the right-handed St. Jean. "It threw me to the carpet. " Off she went by ambulance to Parkway Regional Medical Center, where • • 1 orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robin Simon operated. "An open fracture and completely displaced, " says Simon, 36. Adds St. Jean: "Not pleasant, but what can you do? An accident is an accident. " She is the widow of Harvey St. Jean, famed criminal attorney. A gunman Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑killed him Dec. 11, 1974, at high noon in the Burdines parking lot in Miami Beach. Case status: unsolved. FAREWELL Sign at Joe's News on Sunset Drive, Coral Gables: "Closed due to retirement. " In business for about 50 years, the store recently moved down the block and owner Chuck McCormick, 51, had said business was slow. If you have a tip, call Joan at 305-376-3440. Her column runs Sundays and Wednesdays. KEYWORDS: TAG: 0008290350 7 of 30, 1 Terms mhcur CLUB KING PACIELLO'S BROTHER ARRESTED, INDICTED FOR ROBBERY 08/12/2000 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 2000, The Miami Herald DATE: Saturday, August 12, 2000 EDITION: Final f SECTION: Local PAGE: 5B LENGTH: 53 lines SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By PAUL BRINKLEY-ROGERS, pbrinkley-rogers@herald.com MEMO: FLORIDA Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ CLUB KING PACIELLO'S BROTHER ARRESTED, INDICTED FOR ROBBERY While Chris Paciello was becoming king of the South Beach nightclub scene, his older brother George was knocking over banks from Long Island to Broward, according to federal authorities. George Paciello, 31, was identified in an indictment unsealed Thursday in Brooklyn federal court as one of 13 members of a gang that held up or burglarized more than 30 banks starting in 1992. He was arrested at his Boca Raton home,. • The $1.3 million spree lasted until last year, when George Paciello is said by authorities to have helped rob a First Union Bank branch in Hollywood, a NationsBank in Boca Raton and another bank in Tampa. His lawyer, Samuel I. Burstyn of Miami, said Friday that his client made an initial appearance in federal court in Miami and was released on $300,000 bail. Burstyn said that George Paciello is the manager of his brother's celebrity club Liquid in West Palm Beach. Paciello also worked at his brother's club Liquid in South Beach . Burstyn said that the older Paciello has not yet been arraigned. "We are disputing that there should even be an arraignment, " he said. "We say that the government doesn't have probable cause. " He said the government chose to indict George Paciello in Brooklyn - where Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: This brother was indicted on bank robbery, burglary and murder charges in a separate case - "for tactical reasons. " The bank robbery charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Chris Paciello, 28, whose real name is Christian Ludwigsen, has • • .. • I ' well-publicized legal troubles of his own. He is under court-monitored arrest at his mother's home on Staten Island. Chris Paciello's attorney - Ben Brafman of Manhattan, who has defended such showbiz bad boys as Sean "Puffy" Combs and New York City Tunnel disco owner Peter Gatien - said last week his client is scheduled to go on trial in September. The indictments for both brothers claim that they were associated with soldiers or captains of the Bonanno crime family. In Chris Paciello's case, authorities say he used a mix of mob money and loot from robberies to reinvent himself and to open the Liquid and Bar Room nightclubs and the chic restaurant Joia in Miami Beach. Joia is still attracting crowds. Prosecutors in Brooklyn said the indictment calls George Paciello one of 13 members of a so-called "crew" including men with monickers like Shim-Sham, Ned the Head and Skeevy. George Paciello's suspected hits on the banks in Hollywood, Boca Raton and Tampa came at the height of his brother's reign as prince of the night on South Beach. The indictment says the gang took about $55, 000 in each of the Florida robberies. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: 0 KEYWORDS: TAG: 0008150108 10 of 30, 1 Terms mhcur KING OF CLUBS SEDUCTION AND VIOLENCE CHARACTERIZED PACIELLO'S R 02/28/20 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 2000, The Miami Herald DATE: Monday, February 28, 2000 EDITION: Final SECTION: Front PAGE: lA LENGTH: 233 lines ILLUSTRATION: color photo: Chris Paciello and model Naomi Campbell (n) ; photo: Chris Paciello accompanies Madonna who holds her daughter Lourdes (r) SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: BY JORDAN LEVIN AND PAUL BRINKLEY-ROGERS, pbrinkley-rogers@herald.com KING OF CLUBS SEDUCTION AND VIOLENCE CHARACTERIZED PACIELLO'S REIGN IN SOUTH BEACH Police claim Chris Paciello was the prince of criminals, but in South Beach he was the king of clubs: Beautiful people jammed his dance floors at Liquid and Bar Room to party until dawn in a riot of body heat and champagne. Press [RETURN) to continue or type •q to return to Menu: ❑ Today the 28-year-old celebrity impresario, with alleged ties to the Bonanno crime family, is in a New York City jail, accused of murder, bank robbery and racketeering. This morning, he'll ask a judge to release him on bail. But as his story unravels, it tells as much about the seduction of the South Beach social class as it does about a supposed small-time hood-turned-upstart entrepreneur who won the attention of women ordinary men could only dream of. In South Beach, those who knew Paciello are trying to sort the good from the bad, the Jekyll from the Hyde, the success and savvy from the bursts of rage that ended in fistfights and head-cracking. One night in 1996, Carl B. Dread, one of the managers of the weekly Fat Black Pussycat party at Liquid, mouthed off to Paciello. His boss whirled, • • punched him and then dragged him into the alley behind the club. Doorman Gilbert Stafford, working at the back alley entrance, was watching. "It was appalling, " Stafford says. "He was unconscious, and Chris kept hitting him. "You know what was even more disgusting, " Stafford says. "Chris doubled Carl's salary, and he came back to work. " Dread would say only, "I've got a job now; I'm not going to talk to you. " Stafford quit over the incident. But when Paciello's attorneys rounded up character witnesses after his arrest on federal charges, Stafford showed up to testify that his former boss had thrown a party that raised $20,000 when Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: OStafford, who has HIV, was ill. He shrugs when asked why. "You explain it, " he says. TORRID ZONE Perhaps it's because Paciello gave people access to a torrid zone where movie stars swapped sweat and drank $500 bottles of champagne. He was like opium, and South Beach society wanted him to be a star. ' "Everyone will always be jealous of a king, try to hammer him down and take his place, " says Michael Capponi, the promoter who was a South Beach star before a heroin addiction sent him out of town for rehab. Capponi says Paciello helped get him off drugs and gave him a second chance by giving him a job at Bar Room on his return. He describes Paciello's success this way: "Let's say, you've got six guys who grow up together in Brooklyn, and they do whatever they have to do to survive. One of them moves to Miami and opens up a nightclub. He never looks back. " In a town where identity and self-worth depend on what guest lists you're on, the one who controls the list controls the town. The feds maintain that from 1987 until 1994, when he was known as Christian Ludwigsen, Paciello helped rob numerous video stores and pet shops in New York and steal a load of marijuana from dope dealers. In 1992, they say, he helped rob a Staten Island bank of $300,000. He was involved in a botched home invasion on Staten Island in which a woman was killed, prosecutors also allege. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: 0 ALLEGATIONS DENIED Paciello's lawyer, Roy Black, says the government's allegations are lies. "This is the essence of their case, " he says, "and we deny it. " The allegation that his client torched his first South Beach club, Risk, is false, Black says. "A cigarette fell in a couch cushion: . . . There was no gasoline, no arson. " Many of Paciello's shellshocked friends say their hero is being railroaded. If Chris punched out people or beat up enemies - as arrest and court records allege - it was his bad-boy persona acting up, friends say. Their Paciello is the Details guy in tight ribbed shirts with the handsome, stone-cold face nuzzling Madonna, Niki Taylor and Jennifer Lopez in the pages of glossy magazines. "There is nobody like this guy, " says Troy Vega, a model. "He is the great American success story. So he had rough edges - hey, doesn't everybody? Chris was unique; that's why they are trying to bring him down. " Paciello could be charming, eager - slightly shy, even. He could be generous, helping employees with money problems. A good listener, he was coolly comfortable with everyone, including the most eccentric party promoters. But that same Paciello, who brought the South Beach club scene to a new peak of star power, was also the fearsome dude who slammed a 280-pound former Mr. Universe to the floor, court records allege. That fight ended with a broken facial bone for the former Mr. Universe. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ANOTHER SIDE A look, a sarcastic remark or the wrong person in his area of the VIP room could provoke Paciello. His dark side continued well into his golden life. Police records show that Paciello has been accused of 12 assaults since 1994. The federal charges come as a jarring reminder of Paciello's violent side. An additional jolt was the fact that wiretaps filed in the case appear to show just how dangerous Paciello - and the club business - could be. Gerry Kelly, for example, was marketing director at Bar Room and Liquid. Last year, he left to help run Level, an even flashier pleasure palace that, along with a new club called crobar, has ended the reign of Paciello's clubs as the hottest spots in town. A September wiretap recorded an angry Paciello fretting about rivals like Kelly and telling an undercover officer, "I'm telling you the owner of the club [Level] - we've got to get his head f--in' broken in. We got to get him beat up. I got to get him whacked. " "I never support anybody that threatens my life, my partner's life. " Kelly said. "crobar, I think, is a great club. . . . I know it killed Liquid, and I'm happy about it. " Paciello could curse and mock the people who worked for him. Employees who quit were sometimes subject to threats of blacklisting, angry visits, or as in the case of Kelly, talk of a "whacking. " Even now with Paciello behind bars, many people are afraid to talk about Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: Uhim. "I've got family here, " one clubgoer said. Others said, "I've got a business here" or "I've got a job. " MIAMI BEGINNING Paciello arrived in Miami five years ago. A part-time construction worker, he had been hanging out at Manhattan nightclubs as "muscle, " according to testimony in the tax-evasion trial of Limelight club owner Peter Gatien. He made friends in Manhattan with "Lord" Michael Caruso, an admitted Ecstasy dealer with nightclub savvy. The two ended up in Miami in 1994 with enough cash to buy a failed club from actor Mickey Rourke and turn it into Risk. When Paciello arrived in South Beach, he was the kind of person who never would havehgotten past the door of most clubs in Manhattan, those who knew him ' say. His heavy Brooklyn accent was peppered with "youse", and "dese. " "When he first got here, he was a totally different person, " says Mark Leventhal, who was a DJ at Risk and went on to work for Paciello at Liquid. "He wore sweat pants. He was really big and muscular - sort of Guidoesque. He was this intimidating guy who didn'•t speak much. " EYEBROWS RAISED Some were curious about how two men in their early 20s were able to take on a large business. "I was half in awe that they were so young, and half-wondering, 'How did they open this club, ' " remembers longtime Beach club promoter Jody McDonald, Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑who ran a gay night at Risk. Risk's liquor license application listed Robert Currie, a Staten Island gym owner, as a financial backer, although Currie has denied lending Paciello money. Paciello claimed at one time that he used insurance money from a motorcycle accident, and another time said that he simply "took over the liens. " On the liquor license application, Paciello said he was an assistant Pa manager at Marrow's Nite Club on Staten Island from 1988 to 1993 - when the feds say Paciello was running with a brutal gang. Caruso, on the other hand, was a hot techno promoter from the New York night palace Limelight. But federal investigators, at the 1997 trial of owner Gatien, said Caruso also ran Ecstasy sales inside the club. Paciello - and two Colombo family associates indicted with him, Dominick Dionisio and Enrico Locasio - were the "muscle" for Caruso's operation, court transcripts show. NEWCOMER DESCRIBED "Chris used Lord Michael to be hip, " says an insider who hung out at Risk. Caruso was the front man, while Paciello made the business decisions and felt out the scene. Friends took him to shop for fashionable clothes and taught him what a salad fork was. "He was crude and had the worst table manners, " says Stafford, the onetime Risk doorman. "He didn't talk about himself, " McDonald says. "But he talked to all the right people. He got the right staff. He got everyone on his side and liking Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: Uhiih. " But he still couldn't control his temper. "He was awfully fast with his hands then, " Stafford remembers. One night, Stafford was working the door at Risk, and Paciello came out to find a group of men harassing him. "I heard this pop, and this guy was on the sidewalk, " Stafford remembers. "It was so fast. His friends picked him up and ran. They knew they were out of their league. " - But Paciello's transformation really took off when he met Ingrid Casares, then a Miami party girl. Her father, Raul, who owns a Miami construction company, told a Brooklyn magistrate at a bond hearing for Paciello in December that his daughter had a serious cocaine habit until Paciello got her into rehab. Risk was closed by an April 1995 fire - a fire set deliberately, federal prosecutors allege. Paciello got $250,000 in insurance money, which he used to open Liquid with Casares. On opening night, in November 1995, crowds blocked Washington Avenue. The guest list included Madonna, model Naomi Campbell, designer Calvin Klein and music kingpin David Geffen. MORE CLUBS OPENED Paciello and Casares became a business duo. They opened Bar Room and Joia, and a Liquid spinoff in Palm Beach. Paciello was quickly linked to celebrities - Sean "Puffy" Combs, Alonzo Mourning, Cameron Diaz - and the glow rubbed off on him. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: D The party went on and on, although behind the scenes the FBI - probing the Staten Island gang - started looking at Paciello in 1996 and began wiretapping his phones in 1997. Liquid became the hedonistic summit of South Beach nightlife, a place that catered to people who spent handsomely for the chance to be close to celebrities like Hugh Hefner, Donald Trump, Gianni Versace and Tommy Hilfiger. Occasionally, Paciello's New York chums from the old days dropped by. They included Alphonse Persico, an acting boss of the Colombo family named in the indictment against Paciello, as well as Christopher Wolf, Jack Basile and Christopher Mormando, who have been indicted in a separate case involving an alleged mob stock-fraud scheme. Paciello's old muscle partners - Dionisio and Locasio - hung out as well. Paciello was younger than everyone with power. He was good-looking, and he was on the arm of Ingrid, and therefore on the arm of Madonna. According to sources who worked there, Liquid earned close to $6 million a year, and Bar Room up to $8 million in its first year. Paciello was sole owner T of Liquid and had 50 percent of Bar Room and Joia, giving him substantial cash flow. REACTION TO SUCCESS He had arrived, but he was insecure about it. "He thought everyone looked at him as some goombah, " one night crawler said. "He would say stuff like 'They don't believe I'm gonna do anything. They all think I'm an idiot. Just watch! ' " Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: CI Leventhal remembers Paciello kissing Broward dream girl Niki Taylor in the DJ booth. "He just grinned and raised his eyebrows, like - can you believe this?" He was living a working-class male fantasy. In December 1996, at a now-defunct Miami Beach club called Bar None, Paciello went toe-to-toe with Taylor's ex-husband, a former football player and coach, dropped him with one punch, and then pounded his 280-pound friend. He is accused of doing the same thing to a former Mr. Universe. Peter Mineo, attorney for Mike Quinn, claims Paciello broke the bone around Quinn's eye socket with a bottle. He has filed a civil case scheduled for trial April 3 in Miami. RELEASE SOUGHT Today, Paciello's attorneys hope to persuade a Brooklyn magistrate that his supporters have enough cash and property to release him under closely monitored house arrest on $5 million bail. The feds say many of Paciello's friends - even Casares - have wholly or_ partially reneged on their offers of aid. His lawyers insist that's not-true, that support for him is as strong as ever. In fact, some say Paciello could still come back as king. "He could get out of jail, come back and sit behind his desk, and the same people who are talking about him now will line up to kiss his a-, " says Maxwell Blandford, former director of another Beach club, Warsaw Ballroom, and now at Level. "I know very socially acceptable people that still frequent his club. Even if someone is accused of murder, if that person will help them move Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: Oup the ladder of celebrity, they'll do anything to try and get close to him. "There's no morality here, " he added. "If he gets off, he'll be more famous and have more friends than ever. " Herald staff writer Johnny Diaz contributed to this report. CAPTION: JOHN ROCA VERSACE FASHION SHOW: Chris Paciello accompanies Madonna, who holds her daughter, Lourdes, last September. - PATRICK McMULLAN LIQUID'S OPENING: Chris Paciello and model Naomi Campbell in 1995. KEYWORDS: MIAMI BEACH PACIELLO IMAGE CRIME LIQUID AND BAR ROOM BONANNO MURDER BANK ROBBERY FRAUD RACKETEERING PRISON TAG: 0003010338 17 of 30, 1 Terms mhcur OWNER ACCUSED OF ARSON TO FUND CLUB JAILED SOBE IMPRESARIO LOSE 02/12/20 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 2000, The Miami Herald DATE: Saturday, February 12, 2000 EDITION: Final SECTION: Front PAGE: LA LENGTH: 89 lines Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: DILLUSTRATION: color photo: Chris Paciello with girlfriend Sofia Vergara and V Ingrid Casares (r) ; photo: Chris Paciello with Madonna (a) SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: BY PAUL BRINKLEY-ROGERS AND JORDAN LEVIN, pbrinkley-rogers@herald.com OWNER ACCUSED OF ARSON TO FUND CLUB JAILED SOBE IMPRESARIO LOSES SUPPORT OF FAMED FRIENDS Federal prosecutors told a New York judge on Friday that impresario Chris Paciello skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from Liquid, his South Beach nightclub, and arranged for the arson of another club to finance the opening of his popular nightspot. The allegations, made in response to efforts by Miami attorney Roy Black to get his client out of jail, came at a bad time for Paciello. Several friends have apparently reneged on cash and property pledged on his behalf, meaning the man who played host to a galaxy of celebrities has only been able to raise $1.5 million of the $5 million he needs to get out of jail, records show. According to prosecutors, South Beach club promoter Ingrid Casares, Paciello's partner in Liquid, has only posted half of the $100,000 in cash she promised in security, and is no longer offering a property she owns with her businessman father, Raul Casares. And Paciello's girlfriend, Univision TV hostess Sofia Vergara, has almost Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: Ono equity in the property she offered up, according to court records. -Pfichele Tambasco, another Paciello friend who last month promised help, has refused to sign the bond or post her property, prosecutors say. None of Paciello's supporters could be reached for comment. Paciello has been held since Dec. 1 when he was arrested in Miami by the FBI on federal racketeering, robbery and murder charges stemming from his alleged roles in two Staten Island crimes: a botched home invasion robbery attempt in 1993 and a bank robbery in 1992. CHARGES DENIED Paciello has denied charges that he helped execute the two armed robberies that resulted in the shooting death of a 46-year-old Staten Island housewife in her home. Federal prosecutors continue to portray him as an organized crime associate tied to the Bonanno family. Black, who was not available for comment Friday, has been trying to convince Judge Joan M. Azrack to reduce the $5 million bond set on Jan. 7, which would- have allowed Paciello to remain at his mother's home on Staten Island under a closely monitored form of house arrest. Under a proposed plan by Black, which the court rejected, Paciello would then have been allowed to move back to his Miami residence on April 1, also under federal supervision. Prosecutors made the cash-skimming and arson allegations in a letter Friday to Judge Azrack in which they adamantly opposed any reduction in the $5 million bond. Paciello is being prosecuted under his real name, Christian Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑Ludwigsen. According to the government, investigators learned about the alleged crimes after Black argued at a Dec. 17 hearing that his client operated legitimate businesses. Prosecutors began to investigate. EMPLOYEES' STORY "Two employees of a Ludwigsen-owned nightclub called Liquid, " Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Walden told the court, "have been interviewed by investigators, and both have stated that Ludwigsen was 'skimming' hundreds of thousands of dollars out of Liquid's revenue between 1995 and 1999. " The club, at 1439 Washington Ave. , has been a favorite of showbiz stars fa including Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan and Gwyneth Paltrow, all invited to its three dance floors by Paciello's partner, Casares. Paciello dated several of his celebrity clients, including Lopez and supermodel Niki Taylor. Walden also told the court that investigators had located another witness who said that "Ludwigsen arranged for the arson" of his nightclub, Risk, in April 1995. The club was Paciello's first Miami Beach venture and brought him out of obscurity into the South Beach limelight. "The insurance money from the Risk fire was then used to open the Liquid nightclub, " Walden alleged. He said the unnamed witness claimed to have told a second person about the arson more than a year ago, and that the second person has confirmed the witness' account. CHARGES PENDING Press [RETURN) to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ Walden also told the court that the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office will soon issue charges against Paciello for his alleged attempt to bribe an undercover police officer in the summer of 1999. Recordings were made of conversations between Paciello and the police officer in which the night club owner allegedly offered to pay the officer in exchange for learning about any investigations against Liquid for drug trafficking. On the tapes, he also urges the officer to arrest a business rival he wanted to have "whacked. " CAPTION: MITCH JACOBSON/AP SEE AND BE SEEN: Chris Paciello accompanied Madonna to a fashion show in New York a few months before his arrest. JOHN ROCA/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS BETTER TIMES: Chris Paciello, center, partied in Miami Beach with girlfriend Sofia Vergara, left, and Liquid partner Ingrid Casares before his arrest Dec. 1. KEYWORDS: MIAMI BEACH NIGHTCLUB LIQUID PACIELLO CRIME INFLUENCE BRIBERY ARSON FRAUD ROBBERY CASARES VERGARA TAG: 0002150062 19 of 30, 4 Terms mhcur CLUB OWNER CHARGED WITH MURDER SOUTH BEACH PAL OF RICH, FAMOUS 12/04/199 Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1999, The Miami Herald, DATE: Saturday, December 4, 1999 EDITION: Final SECTION: Front PAGE: lA LENGTH: 99 lines ILLUSTRATION: color photo: Christian Ludwigsen - alias Chris Paciello - with Madonna and Ingrid Casares (a) SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: By BARBARA De LOLLIS, bdelollis@herald.com CLUB OWNER CHARGED WITH MURDER SOUTH BEACH PAL OF RICH, FAMOUS INDICTED IN N.Y. South Beach admirers depict him as charming, hard working and a business prodigy, a man who earned celebrity status as a young nightclub owner. But New York authorities say Chris Paciello, the 28-year-old mostly famous for hobnobbing with Madonna and creating the hot clubs Liquid and Bar Room, shares a murderous history with La Cosa Nostra. Now he faces possible life in prison. Earlier this week, Paciello - indicted by his real name, Christian • • Ludwigsen - surrendered to deputy U.S. Marshals in Miami after a federal grand jury in Brooklyn charged him with racketeering conspiracy, felony murder and robbery. Also known as "the Binger, " Ludwigsen is being held in Miami until his detention hearing next Thursday. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ The man who has been tied romantically to Madonna, comedienne Sandra Bernhard and supermodel Niki Taylor is charged with participating in a botched 1993 home invasion robbery that killed Judith Shemtov, a 46-year-old Staten Island housewife. He is also charged with robbing a bank at the Staten Island Mall in 1992. Roy Black, Ludwigsen's lawyer, denied the charges, but conceded his client may have had contact with reputed organized crime figures while growing up on Staten Island. "There's no doubt growing up in Staten Island he knew these people, " Black said. "This is a classic case of a guy who turns his life around and then he becomes a target. " Ludwigsen allegedly pulled the crimes with at least one accomplice, Thomas Reynolds, a 30-year-old New Yorker is charged in the same indictment with five murders, four attempted murders, robbery, attempted robbery, extortion and drug trafficking in a racketeering enterprise. According to accounts in The Staten Island Advance, here's what happened: On a cold night in February 1993, Shemtov was at home drinking tea with her husband, just back from a business trip, when the doorbell rang. Since their 20-year-old daughter was expecting her boyfriend, Shemtov opened the dodr. But it was armed robbers. Less than two minutes later, she was shot in the head with a .45-caliber automatic handgun and died later that night. LOOKING FOR A SAFE Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ Apparently, police told The Advance, robbers had heard the home contained a safe with between $30,000 and $1 million. The couple had been married for just 13 months. Police believe Reynolds was the trigger man. Reynolds and Ludwigsen allegedly worked with a violent group related to the New York-based Bonanno crime family led by convicted extortionist Anthony Spero, who authorities say is the former acting boss and consigliere of the Bonanno crime family. Jim Walden, the assistant U.S. attorney in Brooklyn prosecuting the case, has called the group "a particularly violent crowd. " Ludwigsen, Reynolds and Spero were named in the 22-page indictment with six others with aliases such as "the Herder, " "Little Joey, " and "Gonzo. " Two of those six are charged with killing another man in a narcotics-related murder because they believed the victim was cooperating with police. Until now, Ludwigsen had become accustomed to seeing his name linked usually to celebrities - not wiseguys. HIGH VISIBILITY Along with Miami native Ingrid Casares, another Madonna pal, Ludwigsen runs what are now two of South Beach's hottest clubs: Liquid and most recently Bar Room in addition to Joia, a bistro where some entrees cost nearly $30 a plate. With their Madonna connection, the clubs have consistently attracted an A-list crowd: Jennifen Lopez, Tommy Hilfiger, Samuel Jackson, Cameron Diaz and assorted jet-setters. Donald Trump was set to appear at the opening of their latest venture in Palm Beach. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ Ludwigsen and Casares, in fact, have built themselves a small empire on South Beach that they once hoped to expand. Two years ago, they planned to bring Liquid and its crowd to New York but angry neighbors turned them away, opposed to the idea of a noisy club. I Pi Most recently, Ludwigsen had been talking to Jacob "Hank" Sopher, the New York parking lot operator, about possibly re-inventing the restaurant space in downtown Miami's Howard Johnson Hotel. Now, Sopher has reconsidered. "Unfortunately. He seemed to be a nice fellow, but we certainly wouldn't consider any overtures now, " said Sopher, who said he had met Ludwigsen while dining at Joia. Florida investigators have suspected Ludwigsen for years of being a front for organized crime, starting with Risk - his first South Beach venture opened in 1995 - and perhaps more recently with Liquid, according to a Village Voice article last year. Ludwigsen told Florida licensing officials that most of the $141, 000 capital used to start Risk came from a $125,000 loan from a Staten Island gym operator named Robert Currie, the Voice reported. But Currie told the Voice that though he knew Ludwigsen from the gym, he never loaned him the money. The story also said that Ludwigsen has "a lengthy rap sheet and a history of violence. " Quoting from testimony from a trial of club mogul Peter Gatien, the Voice reported that Ludwigsen: Beat up his former South Beach partner, Michael Caruso, and pointed a gun Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: Elin his face over a business dispute four years ago; Arranged for two Colombo crime family associates to intercede in a dispute. Black said none of the Brooklyn charges have anything to do with Miami or Ludwigsen's businesses here. He said there are no allegations of wrongdding in Miami in Miami. CAPTION: PATRICK MCMULLAN CELEBRITY CLUB OWNER: Christian Ludwigsen, alias Chris Paciello, with Madonna, center, and Ingrid Casares at Liquid in 1995. KEYWORDS: LUDWIGSEN PACIELLOMURDER NEW YORK MURDER ROBBERY TAG: 9912070117 29 of 30, 20 Terms mhcur MIAMI BEACH CLUB OWNER CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY 12/03/1999 THE MIAMI HERALD Copyright (c) 1999, The Miami Herald DATE: Friday, December 3, 1999 EDITION: Final SECTION: Local PAGE: 4B LENGTH: 104 lines ILLUSTRATION: photo: Jon SECADA SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: Herald Staff MEMO: AROUND FLORIDA Press [RETURN] to continue or type -q to return to Menu: MIAMI BEACH CLUB OWNER CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY South Beach club impresario Chris Paciello was arrested Wednesday in New York on federal conspiracy charges. Defense lawyer Roy (Black said in a statement Thursday that the government's case against Paciello rested on the testimony of two New York felons. "Mr. Paciello is a successful, well-known Miami businessman and a j high-profile entertainment figure, and therefore is an easy target for such accusations, " Black said. Further details about the charges were not available late Thursday. Paciello co-owns the hip clubs Liquid and the Bar Room and the Joia restaurant in South Beach with Ingrid Casares, a friend of Madonna. J • Paciello's real name is Christian Ludwigsen. In testimony by his former business partner, Michael Caruso, during another club czar's trial, Caruso claimed Ludwigsen beat him up and pointed a gun in his face. Caruso also said Ludwigsen loaned him $10,000 to buy the illegal drug Ecstasy. CAROL CITY Fake deliverymen force their way into home Two fake deliverymen - they were really gunmen - forced their way into a Carol City house Thursday morning and demanded money and drugs from a 33-year-old woman who came to the door, Miami-Dade County police said. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: 0 The robbers arrived at 8:10 a.m. at 4710 NW 197th St., pretending to deliver a FedEx package. Police said the victim, whose name they did not release, thinks one of the criminals is in his mid-20s and the other, mid-30s. They left without injuring the victim. Police said it wasn't known if they stole anything. MIAMI-DADE Chapman honored by anti-drug coalition Alvah H. Chapman Jr., a prominent Miami-Dade community leader, will be honored today in Washington, D.C. , by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, of which he was the founding chairman. Chapman, also a founder of the Miami Coalition for a Safe and Drug-Free Community, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the CADCA fer his service as chair and member of the board of directors. Chapman, retired chairman of Knight Ridder, also played key leadership roles in the South Florida's post-Hurricane Andrew recovery and in the community effort to help the homeless. MIAMI Secada is headliner for Big Orange event Singer Jon Secada will ring in the year 2000 at the 11th annual BellSouth Big Orange celebration. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: 0 More than 150,000 people are expected to attend the event at Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd, this New Year's Eve. Also performing will be reggae singer Ky-mani Marley, son of Bob Marley. There will be rides and games for kids along with a variety of foods to try. The festivities will last from noon to 1 a.m. as the ,35-foot neon Big Orange makes its way down the side of the Hotel Inter-Continental. A fireworks show will begin at midnight. The annual event is presented by the Greater Miami Host Committee, a nonprofit organization that promotes Greater Miami and the Beaches. Mas to chair Miami Children's Hospital Juan Carlos Mas, son of the late Jorge Mas Canosa, founder of the Cuban American National Foundation, has been elected chairman at Miami Children's Hospital, where he will serve a two-year term. Mas became associated with the hospital in 1997 after his son Sebastian was treated for life-threatening medical complications. Sebastian will turn 3 next month. Mas said he was impressed with the hospital's specialized care and made a $1 million donation to the Miami Children's Hospital Foundation. Mas is an attorney and president and director of MasTec International. WEST MIAMI-DADE Homeowners: Storm relief blocked l t. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: D About 350 homeowners in the 81/2 Square Mile Area, in the western section of Miami-Dade County, are accusing the South Florida Water Management District and Everglades National Park of blocking the delivery of federal emergency aid to repair the damage caused Oct. 15 by Hurricane Irene. The funds, approved Oct. 27, would cover the dredging of a drainage ditch that runs parallel to Southwest 168th Street, and the repair of rural roads that lead to the area. Dewey Worth of the Water Management District acknowledged that the agency froze the aid process, but said it did so because "the way the cleanup began was very different from what the residents had talked about. Because of that significant difference, the district ordered a halt to the work until it could get a better idea of what was being done. " SOUTH FLORIDA New INS policy to reduce immigrants' wait New procedures established Wednesday by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service are expected to reduce the waiting time for immigrants seeking permanent residence in this country. The agency has asked all its district offices to send the names of petitioners to the FBI and the CIA for background checks within 30 days from the date of the petition. Also, it will allow the issuance of "green odrds" even if the CIA background check has not been completed. Press [RETURN] to continue or type q to return to Menu: ❑ According to the INS, the CIA takes about 12 months to complete a background check. The FBI takes three months, and its reports are reliable enough for the INS to make a well-informed decision on a petitioner's merits, the immigration service said. KEYWORDS: TAG: 9912040031 30 of 30, 3 Terms Transfer complete. Press [RETURN] to return to Menu: Type first letter of feature OR type help for list of commands FIND MOD -PRT S-DB DB OPT SS WRD QUIT • OQUIT Save options? YES NO GROUP ONO ❑Connection closed by foreign host. 1- SII 2- SAVE 3- DUMP 4- Exit j • 'a