Schiller was tortured endlessly. Prosecutors said Delgado was able to get Mese, who at the time was. "And it killed her?" He was turning around to his girlfriend, and "And the doctor said, 'You can't move him. served time for running a phony loan scam operation. She It would be months before Schiller could grasp the full horror of how he ended up half dead at Jackson Memorial, Miami's top trauma center. "It's a true rags-to-riches story," said Roberts. Griga said. Because of changes to capital punishment laws, Doorbal's death sentence was overturned in 2017. . "Miami was riveted as to this attractive Jimenez told Troy Roberts. Sun Gym Gang Accomplice Speaks About "Pain & Gain" For First Time photographs. They had injected her with enough horse tranquiller to kill four 1,000-pound horses. Petrescu was another recent immigrant who made a splash in Miami. Roberts asked Levine. "And for him, he's on an air ambulance flight to New York," said Ferrer. Schiller can't forget the sick soundtrack that came with his daily beatings. "At this point, we realized that something bad -- something bad had happened to this couple," said Sam Garafalo. "They were Tasing him," the co-conspirator continued. he lost everything -- his health, his home, his millions. The last "I thought they were gonna take me and kill me," he said. Real-life role: Sun Gym Gang turncoat . [19] At 7:30 am, on May 31, 1995, Lloyd Alvarez, a friend of Griga's, spotted Griga's yellow Lamborghini travelling in a convoy between two other cars. "You know we were very poor when we were young" she continued. My heart breaks when I Judge Alex Ferrer left the bench in 2005, and continues to enjoy success with his syndicated television show. So, for the movie, the filmmakers just built a set to serve as the warehouse. and revealed to the gang where his assets were kept. "There's sometimes when, as a defense lawyer, you don't have anything to go on. February 22, 2014 / 10:59 PM Marc Schiller. "What was the defense strategy?" "I was starved. "When I left Schiller was sitting in the chair he was taped up -- hands and legs and they were beating on him," the co-conspirator told Roberts. "They went to Metro-Dade's top unit that handles just crimes of this "I was pretty hardcore" he said of his weightlifting. Trump motion to declare mistrial in E. 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We had a next door neighbor that had While there, Lugo looked for victims and found others who he'd trust to help with his upcoming crimes. [12], The next day May 26, 1995 Griga's body was concealed in Marc Schiller's stolen couch and Furton's body in a U-Haul clothing box. Roberts asked. "Danny Lugo was a Puerto Rican-Cuban kid from the Bronx," added Garafalo. Eighteen years later, the story was too much for Hollywood to resist. "He's trying to convince the nurse to give him a phone, because he says he was kidnapped. Frank Griga's yellow Lamborghini was legendary. "They just kept punching me and they had a Taser and they kept Tasering [sic] me," said Schiller. "What person gets kidnapped, held for a month, and when he finally gets free, leaves the country and doesn't call the police for four months?" [4], Through Noel Doorbal, the gang were informed of another wealthy man, Hungarian Frank Griga who had made his fortune by running a phone-sex empire. "They handcuffed my hands behind my back.". "The bodies were found that day," Zsuzsanna Griga told Roberts of the [5] They took the bodies to an empty warehouse. Danny Lugo learned about Schiller from Jorge Delgado, who also worked out at Sun Gym. I was kidnapped. Doorbal was also found guilty and both men were sentenced to death. "Their Lamborghini was found in an abandoned, wooded area far outside of Miami," said Jimenez. up helping the federal government make their case. Judge Alex Ferrer left the bench in 2005, and continues to enjoy success with his syndicated television show. kidnap and torture Frank Griga until he signed over every nickel he had Everglades and that they're missing and they continue to be missing.". [10], Lugo involved his girlfriend, Sabina Petrescu, who believed that Lugo was a Central Intelligence Agency agent and that she was assisting him in his mission to capture a Hungarian businessman who was guilty of using women for sex and circumventing US tax laws. stupid attempts," Ferrer explained. he became the manager of a suburban Miami health club called Sun Gym. wide," Jimenez continued. Marc Schiller has just released his tell-all tale, "Pain and Gain - The Untold True Story". "He thought he was smarter than anybody else," Jimenez added. [24] A month later, information about the missing body parts was supplied by an anonymous caller. And what they contain are two model-turned exotic dancer named Sabina Petrescu. In my house," Schiller told Troy Roberts. They were living there and partying in his home," Ferrer explained. With his family safely out They make identification. In February 1998, almost three years after the gruesome murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton, Danny Lugo and Adrian Doorbal were set to go on trial. Episode 486: Sun Gym Gang: Bungling Murder - Sofa King Podcast "Money was there for him to make other people happy and to play, to buy toys," she said. bruised, his pelvis broken -- Marc Schiller tried to tell his story of he ended up half dead at Jackson Memorial, Miami's top trauma center. road.". "It's a true rags-to-riches story," said Roberts. Bingo. Sabina Petrescu, the magazine model-turned stripper, had quite a story to tell. He would have to urinate and defecate on himself.". A thousand miles from Miami, Marc Schiller, now supported by his family, began to heal; his body and bones fractured. "I started calling him and he wouldn't pick up the phone," Zsuzsanna Griga said. Almost four years after he was left for dead, Marc Schiller faced off again against the Sun Gym gang. "Think my final words were, probably, 'May God have mercy on your soul,'" said Ferrer. was another muscle head, Adrian Doorbal. And now "She fell for Danny and believed everything he told her.". Raimondo flatly denies that version of events, claiming it is all based on the testimony of Jorge Delgado, another Sun Gym Gang member who received a lenient prison sentence for cooperating. other," Jimenez explained. He needed a personal trainer to help him buff up. consideration," said Ferrer. Where was the real Sun Gym? - Tonyajoy.com Doorbal. and they're gonna use this to dismember the bodies. Lugo and Doorbal, posing as businessmen, lured Frank and Krisztina "These were inept, incompetent people, but they were at the same time malicious and cold-blooded murderers.". blankets like they were some kind of ninja waiting for him to come investigator, had never heard anything quite like Schiller's story. We have the next door neighbor. "There's sometimes when, as a defense lawyer, you don't have anything Petrescu would play a crucial role as police continued gathering more evidence connecting Lugo and Doorbal to the disappearance of Frank and Krisztina. "Well we couldn't wait for the police," Du Bois replied. Justice was what Marc Schiller got this time. Pain & Gain inspiration, The Sun Gym Gang inspiration in Pain & Gain "I was in a coma when they picked me up," he told Roberts. cars," Zsuzsanna Griga explained. come with me and help me collect.'". "Number one, she was smitten with Danny Lugo, and number two, I think she believed what he was saying -- that he was a CIA operative -- that he was working for the U.S. government in kidnapping people that were dangerous to this country," said Jimenez. The map was clear and it led straight to the Sun Gym gang. Al Harper phoned Ed Du Bois III and they began to collaborate with the police investigation. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. "Yeah. "' he owes me money' and 'I need you to Krisztina. But according to Du Bois and Schiller, when they finally did sit down with the cops "They've never listened at all," said Schiller. "Schiller was tied to a pipe in a very small bathroom. And these two He also started going to the glitzy Sun Gym to work on his image. millions.". [11] At this meeting, Lugo and Doorbal posed as serious business men, offering Griga investment opportunities. [27], On October2, 1996, Daniel Lugo was indicted on 46 counts and pleaded guilty to all of the charges of indictment, these were: (VII-7- missing. straight" enlisted some serious muscle and planned to take Schiller down The life Frank Griga had built on those dial tones of his sex phone empire. story to tell. feature, "Pain and Gain", Mark Wahlberg's character depicts the [4] At 2:30 am on December 15, after three days of forced drinking, Schiller was placed into the passenger seat of his car with Lugo driving while Weekes and Doorbal followed in the Camry. I'll come to [4], The gang had varying plans and made attempts to kidnap Schiller. Little did I know the trouble would involve me." Danny learned about the businessman from Jorge, who believed that Marc would be an easy mark to steal from. Delgado exercised at Sun Gym in the Miami area, where Lugo was employed.5 The two became good friends, and at times Lugo would accompany Delgado on visits to Schiller's home. again and he was laughing so hard he was crying.". The real-life crooks, nicknamed the Sun Gym Gang for the fitness center they and Schiller used, botched six attempts to abduct the wealthy businessman before successfully kidnapping him outside. "And Doorbal goes and speaks to her and he comes back and says, his exact words were, 'The bitch is cold.' With Schiller's fortune spent, the gang targeted their next victims: Frank Griga and his beautiful girlfriend, Krisztina Furton. "The last day? " and as soon as they grabbed him the guy grabbed the steering wheel he was screaming the co-conspirator told Roberts. Jorge Delgado snitched on Lugo and Doorbal. [4] In 1991, Lugo had been arrested and plead guilty to fraud, serving a fifteen-month sentence in addition to a three-year federal probation period. The Medicare fraud that made Schiller such an easy target for the gang had come back to haunt him. "At this point they told me, 'Well if you don't give us a list of Garafalo, also retired, worked the case for his boss, Felix Jimenez. Doorbal was driving," caught the eye of Adrian Doorbal. everyone proud because he went from nowhere to a millionaire on his own [4] The Sun Gym gang then took Schiller to Delgado's warehouse. That's where he spent the next 30 days, was handcuffed to that pipe," former homicide Felix Jimenez explained. To them it was just a fun game," he said. Soon after, Delgado pulled away from Schiller, said prosecutor Gail Levine. "Did you fear that Delgado and Lugo were going to come to hospital to finish the job?" "Did any of your captors show you any kindness? "They'd been partying and going to strip clubs, and dropping Medicare fraud.". Their case was the bizarre kidnapping of another Miami millionaire. Schiller was tortured endlessly. [16], After his ordeal, Marc Schiller hired Miami private investigator Ed Du Bois to investigate his kidnapping and missing finances. Jorge Delgado Profiles | Facebook "I was starved. "And I said, 'The easy answer is for you to get out of the hospital," said Du Bois. 45 counts. "Sorry. "We have the housekeeper who was also at the home when the -- the musclemen were there. Within minutes, Doorbal was strangling "And Doorbal goes and speaks to her and he comes back and says, his The map was clear and it led straight to the Sun Gym gang. "It was so encompassing from the day I got the call, from the day We'll shake him down'" said Ferrer. her in front of you," said Schiller. Alex Ferrer. They knew they were gonna kill them from the outset," said Ferrer. He brought me a can of a - canned ravioli, which I had to eat with "He's trying to convince the nurse to give him a phone, because he [4] When, at 4 pm, the buyer still had not turned up, Schiller left and was grabbed by three men while walking across the parking lot, who stunned him with tasers and then punched him and forced him into a van. he was reaching for the skies, " Griga continued. I guess they came at 10 to look for me, to kill us all, all three of us," said Schiller. "They duct taped him they put tape on his mouth and we took off right out of here," said the co-conspirator. for her testimony. [4] That first evening the gang made Schiller call his wife and tell her to go with his children to Colombia, giving the gang access to his house. "Very handsome couple, they looked like they were made for each but real sick," Schiller said. [4] Lugo then splashed gasoline over him and lit it on fire, however, Schiller opened the door and climbed out of the car. "He was a steroid freak. He would have to It was losing money, so he hired a conman named Daniel Lugo who immediately convinced Meese that he should be head manager. Weeks would pass, and, strangely, despite his ordeal, Schiller did not report it to police. "They also needed Krisztina," said Levine. They knew they were gonna kill them from the outset," said Ferrer. Finally, after multiple attempts, the "gang that couldn't shoot straight" enlisted some serious muscle and planned to take Schiller down outside a restaurant he owned. Within hours, they reached their verdict: Daniel Lugo was found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Krisztina Furton and Frank Griga. "The main guy that we're after, Danny Lugo, is nowhere to be found," said Jimenez. "The flames revive him enough that he stumbles out of the car and towards the road.". "How did this all go down?" Lugo and Doorbal have appealed their convictions multiple times over the past 15 years. "Him and Jorge Delgado started a mortgage business together," said Jimenez. Doorbal and Lugo approached Frank Griga with a phony, made-up business scheme and a meeting was set at the Solid Gold strip club. They were now hungry for another score. The crimes and the trial would captivate and horrify all of south Florida. ", "Yeah, the guy that was at night there, because they stopped feeding Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Don't you know "They also needed Krisztina," said Levine. "Oh he loved cars, yes, he loved cars," Griga said. He'd been told about it by a woman Despite his cooperation, Schiller still remained chained like an animal in the Miami warehouse. Frank was completely legal.". "They went to Metro-Dade's top unit that handles just crimes of this nature --just the biggest crimes. "And I remember saying, 'We don't have a missing persons, we have a very major homicide,'" said Levine. "The victim comes from Colombia. Griga paused before continuing. [4] Finally, the gang decided they would kill Schiller with a 2 million dollars MetLife Insurance policy designated to Lugo's ex-wife Lillian Torres as the new beneficiary.[4]. "' he owes me money' and 'I need you to come with me and help me collect.'". Schiller was admitted into the hospital on December 16, 1994, being treated as a John Doe and possible DUI case. She said her boyfriend wasn't a criminal. " when you have a case that's that grotesque and you know people "They turned the car off and as he's driving by they're cranking it and the car won't start and he goes driving by. seen in my life," Levine said, "but she was also one of the most naive But who would want to kidnap them? But the chain saw doesn't have enough power. [9] Through a past girlfriend, Doorbal had been introduced to Attila Weiland, who knew Griga and introduced Doorbal and his "cousin" Daniel Lugo to Griga on May 20, 1995.

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