Starwood Contact Talks About Dom’s Demise At Nash’s
I was going to wait until Monday before dropping a new post, since the interview with Nils Grevillius was so top notch, but this is too juicy. I asked Lee from the Starwood to give me some more of the scoop and boy did he deliver. Thanks Lee! He is also writing a book about his life in Rock. Everyone is writing a damn book, even Julia Negron. I better get off my ass!
This Dominic kid was the young man whom Nils and I talked about in the interview, and whose death sparked the second raid on Nash’s house in November of 1981. I had speculated that this kid was mafia connected, only because he and his family were all born in Italy and were still Italian citizens upon his death, according to public records.
The old Starwood manager, Gary Fontenot, is dead too.
Here’s what Lee had to say:
Ok then. Dominic was the soundman at the Starwood. Not a bad job at ALL! Hobnobbin with the Rock-stars and all the ‘Perks’ that come along with that sort of access. Now the Wonderland thing was the dark ugly thing that I really had nothing to do with. I was more involved with the Starwood and the Rock n Roll side. I certainly knew all it seems were involved with that terrible thing, and heard it all out of the mouths of those same people.
Dominic ‘s best friend was Micheal Mazzechelli. Dom’s G/F was Desi. They all originally came from Danbury Conn. After the Starwood closed not long after the crime (Wonderland). Everyone who worked there scattered. Fear was in the air. Dom and Mike and Des all went back to Conn. but who can stay away long from the scene we lived in? I myself went to work at the Troubadour after the Starwood. I’m sure that Dom and Micheal were certain that they could come back after a few months. Things had calmed down. They all 3 of ’em came back in Dom’s red van and tried to set up shop. Things were tough though. Not many people were really looking for sound guy’s who were willing to pay what they were used to making. I was after all only 17 at the time and willing to work for CHEAP! Gary Fontenot (Starwood mgr) made a call on my behalf to Doug Weston and I got lighting work for I think it was $20.00 a night. Dom and Mike couldn’t do that cause they were used to a LOT more. Ed Nash was good to us all.
So Dom and Des and Mazzechelli were broke and addicted to coke then evicted from their motel room and so it goes same old story. So the Danbury crowd stayed in the van in Fontenots driveway (in Studio City) for a 2 or 3 weeks. Everyone was partying and what not. Gary set up Dom with an Colombian dealer named Orlando (Not the same person as the Orlando who did ‘buisness’ with Ed). Gary was trying to get them a situation to get them out of the driveway. Dom got fronted 4 oz’s and it got smoked up. They only let me have a couple of hit’s cause the drug is like that and their excuse was cause I was so young. Ed pulled that same crap with me later. C”mon guy’s! They knew how tough I was. Assholes. Anyhoo, when Dom and Micheal couldn’t come up with the money, They tried to tell the Colombian that the coke had been “Poison” and they just flushed it. Well,,,,, This did not go over very well with the dealer. Nor with Gary. I watched Gary kicking that red van and throwing stuff around untill they left. Gary was good with histrionics. Tell you what John.. It’s late and I’m tired. So do you want me to keep this up?? I Don’t know anything about East Coast mobsters. Dom and Mike and Desi were guido-trash pretty much. I Know that Dom’s Mother actually Bronzed his bass guitar after his death. Just like baby-shoes. Then hung it over the fireplace. And Dominic couldn’t play that thing for shit!!! Truth is truly stranger! In a day or two I’ll tell you how Dom ended up living at Ed’s. and his unfortunate demise. Now why dont you give me something?? I’ll leave it up to your imagination.. Boy the Colombian did not take it well. The 1st time I ever heard an automatic weapon fired. A REAL Machine gun. Bullets flew everywhere. 10 minutes later the phone rang. The Hispanic voice said: ‘Give that frog-faced fucker my message” I’ll tell you the rest (maybe) soon Goodnight.
Brandy 3:12 pm on October 31, 2013 Permalink |
Holy cow this is incredible, wow. You rock JOhn!
John 3:45 pm on October 31, 2013 Permalink |
I just made Dom a memorial at Find A Grave – RIP you crazy fucker:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=119613731
criticextraordinaire 4:52 pm on October 31, 2013 Permalink |
Don’t roll out too much, too fast John. You don’t want to blow your wadd all at once. 🙂
John 7:03 pm on October 31, 2013 Permalink |
Coming Soon critic. Next up Ron’s prison time…. And Joe Mikaelien’s cry baby vibe to the judge. “I murdered people but grant me a mistrial because I get headaches, and have done drugs” That fucking asshole!
criticextraordinaire 5:05 pm on October 31, 2013 Permalink |
You know, I think that Jon Taffer was running the Troubadour back then. Can you ask Lee if he was? And if so, was Taffer as cranky as he is these days on Bar Rescue?????
John 5:20 pm on October 31, 2013 Permalink |
Sure, I’ll ask him. Sounds funny, I need to watch that show more often.
localarts 6:47 pm on October 31, 2013 Permalink |
Cool Story. In the early 80’s, if you wanted to get signed or seen by a major recod label the Starwood was the place to be.
scabiesoftherat 11:24 pm on October 31, 2013 Permalink |
That was a pretty cool story. I had just seen a documentary about the Troubador and this chronicle really confirms what they said in the documentary.
Doug Weston really was a cheap MF.
John 7:24 am on November 2, 2013 Permalink |
I may have to go into the secret Wonderland golden cache of photos to get Lee to give me part 2!
John 9:00 am on November 5, 2013 Permalink |
Here’s the conclusion to the Domenic Fragomeli story from Lee at the Starwood. Nash allegedly tried to help, but that’s a double-edged sword:
Ok.. Here’s some more.
Gary threw the Danbury crowd out of the driveway but that wasn’t good enough for the Colombian dealer. I was in the room where everyone always hung out. Kind of a ‘back’ living room. I believe it was a street called Laurel terrace. But it was a long time ago. So Gary and his housemate Nurse Michael were watching TV. It was around 6 PM or so. I had just given Gary’s horrible little dog ‘itty-bitty’ a bath and was drying her when what sounded like Big ole firecrackers on the very front porch went off. Gary, micheal and I looked at each other and the ‘ What the f was that’ thing went on for a minute till I went out to investigate with Nurse Micheal. At 1st Things looked cool. Then I looked at Nurse Micheals Older blue lincoln and said something to the effect/affect of;’ Hey Micheal, Why’d you leave all of your windows down on your car?’ Then we both saw that the ground was littered with broken glass. Going around to the street side we saw MANY hole’s in Micheals car. I went went “Holy S–T! Mcheal, Get back in the house, NOW”! And almost had to drag him back inside cause he just didn’t seem to get it. I hollered at Gary that someone just SHOT up the f-ing house! Gary didn’t believe it until we went into the front room and saw hole’s along the inside front room wall. Bullet holes.(Thank whatever Gods were there that no-one ever hung out in that room and there was a huge stone fireplace which caught the lead and none entered where we were. Then the phone rang. I picked it up and the aforementioned Hispanic voice, ( Not the dealers voice which I knew but a different one.) “Did you get get my message? Someone needs to pay” Stunned silence there I assure you. What we thought was that since the dealer was introduced by Gary. Gary was responsible for the dept. About 3 or 4 days later there was a little get together at the house. Gary had told everyone he knew that they were SO BUMMED OUT FROM BEING (Why am I yelling? OH.. Just hit the caps key.) machine gunned that everyone should come over with as many drugs and much booze that they could carry, so Nurse Michael and Gary could calm down and enjoy life a bit.( Oh, And if you have a stray roach or something for the kid. That’d be cool, But don’t really worry about him. a-holes. I ALWAYS got the shaft in the drug dept.) So just at twilight when everyone’s getting all mellow. Were in the backyard grilling when BANGBANGBANGBANGetc. AGAIN! Being outside this time There was No doubt that it was gunshots. People scattered. Over fences into neighbors yards. Anywhere but there. I think, But am not certain that Danny Boneduce was there for that 1. He was around allot in those day’s. “Got Coke? Got Danny Partridge!) Nurse Michael had his bag packed before the last shell hit the ground I swear! This was in 1981. I remember a person who lived at least 1/2 a block down the street had a chat with Gary as they walked up and down the street cause a bullet fragment had traveled down the street and entered his home through a window within feet of his young son. There HAS to be police reports on this. I tried looking on google maps for the exact address, but I’m not real computer savvy and couldn’t get it. Mazzechelli went back to Conn. and that’s how Dom and Des ended up at Ed’s. I would conjecture, But I don’t know. That Ed intervened on Doms behalf. There were no more gunshots at that house. I don’t have any idea what Ed had required of Dom for letting him live there and I assume taking care of that debt. But Dom Never had to pay it cause within not too awful long later. Dom died of a Speedball, Or MANY Smoked Speedballs. ) I used to laugh seeing Fontenot smoke one. Here’s a guy who could Freebase All nigh and be a bit weird but O.K. Then Ed would sprinkle a bit of that brown stuff on the top and Gary would RUN to the Bathroom to puke immediately! Ed would never give me ANY freebase cause he said; ” He’s Too Young” Like I had never done it before. He’d have one of the girls give me a couple of lines and some crappy pot instead. Well, Beggers cant choose I guess. Ok John. Now that I’m ‘warmed up’ so to speak. I got to get back to my own stuff. Talk to you soon. Maybe!
John 1:16 pm on November 7, 2013 Permalink |
Part 3 is even better!
Part 3 – The Final Chapter For Dominic Fragomeli @ Nash’s | Wonderland1981 - The Wonderland Murders 6:05 am on November 12, 2013 Permalink |
[…] reading the previous chapters about Dom here. RIP […]
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