November 10, 2022 • 35 mins
Hey, friend,
Thank you for joining me for Running Scared with Coach Christine. I'm a Level 2 RRCA and Galloway certified coach, but more importantly, I'm someone that knows it's so much easier to get out for your run or walk when you have something to look forward to that helps with motivation.
So if you are like me and are a runner or walker who enjoys hearing a true crime case or spooky tale, welcome! You have found your corner of the internet.
As a former candy raver, I was all about PLUR - Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect so when I learned about the tragic murder of Angel Melendez at the hands of Micahel Alig, I was so upset and also so obsessed. Like how did this happen? Well, friends, the answer was easy, fame, power, and mental illness exacerbated by serious drug abuse.
However, the club kid scene did have its highlights, mainly thanking the drag queen heavens for giving us all RuPaul, but other famous folks, including Lady Bunny, Amanda Lepore, James St. James, Superstar DJ Keoki, and Richie Rich.
This workout is a hardcore "killer" cardio -
5 min warm-up
4 min Conversation RPE 3-4
2 min Tempo RPE 5-7
1 min Sprint 8-9
4 min Conversation RPE 3-4
2 min Tempo RPE 5-7
1 min Sprint 8-9
4 min Conversation RPE 3-4
2 min Tempo RPE 5-7
1 min Sprint 8-9
6 min cool-down
True Crime RPE found here >>
James St. James wrote about this case and his experience as Michaels #1 Frenemy and Club Kid in Disco Bloodbath. And that book was turned into the movie Party Monster with Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Chloe Sevigny (also part of the club kid scene), Natasha Lyonne, and Wilmer Valderrama.
You can also watch some of the daytime tv highlights including this episode with Geraldo Rivera >>
I'd love you to join the Running Scared community on Facebook, where you get to weigh in with your thoughts and requests and get invites to special true crime-focused events. You can find it here >>
If you have any questions about running or want to chat about True Crime, please email me at christine@runwinefinishlines.com.
Please consult a physician before starting any new exercise routine.
Thank you for Running Scared with Coach Christine!
Summary Keywords:
Clubkid, clubs, dance, EDM, party, true crime, drugs, workout, scene, fashion, rpe scale, peter gatien, drug dealer, arrested, life,
Join the Running Scared Facebook private community.
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Have questions on how to incorporate workouts into your training? Reach out at christine@runwinefinishlines.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Christine Hetzel (00:04):
Hello friends, welcome to running scared. I'm
Coach Christine, I am a leveltwo RCA and a run, walk run at
certified coach. And if youenjoy a bit of true crime along
with running, or at least you'rewilling to get least up for a
good walk or a killer cardiosession than a welcome, because
(00:24):
you have found your corner ofthe internet, we are likely
going to be fast friends.
Without any further chat here,let's get right into our workout
because that's what you camehere for. Right? Let's go into a
walking warmup and three, two,and one, the warmup is really
important, you really should notbe skipping it. I know, I know
you got things to do, and youwant to get on with the workout.
(00:47):
But my friend this warm up willallow you to feel much better as
we go in to some of our sessionsfor today, because we're gonna
have a little bit of speedy feethere. But for our warmup, you
want to make sure to set thatintention of having good, tall,
strong posture right out of thegate. So again, nice and tall,
you're staying relaxed bykeeping those shoulders down and
(01:07):
back, keeping your chest open,you're staying light on your
feet. And a couple things here.
If you're rolling through inthis workout outdoors, please be
mindful and aware of yoursurroundings. It's also a great
practice to let somebody knowwhere you're heading, or where
you're at, or at least when toexpect you back at home. Make
(01:28):
sure this is somebody that youlove and trust my friend, and
they don't maybe have a lifeinsurance policy out on you.
Just kidding, kinda not. Ifthey're inside, if you're
rolling inside, and maybe you'reon a treadmill or elliptical
spin bike, well, that still issomething you need to take into
consideration in terms of yourposture. So you're engaging your
core and you're not hanging overthat display or hanging on to
(01:50):
those handrails. So great work.
And if you're on that treadmill,let's go in and bring it up to
at least a 1% incline to helpminimize the impact on your
joints. Before we dive into ourcase a little further, I'm going
to warn you right here right nowthat this particular true crime
case is like a pharmaceuticaltreasure cove of all sorts of
(02:11):
drugs and drug use. So if thatin any way may trigger you
please be aware that we're goingto talk a lot about it because
it goes with the scene thatwe're going to discover today.
There's also going to be talk ofmental illness. And well this
case is kind of like the clubkid version of sex, drugs and
rock and roll but it's more likecandy, drugs, electronic music,
(02:33):
and well murder because again,that's what we're here. However,
I'm guessing that you knew whatyou were getting into when you
signed up and you hit play. Solet's keep moving and grooving
here. So great work and warmingit up my friend. As we move
forward, I want you to know thatfor today's workout, we are
(02:54):
really going to harness in thatrate of perceived effort which
is the RPE scale that helps usto structure the workout and
tailor it to wherever you are inyour fitness journey. However,
we are going to use the RPEscale True Crime style one is
we're out for an easy peasylemon squeezy stroll with our
True Crime bestie were chattingabout our latest True Crime
(03:17):
obsession, tennis OOB ish. Thereis a murderer on the loose
heading your way you bettersprint for your life. And we are
going to do a little bit ofsprinting and today's workout.
We're going to sprinkle thosein. We'll talk a little bit more
about that here in a fewmoments. I'm going to add that
full RPE scale into Episodenotes. If you ever have any
questions on it, feel free toreach out to me at Christine at
(03:38):
red wine finish. lines.com Okay,my friends. It's time we
chitchat a little bit you hearthe music it's a little
different than what I usuallyplay here the running scared
because we are going to have ourown version of a club kid disco
to 1000 party here. And since weare talking about the club kid
(03:59):
killer, we're going to break outour glow sticks. We're going to
add on our candy bracelets andwe're getting ready to repeat
the mantra of Club Kids andcandy rivers around the world
all about that. Peace, love,unity and respect. So let's get
ready to go back in time whenHeraldo reigned supreme on
daytime TV and the Club Kidsruled the night friends if
(04:21):
you're a part of my Facebookcommunity page, the running
scared community you know that Iconsider this one of the first
pieces that I was so obsessedwith. And as a former candy
raver myself. I was heavilyinspired by the club kid scene.
I thought it was beautifulbecause it was a place where
everybody would come to acceptyou for who you were, you could
(04:44):
march the beat of your own drumwithout fear of judgment. So I
was shocked to hear that thissubculture, one that I thought
came to be of radicallyembracing everyone was love and
acceptance, but actually endWith the murder of one of their
own, I've read the books. I'vewatched documentaries, I saw
more daytime TV than anybodyshould ever watch in their life
(05:07):
in preparation for today's case.
And I'm going to include themovie Hardy monster where
Macaulay Culkin did a phenomenaljob of portraying Michael Alig,
our actual clubs kid King andkiller. So as we wrap up this
warmup, let's know that fortoday's workout, we're going to
(05:30):
have conversation pieces forfour minutes, and we're going to
push it up for two minutes. Andthen a one minute sprint. We'll
talk more about that in ouractual workout. Let's take it up
to our first conversation pacein three, two, and one. Again,
for this workout, we're gonnabreak it up into sets, we're
gonna hang out here for fourminutes, and in conversation
pace, which is about a three tofour on that RPE scale. And then
(05:54):
I'm gonna give you the option topush up the pace for two minutes
into a comfortably hard about afive or six, maybe even a seven
for those 120 seconds. Or,again, if you're looking at
doing this as more of an inclineworkout on that treadmill or
resistance on your elliptical,you can do that as well. Then
(06:14):
the first 60 seconds, I am goingto have you sprint at that nine,
maybe even if you're feeling alittle spicy 10 Or really
bringing up that incline on thetreadmill to where it's really
challenging, and you feel it inyour booty, my friends. We're
gonna repeat that cycle thatfour to one, all the way through
the end of this workout. Whatwe're going to end though with a
(06:36):
cooldown. And again, make thisyour own, you don't have to
follow exactly what I'm tellingyou to in terms of the RPE
scale, you can walk this entireworkout and just hop up into
different inclines if you are soinclined. Or you could play back
and forth between a random walkand roll if you prefer. Again,
there's so many different waysand I'm always available to help
(06:58):
you change this up and tailor itfor what you need. I Christina
at runway finishline.com. Okay,let's talk about this case,
shall we? Were going to turn thehands of time back to 1996.
Don't worry, we're going to goeven further back than that in
our time travel capsule here.
But for right here right now,we're going to start off with
1996 because during that yearfor nine months gruesome rumors
(07:21):
circulated through the New YorkCity clubs like wildfire, Andre
Melendez. Notice Angela was 25 afixture on the downtown party
circuit, known for hisflamboyant costume with full
size feather covered wings hadgone missing because
(07:42):
disappearance became the subjectof a McCobb guessing game. Was
it an abrupt change of address?
Was it foul play or perhaps justa publicity stunt meant to
generate notoriety for a newclub, because again, that scene
was kind of known for over thetop promotion than under
November 2, the City MedicalExaminer's Office and now the
(08:07):
dust dismembered corpse had beenwashed up on Staten Island
during the month of April, inthe that port actually belong to
Angele. And on November 3, theManhattan district attorney
charged the killer, which wasthe well known king of the
thriving underground clubsscene, Michael Alec. This was
(08:30):
known as the downtown's Bestparty promoter, his gatherings
in Manhattan nightspots through1000s of young people eager to
be at the center of theglitterati action. Prosecutors
said that Michael, who at thetime of his arrest was 30 years
old, had killed Angel during anargument about money inside
(08:52):
Michael's apartment on a West43rd Street in early March. The
details forever are not quite soclear and dry, my friends. As we
learn a little bit more, we'regonna take it back a little bit
further to the mark the night ofMarch 17 1996. Michael and his
roommate, Robert De Riggs knownto the party world as freeze got
(09:16):
into an argument and inMichael's apartment with endo
over many things. Now, includinga long standing drug that
Michael and freeze claimed many,many times that they were so
high on drugs that their memoryof the event is a little hazy.
But again, how did we get here?
Club party kids are known formaybe questionable fashion
(09:40):
choices, but not for murder.
We'll learn more in our next twominutes segment let's go and
three to one is where we pushinto that comfortably hard
taking it up a notch pedal tothe metal my friends. Let's go.
Again, club party kids known foryou know being a little Willian
making their fashion choices,maybe a little bit of a drug
(10:03):
addiction or two, but definitelynot known for murder. So let's
go ahead and unravel this alittle bit further, shall we? So
who are these kids? If you arethinking what in the world are
you talking about Coachpristine. The contents were a
group of young New York Citydance club personalities,
(10:24):
popularized by again our NewYork club promoter, Michael Alec
and James St. James, which washis Frenemy. Julie jewels are
some to be named a couple ofothers that you may have heard
of DJ superstar karaoke earningglam. And then some of the other
(10:45):
people that came out of thescene, Amanda Lapore, wallpaper
which is wild Cassidy, thetwins, genitalia pretty famous
as well. Desi Santiago Kabukistar shine and Richie Rich and
RuPaul. You heard me beforethere was drag race. There was
(11:05):
the club kid, Mecca and RuPaulwas definitely part of that
crowd. The group was notable forits members flamboyant behavior
and outrageous costumes. In1988, writer Michael Musco wrote
about the Club kids. And hiswords was it was Holt, a crazy
(11:26):
fashion and petulant, they areterminally superficial, they
have dubious aesthetic values.
They are master manipulators,exploiters, and thank God they
are partiers Alright friends aretaking into a 62nd sprint. Let's
do it in three, two, and one,let's move it on up. Again, this
(11:46):
is about eight, nine, maybe evena nine and a half. But for this
first sprint, I'm going to tellyou maybe don't take it all the
way. Don't floor it. Don't useall that gas. Let's leave some
in the tank for the remainder ofthis workout. But definitely
check in with that posture. Andagain, if you are in a
treadmill, or maybe you'reelliptical, there's so many
(12:09):
different ways to challengeyourself here, you can change up
the incline or the resistance.
Or when in doubt, always focuson having the best possible
form. Maybe like you're gonnastretch your own outrageous
outfit down the runway of asuper popular New York
nightclub. We'll meet again andour four minute conversation
(12:31):
pace and pick up the storyagain, in just 15 seconds.
We're gonna go ahead and pull itback again in 5432. And one,
give yourself about 30 seconds.
When you first pull back thepace to catch your breath and
(12:51):
ease back into this conversationpace a little lighter, a little
easier. And again, in about 30seconds, you'll feel a little
bit more at home here. And youmay even find that it feels a
little easier in thisconversation piece than it did
the first time around. Again,back to The Club kids like group
was recognized as an artisticand fashion conscious youth
(13:13):
culture. They were a definitiveforce in New York City's
underground club culture at thattime, and several kids have made
long lasting contributions tomainstream art and fashion. I
mean, even like turning Mullerto name just off the top of my
head is someone who I know whohas utilized the Club Kids is
(13:33):
his inspiration. And accordingto former club kid wallpaper.
The night club for me was like alaboratory place where you were
encouraged and rewarded forexperimentation. And Michael has
been hailed as the king of thismovement. But it was a far cry
from his very conservativeupbringing. Michael Alec was
(13:54):
born and raised in South Bend,Indiana. He was the second of
two sons born to John and elkeAlec, his mother, a native of
Bremerhaven, Germany, moved tothe United States after marrying
his father, who was a computerprogrammer. The couple divorced
from Mike was four years old.
(14:15):
Michael remained incrediblyclose to his mother all the way
through his childhood his teenyears when he moved away and
into his adult life. I stillattended Grissom Middle School
in Penn high school there inSouth Bend where he was a
straight A student and hegraduated in the top 8% of his
(14:38):
class. However, during histeenage years, Michael reported
that he was often bulliedbecause of his sexuality and
well, he didn't adhere to theregular. Well, he didn't conform
to what was seen at that time asjust being part of the normal
crowd. He was always a littlebit more flourish with his grass
(15:00):
and the way that he spoke.
Mother had gone on to say thathe was actually well ahead of
his time that his peers didn'teven realize the things that he
was doing. Were so cool. Theywere they themselves are just
too far behind. Understand howcool he was, however, Michael,
seeking a less conservativesocial environment, maybe one
(15:21):
that he would be moreappreciated for his forward
thinking. So after he graduatedin 1984, he attended Fordham
University in New York City. Hecentered architecture there
before he transferred to theFashion Institute of Technology.
They're at FIT he met, theboyfriend of artists have been
(15:42):
preparing to introduce Michaelto New York City nightlife.
That's pretty good that we goahead and mention here that
Michael was positively obsessedwith Andy Warhol and the factory
scene. So he loved the art. Heloved that nightclub life. He
thought Andy Warhol was a God.
(16:02):
And he was pretty excited tomake his way into that nightlife
as well, because Michael soondropped out of school and began
working. Danceteria super hotand I club as a busboy. And then
Andy Warhol passed on. Michaelfelt like his time to reign
(16:25):
supreme and the New York Cityscene had finally come. During
his time at sanitaria. He metJames St. James, the two became,
as I mentioned earlier, the bestfrenemies that New York City
could ever hope for. We'll learna little bit more about his
friendship with James St. James.
And our next two minutessegment, let's push it up a
notch and three, two, and one, Itold you, my friends, this is
(16:50):
gonna be a killer cardioworkout, don't give up. Now.
Let's push it. I know you've gotwhat it takes my friends. James
St. James, who also wrote thebook, disco bloodbath to discuss
his time in the New York clubscene. And maybe his version of
how these events went down, wasalready part of a glitterati
(17:12):
scene. And he taught Michaeleverything that he knew. But
let's not get it twisted.
Because Michael wasn't devoid ofhis own ideas and thoughts. He
has charmed in really naturalinstincts as to what would make
something really hot, at leastin New York. He did. He knew how
to get folks to show up to agood party, he would line up
(17:34):
music, the DJs he said theseoutrageously amazing themes, and
he would make sure that a quorumof beautiful people showed up
his offbeat fashion sense, hisflair for the outrageous made
his party's trendy for those whoattended. And it made it
incredibly financially lucrativefor the club owners of where he
(17:56):
threw these parties at, like,one such piece irrigation. Well,
Peter gation, had all of theUnited States at that time under
his empire. And I mean, all theones that you would know of as
the places to be, who I am liketunnel, the hotspots, the 80s
and 90s. They were next level ofour studio for studio 54 has
(18:22):
left off that and get back toMichael, he knew that shocking
people a little shock and awewould really gather them, get
them ready and get them atmoving towards getting lined up
for his nightclubs or hisparties. So his party
invitations were designed forthat shock value. One even
(18:43):
featured a photo of Michaellying on the pavement,
pretending that his head hadbeen smashed open, and it is a
pretty gory one. Friends, let'stake it up 60 seconds into that
sprint to this is your time buteight nine or 10 on that RPE
scale in three, two, and onewill pick up again more about
(19:03):
these parties on the other sidein our next conversation pace.
Got the after this point, weliterally have just one more
set, and then we'll have acooldown. This is sometimes the
hardest one because it's thatlast before that. Second to last
but I'm excited any answersstand tall again, really
(19:26):
engaging report and focusing onyour breath. Maybe you just got
your new hot invite to thisglitterati party. You've got VIP
treatment coming up and you wantto make your way to that front
door let's go add a little bitof glitter and let keep moving.
(19:50):
10 you got this don't hold backyet and 5432 and one less Go
ahead and pull backs now. If youneed to bring it back into a
walk for a few seconds, feelfree to do so. Or if you need to
pull back the pace, maybe grab asip of water, feel free to do
that as well. But then get rightback to it. My friends, this
(20:12):
workout was not for the week.
It's not for the meek at hearts,that's for sure. Let's be bold.
Let's be audacious here. Allright. So back to these parties.
Although the members of theglitterati were never ever
charged admission. 1000s of clubgoers happily paid cover charges
of $20 or more to attend theparty the moment now I know
(20:36):
you're thinking $20 was not thatmuch. I spent that at Starbucks
yesterday. But friends, we'restill talking about the late
80s, early 90s. That was unheardof of that time to have a club
cover charge that would be thatmuch. Like you got anything you
didn't get a drink ticket. Youjust got inside, see where all
the cool, who for us are, whothey thought were cool people at
(20:57):
the time. So for years, Michaelwas the undisputed center of
that world.
He appeared on the cover of NewYork Magazine, he was covered on
the boys. He was even got acouple of mentions in New York
Post New York Times and he wasinvited to all of the daytime
talk shows of that day. Geraldo,Joan Rivers, Jerry Springer is
(21:24):
Wednesday night party, disco2000 was where everybody wanted
to me. It was a mix of GayStreet cultures outrageous
fashion and a littlerecreational drug use. You know
what I'm saying? My friends, toMichael who grew up in South
Bend, Indiana, where he wastreated as an outcast because he
was gay. The scene that hecreated offered a refuge from
(21:47):
middle American disapproval. Andit created a social circle a
family in whichunconventionality was accepted,
admired, wanted and applauded.
So needless to say he had foundhis place my friends. One of
these such people who came outof the Club Kids scene lady
bunny, you may know her. It wasshe goes on to say it was great
(22:08):
for him to be in a world you canbe as wild as you want. Lady
Bunny was actually a formeremployee of Michaels he had
employed she was also good wenton to become a former organizer
of the annual Woodstock drugfestival. And we will likely
have seen her on RuPaul dragrace as well. Well, Michael
worked for Peter gation. Forseveral years, he promoted
(22:29):
parties at Limelight at tunnelat nightspot. He also went on to
throw what were called outlawparties where he would just show
up to a random Burger King, andhave all of his kids descend
upon it until the party endedwith the police showing actually
(22:49):
that was their goal every singletime is to get shut down by the
police to get arrested to causeas much scene and get as much
promotion he very stronglybelieved in. There is no such
thing as bad press. So friends,he did also get arrested though
during this time, not just forthese outlaw parties. But he
also got arrested several timesfor his drug use. And said that
(23:10):
he started to spiral in hischemical abuse got worse and
worse until Peter gation had tolet Michael go, oh, that's one
story. That's a more cleanedversion of it. What really
happened was it Peter had theFeds on his ass and he had to
shut Michael's parties down, atleast try to get them out of his
(23:32):
nightclub because the Feds werelooking to shut him down and
throw him away forever andliterally lose the key. But
Michael was really plagued byheavy drug use. He had begun
adding drug dealers to the ClubKids roster. And he even figured
out a way to get Peter nation topay for having the club. The
drug dealers on payroll. Cecily,numbers of a Club Kids became
(23:56):
addicted to drugs. Friends,let's take it up to our next two
minutes segment and three, two,and one, you're pushing into
comfortably hard or bringing upthat incline again. Let's go
Let's go. The movement alsobegan to decline when Rudy
Giuliani took office as mayor ofNew York in 1994. Because Rudy
Giuliani pretty much ran on acampaign called the quality of
(24:19):
life campaign and he wanted toclean up New York City, you want
to target the city's nightlifeindustry. With this party scene
becoming more and more plaguedwith drug use, scattering of its
members due to arrest or thedeath due to overdoses. Michael
had fallen into a deep dark holeof abuse. Which brings us to
(24:39):
Angel Hill on the first blushwhen you hear about this case,
you may think oh, he was just adrug dealer really does that
matter? He made that what he'sdeserved. But my dears nothing
is what it seems because carAngela he got his nickname from
those wings that I told youabout the he wore to all the
clubs and as an immigrant fromcool lumpia his family arrived
(24:59):
to York City when he was justeight years old, hoping to
pursue the American dream, butAngele never quite fit in. Until
he found the club kid. Hethought, Yes, this is a place
for me I can finally beaccepted, desperately sought his
place would be other club kids.
But ironically, at this point,this subculture that was
(25:21):
originally all about beinginclusive, and a place of refuge
for folks from all walks oflife, well, they didn't accept
Angele at all, especially nowwith open arms. And he sort of
found that the only way to beliked by his peers or the peers
that he desperately wanted theapproval of, or to be even be
invited to any of their partieswas to be the one with drugs.
(25:42):
And man, oh, man, when he haddrugs on him to everyone like
him, and even more, they werewilling when he was willing to
give it to them for free, justso he could be a part of their
clique. Michael, at the heightof his king pen of club royal
throne, the desperation thatAngela had to fit in, he saw
(26:03):
that and he used it against him,and he used injure. While yes,
he was able to get Angela onPeter vacations, payroll, he
didn't do it at the kindness ofhis own heart for Angela, he did
it so he could be closer to thedrugs. Harvard, Angela, students
started to see that he was beingused and the people that he was
buying the drugs from needed tocollect their money. So he went
(26:24):
to Michael and said, Hey,friend, I like you. I like you a
lot. I want to be just like youwhen I grow up. But I have to
pay these people back so youhave to pay me. Well, Michel
ignored him, stole from him,mocked him. until that fateful
night, when Angela finally saidno moss and put his foot down.
Brands are taking it into ourlast 60 seconds and then we'll
(26:45):
have a cooldown on the otherside in three, two, and one,
let's go. That's right. 60seconds is your final push, you
have a walk waiting for yourother side, you have an
opportunity to bring an inclineback down, or pull that
resistance off on the other sideof this. So give this all you've
got my friends. The music kindof move your feet, maybe again,
(27:12):
you're on your way to a disco2000 Before the scene got all
gross for drug use. Whatprobably always had drug use
didn't. And when I say drug usemy friends, they used
everything, everything from seecocaine or when ketamine was
very popular at that time.
Needless to say their decisionmaking wasn't probably the best.
(27:35):
We have a lot to cover the otherside. So I want you to really
push it. Let's go in 5432 andone all right, we are cooling it
down. Great job, my friends.
Let's learn a little bit moreabout why Angelo put his foot
down or we know why he put hisfoot down. Let's revisit the
night of the murder and try tomake sense of the drug haze
(27:58):
memory of Michael and freeze. Soon Sunday, March 17 1919 96
Angela was killed by Michael andfreeze and according to various
statements that they made toothers into the police because
let me tell you they told prettymuch every single person who
would be willing to listen tothem. Michael and Angela got
into an argument and it quicklyescalated. According to Michael
and freeze it became violent andAngelo became physically being
(28:22):
physically larger than Michaelwas able to take the upper hand.
They say that he pushed Michaelinto a glass table and then he
pinned him against a wall andMichael turned out and cried for
help freeze trying to protectMichael went to the defensive
him and he hit into on the headwith a hammer three times. They
said in their words until Angelawent down well friends freeze
(28:46):
and my goal state that it wasjust a light tap tap tap with
the hammer. But the fact thatthey remember that it made an
audible noise and they used theclaw side of the hammer. I don't
think that that was a light taptap tap into went down. And then
they report that Michael thensmothered Angele again just to
(29:09):
continue protecting themselvesbut they don't remember if it
was with a pillow or asweatshirt. And for good measure
they decided we should pourDrano in his mouth. So Michael
portray no down mic down intohis mouth and then covered his
mouth with duct tape so that hewasn't able to vomit it out.
(29:30):
That's one source. One sourcesays that they actually injected
him with Trey now. I don't knoweither way it sounds like once
you put Drano into the mix, theyreally did not want him to ever
be able to have the chance tocome back to then stripped
Angeles body they placed hisbody in a bathtub where it
remained for about five to sevendays because according to freeze
during that time they went outand binge on every drug
(29:53):
possible. Also stole a whole lotof money from him whatever he
had on his person to steal ascredit cards, they steal
everything we could from him.
And with the money that theystole. Freeze went down to
Macy's any purchase to chefknives and one cleaver. And he
said Michael, after taking 10bags of heroin dismembered and
just legs, and then freeze andMichael wrapped angels led
(30:17):
separately in garbage bags,placed them into individual
duffel bags and threw those inthe Hudson River. The next day,
they wrapped the upper body ofAngeles sheet in a plastic
garbage bag and placed it in acardboard box. And then they
took the heavy box down theelevator and through the main
lobby, placed in the trunk of ayellow cab that in their words
(30:38):
just happened to be rightoutside the door. frieze went on
to say that they took the bodyto the West Side Highway around
25th Street. And then when thetaxi drove off, they threw the
box into the river. Someaccounts say that Michael
actually suggested that the taxidriver helped them that I don't
know if I believe anything thatMichael says. Originally,
Michael really, really tried togo with the whole self defense.
(31:00):
But shortly after this actuallyhappened, he started to brag
about the murder of Angelo hetold pretty much everybody on
the scene that they were part ofthat he had killed Angele and it
wasn't too long before Angela'sfamily had come looking.
Angela's brother and father hadgone to the authorities, but the
authorities were unwilling tohelp because Angela wasn't the
(31:22):
biggest priority for them. Asfar as they're concerned. He was
a gay drug dealer who was aColombian immigrant. That was
the least of their concerns. Ifhe went missing. They turned to
the press. And then finally,Michael Musto, who had
originally written quite a bitof complimentary articles about
the Club Kids since he was partof the scene as well ran a blind
(31:43):
item in his village voicecolumn, and he pretty much
called out Michael and freezefor murdering Angela. Angela's
family continued to put a lot ofpressure onto the press, who
then in turn kind of helped, thepolice decide that they should
take it a little bit moreseriously. And luckily, with the
help of this media, then aQuinzel discovery of another
(32:07):
dismembered body. One of thepolice officers who had been
following the case on the mediadecided that he should kind of
help them open up anotherdismembered body that had been
identified incorrectly, as anAsian male. So that's when they
found using dental records, thatthat body that had previously
(32:29):
been incorrectly identified wasactually Angeles. And again on
November 2, that's when theycame to the conclusion that it
was Angelo Melendez, and theyconfirmed the rumors. During the
time Michael had fled to NewJersey, where he moved into a
motel room with his boyfriend,another drug dealer named Brian
and on December 5 1996, thepolice arrested Michael had the
(32:52):
hook at the motel and hourslater, they arrested freeze in
Manhattan. Smuggle continued toat first say that it was just
self defense. Then again,friends, when they started to
divulge the details, it wasn'tquite that easy to say it was
just self defense. Butprosecutors were hesitant
charged my goal with firstdegree murder as I still hope
that he would help them testifyagainst their his former boss,
(33:16):
nightclub owner and nightclubempire. Peter gation, who had
been arrested for allowing thosedrugs to be sold in his
nightclubs stay ventuallyoffered both Michael Impreza
Plainfield sentence of 10 to 20years of accepted lesser charge
of manslaughter October 1 1997.
They both pleaded guilty andthey were sentenced to 10 to 20
years because their convictionsmight countries were not used as
(33:37):
prosecution witnesses in Petertations trial, Peter ended up
being found guilty and beingdeported back to Canada. The
story doesn't end there. Freezewas released into parole in
2010. He went back to schoolimmersing himself in the world
of academia and for all intentspurposes, he seems to be doing
well with his life and kind ofthe anonymity of academia
Michael, our fear of sociopath.
(34:02):
Michael, was released on May5 2014. He went right back to
New York, right back into thescene. He tried to revive his
places where he was previously.
And then on September 7 2014, heand his fellow club kid Ernie
glam began their own YouTubechannel, you can find it, I'll
link it if you like but notworth your time. It was called
the pee Wah. Unfortunately, hehad never really picked his drug
(34:28):
addiction got the best of him.
And on Christmas Day of 2020Michael Hassan died of a drug
overdose at the age of 54. So myfriends, this is the tale of the
pub kids. And as we wrap up thiskiller cardio club workout, I
want you to go ahead and giveyourself a pat on the back. Pull
it on back completely as we wrapthis up. I want us to discuss
(34:51):
our lessons learned my friends.
Lesson number one I think it'svery obvious, isn't it? Don't do
drugs. Easy, really. Just sayingno, there's a reason why that
campaign was so popular. Lessonnumber two, I think pretty much
just is blatantly obvious islesson number one. When someone
goes around saying that theykilled someone, and then that
other person has been missingfor weeks on end, maybe we
(35:14):
should go ahead and go to theauthorities and believe them
right. All right, my friends.
Thank you for listening. I can'twait to hear what you think
about Michael his club kids inthis case, trust me, it is
actually truly fascinating.
There's so much media out onthis. I definitely gave you a
Reader's Digest version of itall. But hit me up on Facebook
group. If you want to talk alittle bit more about the Club
(35:37):
Kids. If you enjoy the keys inthis workout, please rate review
subscribe to this podcast cuz ithelps from discoverability
purposes. Thank you so much forrunning scared with Coach
Christine
Hello friends, welcome to running scared. I'm
Coach Christine, I am a leveltwo RCA and a run, walk run at
certified coach. And if youenjoy a bit of true crime along
with running, or at least you'rewilling to get least up for a
good walk or a killer cardiosession than a welcome, because
(00:24):
you have found your corner ofthe internet, we are likely
going to be fast friends.
Without any further chat here,let's get right into our workout
because that's what you camehere for. Right? Let's go into a
walking warmup and three, two,and one, the warmup is really
important, you really should notbe skipping it. I know, I know
you got things to do, and youwant to get on with the workout.
(00:47):
But my friend this warm up willallow you to feel much better as
we go in to some of our sessionsfor today, because we're gonna
have a little bit of speedy feethere. But for our warmup, you
want to make sure to set thatintention of having good, tall,
strong posture right out of thegate. So again, nice and tall,
you're staying relaxed bykeeping those shoulders down and
(01:07):
back, keeping your chest open,you're staying light on your
feet. And a couple things here.
If you're rolling through inthis workout outdoors, please be
mindful and aware of yoursurroundings. It's also a great
practice to let somebody knowwhere you're heading, or where
you're at, or at least when toexpect you back at home. Make
(01:28):
sure this is somebody that youlove and trust my friend, and
they don't maybe have a lifeinsurance policy out on you.
Just kidding, kinda not. Ifthey're inside, if you're
rolling inside, and maybe you'reon a treadmill or elliptical
spin bike, well, that still issomething you need to take into
consideration in terms of yourposture. So you're engaging your
core and you're not hanging overthat display or hanging on to
(01:50):
those handrails. So great work.
And if you're on that treadmill,let's go in and bring it up to
at least a 1% incline to helpminimize the impact on your
joints. Before we dive into ourcase a little further, I'm going
to warn you right here right nowthat this particular true crime
case is like a pharmaceuticaltreasure cove of all sorts of
(02:11):
drugs and drug use. So if thatin any way may trigger you
please be aware that we're goingto talk a lot about it because
it goes with the scene thatwe're going to discover today.
There's also going to be talk ofmental illness. And well this
case is kind of like the clubkid version of sex, drugs and
rock and roll but it's more likecandy, drugs, electronic music,
(02:33):
and well murder because again,that's what we're here. However,
I'm guessing that you knew whatyou were getting into when you
signed up and you hit play. Solet's keep moving and grooving
here. So great work and warmingit up my friend. As we move
forward, I want you to know thatfor today's workout, we are
(02:54):
really going to harness in thatrate of perceived effort which
is the RPE scale that helps usto structure the workout and
tailor it to wherever you are inyour fitness journey. However,
we are going to use the RPEscale True Crime style one is
we're out for an easy peasylemon squeezy stroll with our
True Crime bestie were chattingabout our latest True Crime
(03:17):
obsession, tennis OOB ish. Thereis a murderer on the loose
heading your way you bettersprint for your life. And we are
going to do a little bit ofsprinting and today's workout.
We're going to sprinkle thosein. We'll talk a little bit more
about that here in a fewmoments. I'm going to add that
full RPE scale into Episodenotes. If you ever have any
questions on it, feel free toreach out to me at Christine at
(03:38):
red wine finish. lines.com Okay,my friends. It's time we
chitchat a little bit you hearthe music it's a little
different than what I usuallyplay here the running scared
because we are going to have ourown version of a club kid disco
to 1000 party here. And since weare talking about the club kid
(03:59):
killer, we're going to break outour glow sticks. We're going to
add on our candy bracelets andwe're getting ready to repeat
the mantra of Club Kids andcandy rivers around the world
all about that. Peace, love,unity and respect. So let's get
ready to go back in time whenHeraldo reigned supreme on
daytime TV and the Club Kidsruled the night friends if
(04:21):
you're a part of my Facebookcommunity page, the running
scared community you know that Iconsider this one of the first
pieces that I was so obsessedwith. And as a former candy
raver myself. I was heavilyinspired by the club kid scene.
I thought it was beautifulbecause it was a place where
everybody would come to acceptyou for who you were, you could
(04:44):
march the beat of your own drumwithout fear of judgment. So I
was shocked to hear that thissubculture, one that I thought
came to be of radicallyembracing everyone was love and
acceptance, but actually endWith the murder of one of their
own, I've read the books. I'vewatched documentaries, I saw
more daytime TV than anybodyshould ever watch in their life
(05:07):
in preparation for today's case.
And I'm going to include themovie Hardy monster where
Macaulay Culkin did a phenomenaljob of portraying Michael Alig,
our actual clubs kid King andkiller. So as we wrap up this
warmup, let's know that fortoday's workout, we're going to
(05:30):
have conversation pieces forfour minutes, and we're going to
push it up for two minutes. Andthen a one minute sprint. We'll
talk more about that in ouractual workout. Let's take it up
to our first conversation pacein three, two, and one. Again,
for this workout, we're gonnabreak it up into sets, we're
gonna hang out here for fourminutes, and in conversation
pace, which is about a three tofour on that RPE scale. And then
(05:54):
I'm gonna give you the option topush up the pace for two minutes
into a comfortably hard about afive or six, maybe even a seven
for those 120 seconds. Or,again, if you're looking at
doing this as more of an inclineworkout on that treadmill or
resistance on your elliptical,you can do that as well. Then
(06:14):
the first 60 seconds, I am goingto have you sprint at that nine,
maybe even if you're feeling alittle spicy 10 Or really
bringing up that incline on thetreadmill to where it's really
challenging, and you feel it inyour booty, my friends. We're
gonna repeat that cycle thatfour to one, all the way through
the end of this workout. Whatwe're going to end though with a
(06:36):
cooldown. And again, make thisyour own, you don't have to
follow exactly what I'm tellingyou to in terms of the RPE
scale, you can walk this entireworkout and just hop up into
different inclines if you are soinclined. Or you could play back
and forth between a random walkand roll if you prefer. Again,
there's so many different waysand I'm always available to help
(06:58):
you change this up and tailor itfor what you need. I Christina
at runway finishline.com. Okay,let's talk about this case,
shall we? Were going to turn thehands of time back to 1996.
Don't worry, we're going to goeven further back than that in
our time travel capsule here.
But for right here right now,we're going to start off with
1996 because during that yearfor nine months gruesome rumors
(07:21):
circulated through the New YorkCity clubs like wildfire, Andre
Melendez. Notice Angela was 25 afixture on the downtown party
circuit, known for hisflamboyant costume with full
size feather covered wings hadgone missing because
(07:42):
disappearance became the subjectof a McCobb guessing game. Was
it an abrupt change of address?
Was it foul play or perhaps justa publicity stunt meant to
generate notoriety for a newclub, because again, that scene
was kind of known for over thetop promotion than under
November 2, the City MedicalExaminer's Office and now the
(08:07):
dust dismembered corpse had beenwashed up on Staten Island
during the month of April, inthe that port actually belong to
Angele. And on November 3, theManhattan district attorney
charged the killer, which wasthe well known king of the
thriving underground clubsscene, Michael Alec. This was
(08:30):
known as the downtown's Bestparty promoter, his gatherings
in Manhattan nightspots through1000s of young people eager to
be at the center of theglitterati action. Prosecutors
said that Michael, who at thetime of his arrest was 30 years
old, had killed Angel during anargument about money inside
(08:52):
Michael's apartment on a West43rd Street in early March. The
details forever are not quite soclear and dry, my friends. As we
learn a little bit more, we'regonna take it back a little bit
further to the mark the night ofMarch 17 1996. Michael and his
roommate, Robert De Riggs knownto the party world as freeze got
(09:16):
into an argument and inMichael's apartment with endo
over many things. Now, includinga long standing drug that
Michael and freeze claimed many,many times that they were so
high on drugs that their memoryof the event is a little hazy.
But again, how did we get here?
Club party kids are known formaybe questionable fashion
(09:40):
choices, but not for murder.
We'll learn more in our next twominutes segment let's go and
three to one is where we pushinto that comfortably hard
taking it up a notch pedal tothe metal my friends. Let's go.
Again, club party kids known foryou know being a little Willian
making their fashion choices,maybe a little bit of a drug
(10:03):
addiction or two, but definitelynot known for murder. So let's
go ahead and unravel this alittle bit further, shall we? So
who are these kids? If you arethinking what in the world are
you talking about Coachpristine. The contents were a
group of young New York Citydance club personalities,
(10:24):
popularized by again our NewYork club promoter, Michael Alec
and James St. James, which washis Frenemy. Julie jewels are
some to be named a couple ofothers that you may have heard
of DJ superstar karaoke earningglam. And then some of the other
(10:45):
people that came out of thescene, Amanda Lapore, wallpaper
which is wild Cassidy, thetwins, genitalia pretty famous
as well. Desi Santiago Kabukistar shine and Richie Rich and
RuPaul. You heard me beforethere was drag race. There was
(11:05):
the club kid, Mecca and RuPaulwas definitely part of that
crowd. The group was notable forits members flamboyant behavior
and outrageous costumes. In1988, writer Michael Musco wrote
about the Club kids. And hiswords was it was Holt, a crazy
(11:26):
fashion and petulant, they areterminally superficial, they
have dubious aesthetic values.
They are master manipulators,exploiters, and thank God they
are partiers Alright friends aretaking into a 62nd sprint. Let's
do it in three, two, and one,let's move it on up. Again, this
(11:46):
is about eight, nine, maybe evena nine and a half. But for this
first sprint, I'm going to tellyou maybe don't take it all the
way. Don't floor it. Don't useall that gas. Let's leave some
in the tank for the remainder ofthis workout. But definitely
check in with that posture. Andagain, if you are in a
treadmill, or maybe you'reelliptical, there's so many
(12:09):
different ways to challengeyourself here, you can change up
the incline or the resistance.
Or when in doubt, always focuson having the best possible
form. Maybe like you're gonnastretch your own outrageous
outfit down the runway of asuper popular New York
nightclub. We'll meet again andour four minute conversation
(12:31):
pace and pick up the storyagain, in just 15 seconds.
We're gonna go ahead and pull itback again in 5432. And one,
give yourself about 30 seconds.
When you first pull back thepace to catch your breath and
(12:51):
ease back into this conversationpace a little lighter, a little
easier. And again, in about 30seconds, you'll feel a little
bit more at home here. And youmay even find that it feels a
little easier in thisconversation piece than it did
the first time around. Again,back to The Club kids like group
was recognized as an artisticand fashion conscious youth
(13:13):
culture. They were a definitiveforce in New York City's
underground club culture at thattime, and several kids have made
long lasting contributions tomainstream art and fashion. I
mean, even like turning Mullerto name just off the top of my
head is someone who I know whohas utilized the Club Kids is
(13:33):
his inspiration. And accordingto former club kid wallpaper.
The night club for me was like alaboratory place where you were
encouraged and rewarded forexperimentation. And Michael has
been hailed as the king of thismovement. But it was a far cry
from his very conservativeupbringing. Michael Alec was
(13:54):
born and raised in South Bend,Indiana. He was the second of
two sons born to John and elkeAlec, his mother, a native of
Bremerhaven, Germany, moved tothe United States after marrying
his father, who was a computerprogrammer. The couple divorced
from Mike was four years old.
(14:15):
Michael remained incrediblyclose to his mother all the way
through his childhood his teenyears when he moved away and
into his adult life. I stillattended Grissom Middle School
in Penn high school there inSouth Bend where he was a
straight A student and hegraduated in the top 8% of his
(14:38):
class. However, during histeenage years, Michael reported
that he was often bulliedbecause of his sexuality and
well, he didn't adhere to theregular. Well, he didn't conform
to what was seen at that time asjust being part of the normal
crowd. He was always a littlebit more flourish with his grass
(15:00):
and the way that he spoke.
Mother had gone on to say thathe was actually well ahead of
his time that his peers didn'teven realize the things that he
was doing. Were so cool. Theywere they themselves are just
too far behind. Understand howcool he was, however, Michael,
seeking a less conservativesocial environment, maybe one
(15:21):
that he would be moreappreciated for his forward
thinking. So after he graduatedin 1984, he attended Fordham
University in New York City. Hecentered architecture there
before he transferred to theFashion Institute of Technology.
They're at FIT he met, theboyfriend of artists have been
(15:42):
preparing to introduce Michaelto New York City nightlife.
That's pretty good that we goahead and mention here that
Michael was positively obsessedwith Andy Warhol and the factory
scene. So he loved the art. Heloved that nightclub life. He
thought Andy Warhol was a God.
(16:02):
And he was pretty excited tomake his way into that nightlife
as well, because Michael soondropped out of school and began
working. Danceteria super hotand I club as a busboy. And then
Andy Warhol passed on. Michaelfelt like his time to reign
(16:25):
supreme and the New York Cityscene had finally come. During
his time at sanitaria. He metJames St. James, the two became,
as I mentioned earlier, the bestfrenemies that New York City
could ever hope for. We'll learna little bit more about his
friendship with James St. James.
And our next two minutessegment, let's push it up a
notch and three, two, and one, Itold you, my friends, this is
(16:50):
gonna be a killer cardioworkout, don't give up. Now.
Let's push it. I know you've gotwhat it takes my friends. James
St. James, who also wrote thebook, disco bloodbath to discuss
his time in the New York clubscene. And maybe his version of
how these events went down, wasalready part of a glitterati
(17:12):
scene. And he taught Michaeleverything that he knew. But
let's not get it twisted.
Because Michael wasn't devoid ofhis own ideas and thoughts. He
has charmed in really naturalinstincts as to what would make
something really hot, at leastin New York. He did. He knew how
to get folks to show up to agood party, he would line up
(17:34):
music, the DJs he said theseoutrageously amazing themes, and
he would make sure that a quorumof beautiful people showed up
his offbeat fashion sense, hisflair for the outrageous made
his party's trendy for those whoattended. And it made it
incredibly financially lucrativefor the club owners of where he
(17:56):
threw these parties at, like,one such piece irrigation. Well,
Peter gation, had all of theUnited States at that time under
his empire. And I mean, all theones that you would know of as
the places to be, who I am liketunnel, the hotspots, the 80s
and 90s. They were next level ofour studio for studio 54 has
(18:22):
left off that and get back toMichael, he knew that shocking
people a little shock and awewould really gather them, get
them ready and get them atmoving towards getting lined up
for his nightclubs or hisparties. So his party
invitations were designed forthat shock value. One even
(18:43):
featured a photo of Michaellying on the pavement,
pretending that his head hadbeen smashed open, and it is a
pretty gory one. Friends, let'stake it up 60 seconds into that
sprint to this is your time buteight nine or 10 on that RPE
scale in three, two, and onewill pick up again more about
(19:03):
these parties on the other sidein our next conversation pace.
Got the after this point, weliterally have just one more
set, and then we'll have acooldown. This is sometimes the
hardest one because it's thatlast before that. Second to last
but I'm excited any answersstand tall again, really
(19:26):
engaging report and focusing onyour breath. Maybe you just got
your new hot invite to thisglitterati party. You've got VIP
treatment coming up and you wantto make your way to that front
door let's go add a little bitof glitter and let keep moving.
(19:50):
10 you got this don't hold backyet and 5432 and one less Go
ahead and pull backs now. If youneed to bring it back into a
walk for a few seconds, feelfree to do so. Or if you need to
pull back the pace, maybe grab asip of water, feel free to do
that as well. But then get rightback to it. My friends, this
(20:12):
workout was not for the week.
It's not for the meek at hearts,that's for sure. Let's be bold.
Let's be audacious here. Allright. So back to these parties.
Although the members of theglitterati were never ever
charged admission. 1000s of clubgoers happily paid cover charges
of $20 or more to attend theparty the moment now I know
(20:36):
you're thinking $20 was not thatmuch. I spent that at Starbucks
yesterday. But friends, we'restill talking about the late
80s, early 90s. That was unheardof of that time to have a club
cover charge that would be thatmuch. Like you got anything you
didn't get a drink ticket. Youjust got inside, see where all
the cool, who for us are, whothey thought were cool people at
(20:57):
the time. So for years, Michaelwas the undisputed center of
that world.
He appeared on the cover of NewYork Magazine, he was covered on
the boys. He was even got acouple of mentions in New York
Post New York Times and he wasinvited to all of the daytime
talk shows of that day. Geraldo,Joan Rivers, Jerry Springer is
(21:24):
Wednesday night party, disco2000 was where everybody wanted
to me. It was a mix of GayStreet cultures outrageous
fashion and a littlerecreational drug use. You know
what I'm saying? My friends, toMichael who grew up in South
Bend, Indiana, where he wastreated as an outcast because he
was gay. The scene that hecreated offered a refuge from
(21:47):
middle American disapproval. Andit created a social circle a
family in whichunconventionality was accepted,
admired, wanted and applauded.
So needless to say he had foundhis place my friends. One of
these such people who came outof the Club Kids scene lady
bunny, you may know her. It wasshe goes on to say it was great
(22:08):
for him to be in a world you canbe as wild as you want. Lady
Bunny was actually a formeremployee of Michaels he had
employed she was also good wenton to become a former organizer
of the annual Woodstock drugfestival. And we will likely
have seen her on RuPaul dragrace as well. Well, Michael
worked for Peter gation. Forseveral years, he promoted
(22:29):
parties at Limelight at tunnelat nightspot. He also went on to
throw what were called outlawparties where he would just show
up to a random Burger King, andhave all of his kids descend
upon it until the party endedwith the police showing actually
(22:49):
that was their goal every singletime is to get shut down by the
police to get arrested to causeas much scene and get as much
promotion he very stronglybelieved in. There is no such
thing as bad press. So friends,he did also get arrested though
during this time, not just forthese outlaw parties. But he
also got arrested several timesfor his drug use. And said that
(23:10):
he started to spiral in hischemical abuse got worse and
worse until Peter gation had tolet Michael go, oh, that's one
story. That's a more cleanedversion of it. What really
happened was it Peter had theFeds on his ass and he had to
shut Michael's parties down, atleast try to get them out of his
(23:32):
nightclub because the Feds werelooking to shut him down and
throw him away forever andliterally lose the key. But
Michael was really plagued byheavy drug use. He had begun
adding drug dealers to the ClubKids roster. And he even figured
out a way to get Peter nation topay for having the club. The
drug dealers on payroll. Cecily,numbers of a Club Kids became
(23:56):
addicted to drugs. Friends,let's take it up to our next two
minutes segment and three, two,and one, you're pushing into
comfortably hard or bringing upthat incline again. Let's go
Let's go. The movement alsobegan to decline when Rudy
Giuliani took office as mayor ofNew York in 1994. Because Rudy
Giuliani pretty much ran on acampaign called the quality of
(24:19):
life campaign and he wanted toclean up New York City, you want
to target the city's nightlifeindustry. With this party scene
becoming more and more plaguedwith drug use, scattering of its
members due to arrest or thedeath due to overdoses. Michael
had fallen into a deep dark holeof abuse. Which brings us to
(24:39):
Angel Hill on the first blushwhen you hear about this case,
you may think oh, he was just adrug dealer really does that
matter? He made that what he'sdeserved. But my dears nothing
is what it seems because carAngela he got his nickname from
those wings that I told youabout the he wore to all the
clubs and as an immigrant fromcool lumpia his family arrived
(24:59):
to York City when he was justeight years old, hoping to
pursue the American dream, butAngele never quite fit in. Until
he found the club kid. Hethought, Yes, this is a place
for me I can finally beaccepted, desperately sought his
place would be other club kids.
But ironically, at this point,this subculture that was
(25:21):
originally all about beinginclusive, and a place of refuge
for folks from all walks oflife, well, they didn't accept
Angele at all, especially nowwith open arms. And he sort of
found that the only way to beliked by his peers or the peers
that he desperately wanted theapproval of, or to be even be
invited to any of their partieswas to be the one with drugs.
(25:42):
And man, oh, man, when he haddrugs on him to everyone like
him, and even more, they werewilling when he was willing to
give it to them for free, justso he could be a part of their
clique. Michael, at the heightof his king pen of club royal
throne, the desperation thatAngela had to fit in, he saw
(26:03):
that and he used it against him,and he used injure. While yes,
he was able to get Angela onPeter vacations, payroll, he
didn't do it at the kindness ofhis own heart for Angela, he did
it so he could be closer to thedrugs. Harvard, Angela, students
started to see that he was beingused and the people that he was
buying the drugs from needed tocollect their money. So he went
(26:24):
to Michael and said, Hey,friend, I like you. I like you a
lot. I want to be just like youwhen I grow up. But I have to
pay these people back so youhave to pay me. Well, Michel
ignored him, stole from him,mocked him. until that fateful
night, when Angela finally saidno moss and put his foot down.
Brands are taking it into ourlast 60 seconds and then we'll
(26:45):
have a cooldown on the otherside in three, two, and one,
let's go. That's right. 60seconds is your final push, you
have a walk waiting for yourother side, you have an
opportunity to bring an inclineback down, or pull that
resistance off on the other sideof this. So give this all you've
got my friends. The music kindof move your feet, maybe again,
(27:12):
you're on your way to a disco2000 Before the scene got all
gross for drug use. Whatprobably always had drug use
didn't. And when I say drug usemy friends, they used
everything, everything from seecocaine or when ketamine was
very popular at that time.
Needless to say their decisionmaking wasn't probably the best.
(27:35):
We have a lot to cover the otherside. So I want you to really
push it. Let's go in 5432 andone all right, we are cooling it
down. Great job, my friends.
Let's learn a little bit moreabout why Angelo put his foot
down or we know why he put hisfoot down. Let's revisit the
night of the murder and try tomake sense of the drug haze
(27:58):
memory of Michael and freeze. Soon Sunday, March 17 1919 96
Angela was killed by Michael andfreeze and according to various
statements that they made toothers into the police because
let me tell you they told prettymuch every single person who
would be willing to listen tothem. Michael and Angela got
into an argument and it quicklyescalated. According to Michael
and freeze it became violent andAngelo became physically being
(28:22):
physically larger than Michaelwas able to take the upper hand.
They say that he pushed Michaelinto a glass table and then he
pinned him against a wall andMichael turned out and cried for
help freeze trying to protectMichael went to the defensive
him and he hit into on the headwith a hammer three times. They
said in their words until Angelawent down well friends freeze
(28:46):
and my goal state that it wasjust a light tap tap tap with
the hammer. But the fact thatthey remember that it made an
audible noise and they used theclaw side of the hammer. I don't
think that that was a light taptap tap into went down. And then
they report that Michael thensmothered Angele again just to
(29:09):
continue protecting themselvesbut they don't remember if it
was with a pillow or asweatshirt. And for good measure
they decided we should pourDrano in his mouth. So Michael
portray no down mic down intohis mouth and then covered his
mouth with duct tape so that hewasn't able to vomit it out.
(29:30):
That's one source. One sourcesays that they actually injected
him with Trey now. I don't knoweither way it sounds like once
you put Drano into the mix, theyreally did not want him to ever
be able to have the chance tocome back to then stripped
Angeles body they placed hisbody in a bathtub where it
remained for about five to sevendays because according to freeze
during that time they went outand binge on every drug
(29:53):
possible. Also stole a whole lotof money from him whatever he
had on his person to steal ascredit cards, they steal
everything we could from him.
And with the money that theystole. Freeze went down to
Macy's any purchase to chefknives and one cleaver. And he
said Michael, after taking 10bags of heroin dismembered and
just legs, and then freeze andMichael wrapped angels led
(30:17):
separately in garbage bags,placed them into individual
duffel bags and threw those inthe Hudson River. The next day,
they wrapped the upper body ofAngeles sheet in a plastic
garbage bag and placed it in acardboard box. And then they
took the heavy box down theelevator and through the main
lobby, placed in the trunk of ayellow cab that in their words
(30:38):
just happened to be rightoutside the door. frieze went on
to say that they took the bodyto the West Side Highway around
25th Street. And then when thetaxi drove off, they threw the
box into the river. Someaccounts say that Michael
actually suggested that the taxidriver helped them that I don't
know if I believe anything thatMichael says. Originally,
Michael really, really tried togo with the whole self defense.
(31:00):
But shortly after this actuallyhappened, he started to brag
about the murder of Angelo hetold pretty much everybody on
the scene that they were part ofthat he had killed Angele and it
wasn't too long before Angela'sfamily had come looking.
Angela's brother and father hadgone to the authorities, but the
authorities were unwilling tohelp because Angela wasn't the
(31:22):
biggest priority for them. Asfar as they're concerned. He was
a gay drug dealer who was aColombian immigrant. That was
the least of their concerns. Ifhe went missing. They turned to
the press. And then finally,Michael Musto, who had
originally written quite a bitof complimentary articles about
the Club Kids since he was partof the scene as well ran a blind
(31:43):
item in his village voicecolumn, and he pretty much
called out Michael and freezefor murdering Angela. Angela's
family continued to put a lot ofpressure onto the press, who
then in turn kind of helped, thepolice decide that they should
take it a little bit moreseriously. And luckily, with the
help of this media, then aQuinzel discovery of another
(32:07):
dismembered body. One of thepolice officers who had been
following the case on the mediadecided that he should kind of
help them open up anotherdismembered body that had been
identified incorrectly, as anAsian male. So that's when they
found using dental records, thatthat body that had previously
(32:29):
been incorrectly identified wasactually Angeles. And again on
November 2, that's when theycame to the conclusion that it
was Angelo Melendez, and theyconfirmed the rumors. During the
time Michael had fled to NewJersey, where he moved into a
motel room with his boyfriend,another drug dealer named Brian
and on December 5 1996, thepolice arrested Michael had the
(32:52):
hook at the motel and hourslater, they arrested freeze in
Manhattan. Smuggle continued toat first say that it was just
self defense. Then again,friends, when they started to
divulge the details, it wasn'tquite that easy to say it was
just self defense. Butprosecutors were hesitant
charged my goal with firstdegree murder as I still hope
that he would help them testifyagainst their his former boss,
(33:16):
nightclub owner and nightclubempire. Peter gation, who had
been arrested for allowing thosedrugs to be sold in his
nightclubs stay ventuallyoffered both Michael Impreza
Plainfield sentence of 10 to 20years of accepted lesser charge
of manslaughter October 1 1997.
They both pleaded guilty andthey were sentenced to 10 to 20
years because their convictionsmight countries were not used as
(33:37):
prosecution witnesses in Petertations trial, Peter ended up
being found guilty and beingdeported back to Canada. The
story doesn't end there. Freezewas released into parole in
2010. He went back to schoolimmersing himself in the world
of academia and for all intentspurposes, he seems to be doing
well with his life and kind ofthe anonymity of academia
Michael, our fear of sociopath.
(34:02):
Michael, was released on May5 2014. He went right back to
New York, right back into thescene. He tried to revive his
places where he was previously.
And then on September 7 2014, heand his fellow club kid Ernie
glam began their own YouTubechannel, you can find it, I'll
link it if you like but notworth your time. It was called
the pee Wah. Unfortunately, hehad never really picked his drug
(34:28):
addiction got the best of him.
And on Christmas Day of 2020Michael Hassan died of a drug
overdose at the age of 54. So myfriends, this is the tale of the
pub kids. And as we wrap up thiskiller cardio club workout, I
want you to go ahead and giveyourself a pat on the back. Pull
it on back completely as we wrapthis up. I want us to discuss
(34:51):
our lessons learned my friends.
Lesson number one I think it'svery obvious, isn't it? Don't do
drugs. Easy, really. Just sayingno, there's a reason why that
campaign was so popular. Lessonnumber two, I think pretty much
just is blatantly obvious islesson number one. When someone
goes around saying that theykilled someone, and then that
other person has been missingfor weeks on end, maybe we
(35:14):
should go ahead and go to theauthorities and believe them
right. All right, my friends.
Thank you for listening. I can'twait to hear what you think
about Michael his club kids inthis case, trust me, it is
actually truly fascinating.
There's so much media out onthis. I definitely gave you a
Reader's Digest version of itall. But hit me up on Facebook
group. If you want to talk alittle bit more about the Club
(35:37):
Kids. If you enjoy the keys inthis workout, please rate review
subscribe to this podcast cuz ithelps from discoverability
purposes. Thank you so much forrunning scared with Coach
Christine
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