The Real Eddie Nash?
There will always be speculation about Eddie Nash, what he was really like, etc. I’ve touched on that topic before and every so often I get an email or see a post on YouTube or the Wonderland Wikipedia “Talk” page with comments like “You didn’t even know Eddie, he was awesome”. Or, “…he paid his employees top dollar and rewarded loyalty to good workers”, and so on. A few have claimed that “they invaded his home, they deserved what they got! I would have done the same thing to those dopers”. I can just see Ed thinking post-robbery that “my life has come to this? I’m a fucking loser” LOL. He was quite pissed off! as Detective Tom Lange told Julia Negron.
So Ed had some good qualities. I don’t doubt that a bit. Just read the blog posts from Lee who worked at the Starwood. If we look at this excerpt from John Gilmore’s book, “Scary Monsters and Super Freaks”, we get a clear view of the Nash from the late 50s and early 60s era, when he owned the hot dog stand and before he became co-owner of PJ’s Night Club (this location later became the Starwood in the 1970s). I think that in between owning the hot dog stand and PJ’s, Eddie also owned and ran a Lebanese Cafe.
However, in all of the famous articles and books about Wonderland, nobody ever mentions his marriage and family life. Legs McNeil touches on it via an interview with club owner, Chris Cox, but there are no details. So if Ed met John Holmes in the late 70s, then Ed had already begun his downward spiral into drugs, women, partying, etc. Also, his divorce was finalized exactly ONE MONTH after the murders. Ed was in a bad place to be messed with. The Wonderland guys picked a VERY bad time to rob Eddie via home invasion. Lest we forget also, that Eddie received karma as well. His illegitimate son was stabbed to death, along with Ed’s ex-girlfriend, by that biker guy in the mid 80s.
The last paragraph which lists Eddie’s ailments and stuff… most of that happened to him post-Wonderland. For, he looks rather healthy in the 1981 era photos.
Nice Guy Eddie.
James historiographer, 
localarts, 
Patrick, and 7 others are discussing. 
localarts 4:50 pm on February 12, 2014 Permalink |
I remember reading a story about June Schuyler & Nash. Nash seemed to display empathy and kindness toward her son but at the same time you have to remember Eddie Nash projected himself the way he wanted to be seen by others. In the end, I think Nash threatened to kill Schuyler entire family.
Nash was a bad guy and drugs only amplified this. Same with Holmes.
John 7:35 am on February 14, 2014 Permalink |
Yes, there is another occasion where Nash threatened to kill his ex-wife and her entire family if she did not bring the kids back to LA. “Don’t come back to LA, I will have someone kill you at the airport” (based on interview with Mrs. Nash by Legs McNeil)
jimmy---chicago 9:16 pm on February 12, 2014 Permalink |
In the movie the robbery of eddie nash looked a little ruff but I read in this blog that Ronnie started to cut Diles with a knife ,now that would freak the shit out of anybody .You are not just getting robbed but fucked with possably a little torture and wasent it Ronnie who wanted to kill a maid in the bath tub on another robbery .They made there bed and had to lay in it .I am in no way saying they deserved it but then again I have never had my home invaded an smacked around in the process Diles and Nash probably thought that they were going to kill them and when it was over they probably felt a sigh of relief and fuck this I wont let this ever happen to me again.Billy and Ronnie should have been up all night
being on guard how stupid I bet nash was more carefull about his security after that. Tony Accardo the godfather of the chicago mob was robbed in the early eighties around same time as wonderland and he had all the mob burglers tortured and killed involved or not just to set a presidence not to fuck with the big man so be careful on who you screw over
criticextraordinaire 5:36 am on February 13, 2014 Permalink |
“I am in no way saying they deserved it”… I’ll say it then. There are some crimes that call for ruthless street justice and what happened to Eddie is one of those times. Ronnie and Billy got what they had coming. Break into a guy’s house, put a gun at him, shoot his bodyguard, snort lines off his daughter’s vanity mirror, steal his money and dope… You’re asking for it.
John 7:34 am on February 14, 2014 Permalink |
Yes, as localarts said once, Diles had a rough morning. Got grazed by Lind’s accidental gun fire and then Ronnie tried to dry shave him with a Rambo type knife. LOL.
localarts 7:11 am on February 13, 2014 Permalink |
Whether or not they deserved it is beside the point. Like Leggs McNeil said, the mistake they made was not killing Nash & Diles. Holmes deserved to die for being stupid enough to suggest the home invasion robbery to begin with and of course his involvement in the murders themselves.
criticextraordinaire 7:26 pm on February 13, 2014 Permalink |
I agree with you there, localarts. Ronnie slipped up by not finishing off Eddie & Greg. He knew better and it ended up costing him his life. If you pull that sort of crap on a guy like Eddie, you better be prepared to go all the way, ’cause he’s gonna come after you with everything he’s got.
Bobby 12:16 am on February 14, 2014 Permalink
It’s utterly confounding that the Wonderland gang didn’t do more to avoid the retribution that was undoubtedly coming their way. They had to know that Nash wasn’t gonna take it lying down, hence why they were contemplating skipping town. They also had to know Holmes would squeal once Nash got a hold of him so why the hell did they continue to stay in contact with him? He wasn’t to be trusted, period. Don’t let him into your apartment in the early hours of the morning!! Nash would’ve taken all of 3 seconds to work out that Holmes was behind it all! Real amateur mistakes that ended up costing their lives. There’s a very good chance that they could’ve gotten away with the robbery but instead they got lazy and complacent and totally screwed everything.
localarts 7:31 am on February 14, 2014 Permalink
“You Better Cancel Christmas” —- Gregory Dewitt Diles.
jimmy---chicago 8:13 pm on February 13, 2014 Permalink |
Eddie is no different than most not all risky businesses owners.By risky I mean dive bars ,clubs,strip joints and liquor stores the type of places that most people dont care about even law enforcement dosent car about the well being of these places .The video poker machines, pool tables and juke boxes
are usually supplied by mob owned amusement companies .You can’t come off as mr rogers when you have these type of businesses the people you have to deal with just to get up and running are going to see how far they can go with you .Mabe you opned a joint in someones territory and now you have to pay some wiseguy asshole a monthly fee to even open up .Eddie is also a product of his environment he comes from a place that stone women that have been raped ,cut off hands of thieves and other awfull things .Its called Middle eastern justice and there are a lot of immigrents in this country
who want sharia law here. So these people are all over the place . How many murderers did you walk past today and said hi .Mabe you like to get hi where did it come from whose hands touched it first.Any way Eddie is no mystery we all deal with his type every day.I also think like ronnie his reputation keeps growing .I dont believe ronnie killed 27 people and I dont believe the 40 acres in the desert story with eddie but I do believe eddie did wonderland and ronnie probably did the mexico thing and mabe someone else . Enough of my rambling 4 to day
localarts 12:03 pm on February 14, 2014 Permalink |
I have always had trouble with Ronnie and the 27 murders. I don’t know about everybody else on this forum but I have followed or read about Wonderland since the 1980’s and I had never read or heard about the 27 a ledged murders until Long Time Money & Lots of Cocaine came out. As far as I know, that the only published account to makes these claims about Launius.
If I’m not mistaken, the 40 acres of desert property story was told to James Cox via someone who worked for the LAPD during that time period. It may or may not be true but I wouldn’t put it past Eddie to have at least 5 acres!! Even though it’s extremely difficult to believe anything John Holmes say’s, Holmes, Schiller and Scott Thorson all made references to “people disappearing in the desert”
You make some very good points Jimmy C.
criticextraordinaire 7:32 pm on February 14, 2014 Permalink
I think the bidding STARTS with 27. Remember, when the news got out that Ronnie was dead, cops all over California were celebrating. I read somewhere (maybe it was here) that one cop mentioned of Ronnie’s funeral “Well he won’t need many pall bearers”, and when asked to elaborate he said “A trash can only has two handles”. Ronnie outsmarted all the cops though, and I suppose that’s why they hated him, the one who always got away. The only man in California who could bring him down was Eddie Nash… and himself.
jimmy---chicago 10:31 pm on February 14, 2014 Permalink
It seems like cox took a lot of liberties and here are some examples 1. DAVID LIND IN MOVIE SAID NO WITNESSES , I THINK THAT NILS DUDE SAID IT WAS RONNIE THAT SAID NO WITNESSES WITH THAT ROBBERY THAT THE MAID WAS IN BATH TUB 2.IN THE BACKGROUND IN MOVIE WHEN THEY SHOW RONNIE (JOSH LUCAS) WHILE DAVID IS BEING INTERAGATED THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME KIND OF OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT THAT SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS AND SOMETHING ABOUT NOT RESPECTING AUTHORITY(my words cant remember exact wording in movie) Well he joined the air force they didnt draft him and daddio was in airforce so he knew what it was all about and he was discharged honerably so see what I mean. I BET THAT EITHER SUSAN LAUNIUS COULD SUE FOR THE WAY THEY PORTRAID HER AND RONNIES FAMILY ALONG WITH LINDS FAMILY COULD DO THE SAME ALSO. THE MOVIE CASINO ALL THE NAMES WERE CHANGED AND THE SCENE WHERE DUDES EYE POPS OUT HAPPNED IN CHICAGO THAT WAS IN 60S THAT WAS CALLED THE M&M MURDERS IT IS ON THE INTERNET LOOK IT UP MARTY SCORCEZY(I CANT SPELL) SAID IT WAS A NIGHTMARE HE WOULD HAVE TO GET ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE RELATED TO THOSE WHO WERE PORTRAYED IN MOVIE TO SIGN OFF ON IT BECAUSE THE MOB WOULD AND FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE MOB WOULD SUE THE NEWS PAPERS OVER STORIES THAT WERE PROBABLY TRUE BUT NOT PROVEN. THE MOVIE CASINO WAS ABOUT THE SPILOTRO BROTHERS AND GAMBELING ACE LEFTY ROSENTHALL AND THE REST OF THE OUTFIT(THE NAME GIVEN BY CAPONE FOR OUR BRANCH OF THE MOB) THE WHOLE MOVIE WAS ABOUT HOW THE OUTFIT RUNS EVERYTHING WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI AND THEY LET NEW YORK HAVE ATLANTIC CITY. WELL EVERY NAME WAS CHANGED AND EVENTS WERE SCREWED WITH BECAUSE OF LAW SUITS.SO HOW DID COX GET AWAY WITH IT.
Bobby 12:40 am on February 14, 2014 Permalink |
Can’t say I much believe the 40 acres in the desert story either. From what I understand Eddie was a businessman first (a pretty good one by the looks of things!) and a “gangster” second. Really though, what more do we know about the gangster side of Eddie? Did he used to rough up people himself or have his heavies do this sorta dirty work? Did he ever have anyone killed? Did he ever have anyone kneecapped? Why did he have a bodyguard.. had he amassed quite a few enemies that he needed protecting from? Other than hearing the media continually refer to him as a Nightclub owner and gangster I have yet to come across any solid evidence (other than the Wonderland crime) to support the latter labelling. Anyone care to shine some light on this? Perhaps I missed an entry here on this blog re: Eddie nefarious gangsterism…
localarts 10:13 am on February 15, 2014 Permalink |
Yeah, James Cox embellished a few things for “dramatic effect” there’s no doubt about that. When David Lind went to the police, Tom Lange said Lind was popping uppers & downers during the interview. When Lind was told Barbara Richardson was dead, Lange said David Lind threw a chair across the room or something like that. This of course was never in the movie but should have!
localarts 6:07 pm on February 15, 2014 Permalink |
Wow Critic. At least 27?? Out of curiosity, why do you believe that? I mean were talking Ted Bundy type numbers!
criticextraordinaire 7:27 pm on February 15, 2014 Permalink |
Well you have to figure that if the known total was 27, there were probably a few others that the cops never found out about. Like the dudes in Mexico who unwisely kidnapped Susan. The cops would not have cared about those guys.
jimmy---chicago 9:25 am on February 16, 2014 Permalink
Do we even know if the mexico thing really happned.In the Nils interview he said or refered to that mexico thing as overglorified (what does that mean) are we talking about a deal with a couple of shady mexicans over the border that went bad.Every time I hear this story it involves a drug cartel .This is where it turns into a big fish story. What did he do come busting in like the guns of navarone bazuka in one hand and a 50 calaber in the other swinging in through the window with the rope clinched between his teeth.He wasent Rambo and how does this fit into the timeline?This to me would be the biggest story or the most interesting story of ronnie .Now we get to the 27 murders . Who are the 27 and just because ronnie was murdered that dosent stop an investigation let alone 27 investigations this would be a big deal and a promotion for the person who solves 27 murders and ties it to one person.Also who was he doing hits for another drug dealer well if he has 27 dead beat customers he’s outta business and if ronnie did all of the above that I Briefly touched on he never would have been so stupid to get murdered in his sleep. I dont think susan would have been around for wonderland if the mexico thing really went down I could be wrong.I have reason to believe susan was trying to dump ronnie while he was in jail for those years.She realized that she was not going anyware with ronnie .The guy steals for a living and would not be able to consistantly provide for her .Well thats what I think.
criticextraordinaire 2:18 pm on February 16, 2014 Permalink
Jimmy it’s called “codependency”. People who stick around somebody who is obviously bad for them. Either because they think they can’t do better (low self esteem), or because they feel it is their duty to try and “change” the malefactor (messiah complex). Happens all the time. There are codependency rehab counselors making a career out of this all over the country.
I don’t think Ronnie would have done the guns of Navarone routine. He would have been discreet, taking out the opposition one by one. Each guy would, however, know who did him in and why. After all, the Mexican thing was about revenge, not business. But its hard to tell exactly what happened because all the Mexican guys are dead and so is Ronnie.
criticextraordinaire 5:27 pm on February 16, 2014 Permalink
Plus, Ronnie was probably a pretty good provider. I mean, he got out of the military in ’72 I think and was able to make a living up until July of ’81. His line of business can get you lots of money (unless you violate “Rule Number One” which seems to have been the gang’s problem). If you get his sort of notoriety it’s because you are scoring money. Yeah he served some time in jail during that time period but you have to income-average. She could have done worse.
localarts 6:38 pm on February 16, 2014 Permalink |
Critic, as much as you want to believe these stories about Launius and yes it does make for a fascinating tale, there really is no evidence to substantiate it. In 1972 an undercover narcotics officers had various dealings with Launius in Sacramento (it never stated he was arrested for dealing)
Launius was however arrested later in 72 for weapons possession in another part of Northern California.
I can’t remember the city though. The problem I have with the 27 potential homicides committed by Launius is…why did the police only mention 1? It’s been over 32 years since Ronnie took a dirt nap and still there has never been any mention of the 27 murders in reference to Ron Launius by any branch of law enforcement, at least not in printed format.
I think it’s safe to say Launius spent a majority of the 1970’s either in jail, federal prison or some half way house. 70, 71, 72 USAF. 73 busted for narcotics trafficking, makes bail and flees to Mexico. 74, 75,76,77,78 incarcerated. I have no idea when in 78 he was released, but he gains his freedom in 1978.
I’m thinking that if this was in fact true then Wonderland would have been an even bigger story back in 81. “Ronald Launius suspected in at least 27 murders was one of four people found bludgeoned to death” Now how’s that for a headline!
Ronald Lee Launius may very well have murdered 27 or more people but allot of things surrounding this just don’t make sense??
criticextraordinaire 7:30 pm on February 16, 2014 Permalink |
Well of course it kinda got swept under the rug. What were the cops gonna say? “Hey this guy we suspect of all these crimes, the only person who could pinch him was Eddie Nash.” While they were happy to see their nemesis’ demise, they were also embarrassed; they never did catch their target. Then Eddie embarrassed them some more. They couldn’t even convict Johnny Wad.
Besides, I would imagine most if not all of the 27 were unsavory characters. They only wanted Ronnie because of his main line of business anyway. Once Ronnie was dead, they had more pressing issues.
John 8:12 am on February 18, 2014 Permalink |
Ron was quite teflon himself. He beat gun and drug charges in the early 70s. He was acquitted. I wonder who his lawyer was? Anyhoo, in reading Ron’s appeal for his smuggling conviction, he may have had the conviction reversed on appeal if he had not plead guilty (if I read that legal document correctly). That case regarding “double jeopardy” has been cited over the years by other cases. The key is, not to plead guilty though.
jimmy---chicago 4:44 pm on February 17, 2014 Permalink |
Street wise, joint wise, and con wise.But not wise enough to stay alert after stealing all that shit fron nash
John 5:22 pm on February 17, 2014 Permalink |
Being con-wise and such, Ron and Bill should have known Holmes would fuck it all up. But, with all the dope and nrwfound wealth, they were not thinking clearly.
localarts 5:22 pm on February 17, 2014 Permalink |
The gang was planning on fleeing to Hawaii but partied too long on Nash’s stash, big mistake. The gang should have purchased their airline tickets in advance and Ronnie should have told Cherokee to have everybody’s luggage waiting for them at LAX. Joy & Barbara tell Holmes they are going to the canyon country store to get some smokes (there really headed to the Hilton) McCourt drives straight to the airport form Nash’s house. The gang rents a room at the Hilton, everybody gets their cut, and they party till the sun comes up the following morning, have breakfast and casually board a flight to Maui.
All the time Holmes is still waiting at 8763 wondering WTF.
criticextraordinaire 6:31 pm on February 17, 2014 Permalink |
And yet there was John Holmes, still alive. John was a survivor and he was surviving.
Jeremy 3:10 pm on January 22, 2015 Permalink |
Deserve has nothing to do with it. If you associate with known murderer’s and drug dealers, and make no mistake about it, Nash was both. Let’s not forget that the rumors surrounding Nash at the time involved him lobbying head’s off and barring them in the desert. True or not, at the least a cause for pause. So they had to have known that what transpired was real possibility. On the other hand if Nash was such a great guy as said article implies, then who sends someone to murder other human beings, regardless of what offensive was layed at his feet. He didn’t just have the people who robbed him killed. There are two victims that for all intense purposes had nothing to do with the robbery. Let’s not forget that!!
bobabooie 6:37 am on May 24, 2017 Permalink |
The sad fact is that if Nash hadn’t given those junkie assholes some retribution they would have been back at Dona Lola every week making Eddie and Gregory Diles their bitches. Drug addicts live per diem and certainly do not care about longevity.
Patrick 11:15 am on September 24, 2020 Permalink |
I am in LA doing research on Wonderland and took a drive from the house on Wonderland to Eddie’s old place in Dona Lola, plan was to ask and pay the current homeowners to allow me to come inside and take pictures of each room where the robbery took place and to my surprise the house has been torn down and is being replaced by a new beautiful mansion. Eddies house on Dona Lola is no more! Total bummer and I was so shocked I just left the area in disbelief. Still looking for friends off Eddie or his children, anyone who lived with him at Dona Lola, please contact me at email below or messenger me. Thank you.
localarts 12:46 pm on September 29, 2020 Permalink |
That is a surprise! All the history that house possessed…gone.
James historiographer 6:11 pm on April 4, 2021 Permalink |
Hello everyone. Eddie Nash, like scores of Gangsters was a charismatic guy. I met Joe Massino the head of the Bonanno crime family in 2002 at the San Gennaro Feast in NYC. I liked him immediately. These types of people are special people. Eddie Nash was a 10 on a scale of 1-10. He had all the likable personality traits that organized crime figures have. You either have this or you do not. This is why I believe Eddie Nash found the drugs as soon as he arrived. He also was rubbing elbows with the equestrians. You do not do this kind of socializing if you do not have charisma. Rock stars, movie stars and gangsters’ all have this type of charisma. Drug dealers will not deal to you unless your cool. Believe me, especially back then. You had to know people to buy a kilogram. It is unheard of for a regular person to buy a boat of cocaine. The dealers will not sell to you.
I would be pulling your leg if I didn’t say that all these charismatic people share a genetic strand or two. How many rock stars, movie stars and gangsters get murdered or are involved in murders? High profile Gangsters are all violent. 100% of gangsters are violent. John Gotti was a very charismatic man, but he was setting everyone up to be murdered at the end. John Gotti was a beloved figure so much so that the neighborhood would be out on the streets when he would beat a case. They would line the streets for John Gotti. He had a magnetism and it was obvious if you ever met a person like this. Eddie treated people well. Of course, how else do you ingratiate everyone so that nobody calls the police? Either you are feared or loved or both.
Eddie, like many other gangsters had a big personality. This doesn’t mean he’s not a gangster. Do not fool around. The man I likened to my father at the San Gennaro feast in NYC, murdered 7 people and was indicted on 11 counts of the RICO Act. Never think that a gangster is not a gangster because he treated people nicely. They all do, but sometimes they will drop the smile and let the rage out too. Joe Massino after having a few nice words with me asked who my father was and said that he didn’t know him as he turned to the left and hit me with the butt of his pistol. I stopped talking to him and started eating the food quietly. I knew what I just bumped into. It got cold quick.
Snakes are a gorgeous animal. They are also poisonous. A tiger is a majestic animal. If you bump into one, I suggest you do not try and pet it. Eddie Nash was a very lovable person, but he could turn on you big time. The Wonderland Gang was stupid not to leave the day they scored because he didn’t just arrange the murders, he staged a “house of pain” style murder. There is a difference. Think of the balls it takes to run in a house beating everyone to death. They could have had guns and it would have been pop, pop, pop and done. They were told to stay and do the job with Holmes in tow. That took tremendous balls. Greg Diles did what his boss told him to do. Wonderland was a particularly vengeful murder. Eddie was the real deal. Why anyone would have the stones to attack him is beyond my comprehension. Holmes was playing with fire a clear sign of a base head. I have seen base heads and they are dumb as dog shit. Holmes lost all sense of himself and knew he was riding too close to the fire, but he couldn’t stop. Just like a base head.
So, I believe people when they say Eddie Nash treated them well, paid them well and even loved him in spite of the things he does. Every gangster has a family and is charismatic. Very few of them are loaners. A lot of Bikers are loaners, but that is why gangsters found out they are not really good to work with. Some Hell’s Angels and heads of biker gangs were looked at in a favorable light, but it was mostly because they were disposable to the Italians and they rode bikes facilitating drug sales. Gangsters are usually surrounded by people and they all start as very charismatic people. Unfortunately, most of them unravel, and when they do, it is not pretty. This eventually happened to Eddie too. He lived life hard and when he fell it was hard too. They go into this life knowing this. To be a good gangster, you must be likable. The heads of the biker gangs were all charismatic and they would sell out their own people to make sure it doesn’t stop the operation. That is just how it goes in that life.