been grabbed by a gang. But business went badly, and later Schiller and Delgado had a falling "I was starved. Asked what did they do with the bodies, Levine told Roberts, "Well, they got creative.". But even Ed Du Bois, with 50 years of experience as a private "And they disposed of the torsos in one part of the county in oil drums," said Ferrer. Search warrants were executed for the homes of Lugo and Doorbal and their associates. "Money was there for him to make other people happy and to play, to buy toys," she said. He'd been told about it by a woman torture and the beatings and the -- the attempts to kill him and all of "And the doctor said, 'You can't move him. being a professional diver, was now shot full of horse tranquilizer. Schiller is a man who cheated death and whose harrowing ordeal is dramatized by actor Tony Shalhoub in a recent movie. Felix Jimenez, now retired from the Metro-Dade Police homicide department, was the lead detective on the case. So all their friends assumed that But according to Du Bois and Schiller, when they finally did sit down with the cops "They've never listened at all," said Schiller. They make identification. In Finally, the daily torture So, for the movie, the filmmakers just built a set to serve as the warehouse. They're few and far between when there's actually a He needed a personal trainer to help him buff up. Even now, with a big Hollywood movie, he won't get a dime. [4] After this last failed attempt, Doorbal and Weekes dropped Pierre and recruited Mario Sanchez, or "Big Mario," a former Sun Gym weightlifting instructor and licensed Florida private eye. Alex Ferrer. 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. consideration," said Ferrer. With his family safely out of the country, Schiller was still suffering. either in their name or for their surviving members ," said Rundle. "The last day? Delgado also came to know Lugo's codefendants, Noel Doorbal and John Mese. "He told me, 'Look, I gotta talk to you about something,'" the co-conspirator continued. Doorbal. "First, I can't walk and second of all, who knows how many of these people are out there," he said. "They never returned the money to And they're "I was pretty hardcore" he said of his weightlifting. "I have never passed that mile marker without saying a little prayer for Frank and Krisztina," said Levine. "He was a steroid freak. "Did you fear that Delgado and Lugo were going to come to hospital to finish the job?" abduction and torture to nurses, doctors -- anyone who might listen. [14] After this, Furton stopped supplying them with information. He hired Doorbal, a gym rat and steroids abuser, as a part-time employee and cut him in on a lucrative Medicare fraud scheme. "What was the defense strategy?" [29] In 2008, he was arrested for felony grand theft, receiving one year of probation. "At your peak you could bench 475 pounds?" for him, he's on an air ambulance flight to New York," said Ferrer. "Number one, she was smitten with Danny Lugo, and number two, I think "And Doorbal's face lights up and says, 'Who has the yellow Lambo?' 'Oh, but real sick," Schiller said. "Danny Lugo was a Puerto Rican-Cuban kid from the Bronx," added Garafalo. They backed out about a block away to watch the car as it was engulfed in flames. "That was a little [4] At another meeting a few days later, Delgado agreed to the plan to abduct Schiller and force him to sign over his assets, and potentially kill him. And she screams, and Danny tackles her and injects her with horse tranquilizer, which they had basically bought to tranquilize the two of them," said Ferrer. In Florida. "Lugo's gone, we have a warrant for his arrest," Jimenez said. and revealed to the gang where his assets were kept. who knows how many of these people 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. San Francisco Bay Area. Petrescu was another recent immigrant who made a splash in Miami. of Frank Griga into a couch and Krisztina Furton into a large cardboard "Danny was a big muscular guy," said Jimenez. cars," Zsuzsanna Griga explained. to go on. "He thought he was smarter than anybody else," Jimenez added. charges relating to an extensive Medicare scam. 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. With the help of Jorge Delgado, Doorbal and Lugo stuffed the bodies of Frank Griga into a couch and Krisztina Furton into a large cardboard box. Jorge Delgado's warehouse where the Sun Gym Gang tortured their victims is now a bakery for desserts and cakes. "Miami was riveted as to this attractive Hungarian couple you know, this yellow Lamborghini found in the Everglades and that they're missing and they continue to be missing.". "They also needed Krisztina," said Levine. "It's a true rags-to-riches story," said Roberts. But then they were able to back over him and then run over him again," said Jimenez. They set me in a chair, and they give me this concoction, a drink," said Schiller. Doorbal was also found guilty and both men were sentenced to death. "They were living in the house. "They also needed Krisztina," said Levine. were taking some of the furniture they liked and putting it into their "He had a way of convincing people to do things they didn't want to do.". "I mean we had so many cops it wasn't even funny," said Garafalo. "Very handsome couple, they looked like they were made for each Weeks would pass, and, strangely, despite his ordeal, Schiller did not report it to police. was too much. Prosecutor Levine would eventually lead the investigation and try the case. Schiller was admitted into the hospital on December 16, 1994, being treated as a John Doe and possible DUI case. And they just didn't believe him," Garafalo came and "I think being in a jail cell for the rest of their life is In a plea deal, Schiller ended up serving two years in federal prison and paying $137,000 in restitution. [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. think of what she went through.". lighting them up with their headlights "So then they're running through yards, screaming 'abort, abort like [28], Count I Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering, Count III First-Degree Murder (Furton), Count IV First-Degree Murder (Griga), Count X Attempted First-Degree Murder, Count XIV Grand Theft (Second-Degree), Count XVI Possession of an Identification Plate, Count XIX Money Laundering (Counts XIX XXVII), Count XXVIII Forgery (Counts XXVIII, XXXI, XXXIV, XXVII, XL, XLIII), Count XXX Uttering a Forged Instrument (Counts XXX, XXIII, XXXVI, IXL, XLII, XLV), Count XLVI Conspiracy to Commit a First-Degree Felony[28], He remains on death row for the murders of Griga and Krisztina Furton[29] and has made multiple unsuccessful appeals against his sentence.[29]. "It was like a service station he was changing the oil, washing [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. for her testimony. hand, he was joking. She's tried more than 00 cases. Schiller believed Lugo to be an unsavory character, and expressed his concern to Delgado. They're looking at the dent of the car, and they say, 'I don't them a question, they never even said, 'Hello, here I am. accident to kidnap Schiller. me, and his eyes were watery. "But this case really got to me.". Schiller and Delgado had been in business. block away to watch the car as it was engulfed in flames. It had been five months since Marc Schiller's ordeal. "Finally, she gives him the phone. Schiller is a man who cheated death and whose harrowing ordeal is now dramatized by actor Tony Shalhoub in the new movie. "Sergeant Jimenez and Sgt. "And they left those hands, heads and feet in buckets at the 31 mile marker," Levine continued. Roberts asked. [30] He was convicted to one count of kidnapping and was sentenced to 8 years[30] He was released in 2002. [7], In 1994 Daniel Lugo again planned to extort and kidnap Winston Lee, a Jamaican man who frequented Sun Gym. That's my friend Frank. In the frenetic haze of the intensive care unit -- burned and bruised, his pelvis broken -- Marc Schiller tried to tell his story of abduction and torture to nurses, doctors -- anyone who might listen. Jimenez explained. It's still very hard after 17 years.". They took the bodies to an empty warehouse. And it so happened in this case there was.". They make identification. "Well, guilty, yeah, but -- I don't believe in the -- death penalty," he replied. "They just told me, 'We got a matzo ball' " said Schiller. [30] The District Court of Appeal Judge ruled that at trial, the judge had improperly set aside the two Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisation convictions and ordered a new sentencing hearing to occur on those counts. "But this case really got to me.". says he was kidnapped. I'll come to Danny Lugo had convinced her he was a spy on a secret mission. Felix Jimenez, now retired from the Metro-Dade Police homicide department, was the lead detective on the case. "And they But the second chain saw jammed in Krisztina Furton's beautiful, thick hair. Bound and gagged, he'd be dumped at a warehouse and held for more than a month. Bingo. Colombia. "They handcuffed my hands behind my back.". "Money was there for him to make other people happy and to play, to buy toys," she said. "I think being in a jail cell for the rest of their life is worse punishment.". endured, that -- nobody deserves that," she said. The gang planned to get Schiller drunk over a few days and send him out in his car in a fatal crash. "They waited in a van and they had their biggest gym rats come out," said Levine. And she just keeps going, 'No you weren't She Their case was the bizarre kidnapping of another Miami Jorge Delgado was ambitious and wanted more. Incredibly, one of Schiller's torturers, Jorge Delgado - the Sun Gym [18], The morning after the disappearance of Griga and Furton, housekeeper Eszter Toth arrived at Griga's house. In the Hollywood The horror was just beginning. "' he owes me money' and 'I need you to "What he accomplished should make everyone proud because he went from nowhere to a millionaire on his own just by using his own resources.". they're on some secret mission for the government," he continued. Jimenez explained. his house, they changed the pool contract to their name. "The main guy that we're after, Danny Lugo, is nowhere to be found," said Jimenez. The prosecution rested. The prosecution rested. "Miami was riveted as to this attractive So these geniuses take this chainsaw back to but real sick," Schiller said. Nov 2018 - Mar 20223 years 5 months. To them it was just a fun game," he said. invited her in and introduced her to two muscle-bound men that were [21], Eight days after the disappearance of Griga and Furton, Capt. Griga paused before continuing. "Sabina Petrescu's probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my life," Levine said, "but she was also one of the most naive women I have ever met in my life. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. He'd been told about it by a woman who once dated Frank Griga. Seven years after opening Sun Gym, accountant John Mese was on the verge of ditching the enterprise. Therefore, they only made minor inquiries into the case. They backed out about a "So you have a missing Hungarian couple and a Lamborghini," Roberts noted. "At this point they told me, 'Well if you don't give us a list of everything you have we're gonna bring your wife down here and rape her in front of you," said Schiller. [4] They almost went back to hit Schiller again, but another car approached, causing them to run away. Schiller's testimony was in bringing down the Sun Gym gang. And they just blew it off.". And they're moving boxes and they're moving a couch. He's my old Ultimately, the rest of the gang went to prison, too. "I have never passed that mile marker without saying a little prayer for Frank and Krisztina," said Levine. "And [30] He died of a stroke in 2004. Home Depot and return it," said Ferrer. during the federal fraud investigation. out over a deal. "It was like a service station he was changing the oil, washing cars," Zsuzsanna Griga explained. John Mese was returned to police custody after the initial interrogation. Asked why, she told Roberts, "They needed Krisztina because if Frank was missing, Krisztina was going to go to the police, 'cause why wouldn't she go to the police? And she just keeps going, 'No you weren't kidnapped, you were drunk, you hit a pole," said Ferrer. moving boxes and they're moving a couch. Jorge Delgado, another associate, helped them find their first victim. The last They said they wanted to get the money back, and much more, to punish him. "the missing Hungarian couple had said that they were going to the Bahamas the -- the-- following day. "I kind of knew that something really bad happened then". Lugo and Doorbal, posing as businessmen, lured Frank and Krisztina back to Doorbal's apartment. It was that car that caught the eye of Adrian Doorbal. On June 10, Lugo agreed to reveal the hiding place of the bodies in return for the police mentioning his helpfulness to a jury. seven members of the gang would do time. I guess I was the eagle," said Schiller. For some reason, it just felt to me that that should be taken into consideration," said Ferrer. Because of changes to capital punishment laws, Doorbal's death sentence was overturned in 2017. "They, I mean this whole time they were laughing uncontrollably. Sabina Petrescu, the magazine model-turned stripper, had quite a doin? "And it killed her?" Police quickly hit pay dirt in the apartment of Danny Lugo's girlfriend. just by using his own resources.". He was on top "Danny treated her well he gave her a BMW," said Jimenez. was a CIA agent. Doorbal was driving," Jimenez explained. [10] Doorbal convinced Lugo to form a plan to kidnap and extort the couple.
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