Rotten Mango - #74: The Party Monster Murder (Case of Michael Alig)

Episode Date: June 20, 2021

The hottest clubs in New York City were run by Michael. He knew how to throw a party - serving cat food as appetizers, performances of women pulling Christmas lights out of - well, you know where.  A rotating wheel of 6 cow tongues for anyone to “rub” up against. This was the place to be.  But when rumors started circling that Michael had injected one of his friends with Drano and dismembered him in his bathtub… nobody believed it. Or maybe they didn’t want to? Because the party must go on.  Source: "Party Monster" by James St. James - wow... this book is a first-hand account of the whole scene, the environment, but also the crime. Really fantastic read that goes far more in-depth!  Full Source Notes Here: rottenmangopodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rambles. Whether you're doing a dance to your favorite artist in the office parking lot, or being guided into Warrior I in the break room before your shift, whether you're running on your Peloton tread at your mom's house while she watches the baby, or counting your breaths on the subway. Peloton is for all of us, wherever we are, whenever we need it. Download the free Peloton is for all of us. Wherever we are, whenever we need it. Download the free Peloton app today. Peloton app available through free tier or pay to description starting at 12.99 per month. Better being better boom.

Welcome to this week's mini-sode. Today I'm going to be telling you guys a wild story. I want to put a quick disclaimer. There's going to be heavy, heavy usage of drugs in this story, not on this set, but in this story. So just if you are sensitive to that information or maybe it's gonna trigger you, stay tuned for Wednesday's episode, I'll see you guys on Wednesday. But let's say that you're having a bad day, maybe a bad weekend, maybe a bad week, I don't know, everyone's talking about how Mercury is in retrograde, but it probably can't be as bad as James St. James. Does the name ring a bell? He was on multiple... James St. James? James St. James. He was on ring a bell? He was on a multiple... James St. James? James St. James.

He was on multiple seasons of America's top model. America's next top model. He actually had a guest appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race. This person's famous. James St. James was not having a good day. He was at a club in New York City doing way too many drugs. To the point where, when he left that club, he had no idea where his shoes were. He was without a club in New York City doing way too many drugs to the point where when he left that club he had no idea where his shoes were. He was without a coat.

I mean we're talking in the middle of the winter in New York City. There was a blizzard going on. He couldn't, he wasn't sober enough to find his shoes again. So he just walks out in there, ends up in Times Square, no money. Can't even remember. Where do I live? I don't even, why is that escaping my mind right now? I mean he was really on a lot of drugs at this point. Remember, where do I live? I don't even, why is that escaping my mind right now?

I mean, he was really on a lot of drugs at this point. So he's like, jeez, I straight up cannot even think about which way to turn right now to get to my apartment. So he finds a local police station at Times Square and he keeps knocking on the door. They locked it. So an officer comes up, opens it and says, what do you want? Excuse me? I need to be taken into custody immediately. Please. Why?

Why would you need to be arrested right now? Just stay home, dude. You seem drunk. Go put her on some shoes. What are you wearing? Why are you just wearing lingerie? Like, what are you doing out here? If there's a blizzard, and he says, please, please, please.

I am positive that I've done a ton of illegal stuff. We can work out the charges later. Can I just please use your phone? And the police officer just shoes him away. Like get out of here, you drunk weirdo. Look, he just looks like someone that crawled out of a nightclub. It doesn't look like a serious crime.

It doesn't look like a serious situation. So he starts begging past her buys to use their phone. Nobody cares. And then in the middle of all of this, he falls. He tumbles to the ground. The dirty sidewalk filled with slush and snow in Times Square. And he starts crying. But that's when he saw it.

Michael's apartment is right up the block. So you're thinking who's Michael? Well, Michael is his best friend, of course. I can just make my way over to Michael's place. Everything's gonna be better. The minute that I walk into Michael's house, all of this drug bin just gonna come out of my system. We're gonna eat some delicious food,

and I can so-brop and, ah, God, it's so cold. So he makes his way to Michael's place, goes up the elevator, and Michael's door happens to be wide open. This is three in the morning. So he walks straight and just invites himself, and he's looking around like, well. Michael's apartment door was wide open. And he's looking around like what? Michael's apartment door was wide open. And he's looking around like, wow, this is weird.

I mean, this guy almost never had any furniture, but now he's got this huge chandelier, this new red velvet sofa with the gold and claws as legs. Like, what's a lot of intense stuff? When did he get all of this? I swear to God, I was here like a couple weeks ago and he didn't have any of this. So strange So in comes Michael he walks into the room and he's like, oh my God James It's so nice to see you. Yes. Let's grab some tea. Let's climb into bed So as they're sitting in bed Michael starts telling him we need to talk James No, it's really serious. Did you notice anything different? Well, I noticed you got some new furniture

Well, did you notice anyone different. Well, I noticed you got some new furniture. Well, did you notice anyone different? What? Did you notice anyone missing? Did you notice maybe one of our friends went missing or has gone? You haven't seen him in a while. His name's Angel. Do you remember Angel James? Are you sober enough to remember? Oh, yeah! I haven't seen Angel around lately. But I'm gonna be honest with you, okay? James St. James does not care enough about Angel to really keep track of him. They're not really friends, they don't really get along, so he's like, okay, well, I don't really care about this guy. Michael states, well, you'll be happy to hear this, son. I got rid of him, James.

Once and for all. I killed him. What? So he's sitting there completely drugged out. Like what did you just say? I killed him. Aren't you happy? You said that you just said that you don't like Angel.

Well, I killed him. What do you mean you killed him? Did he odear something? Like how does he just die? What happened? So Michael goes on this whole story. Well, there was a fight. I was stealing drugs from Angel because Angel is a drug dealer, right? Everybody knew it. Angel knew it, but Michael was like Angel's idol. Angel

looks up to Michael on a daily basis. So he came over and he said, I can't do this anymore. You owe me like thousands and thousands of dollars because of all the drugs that you stole from me. I want my money. I want my money back. So they start fighting in Michael's apartment where they lived with another drug dealer by the name of Freeze. That's his name, okay? Freeze. So they're both angry, getting angry, our Freeze comes out of the room, confronts Angel for Michael and says, hey, back off my roommate and grabs a hammer and hits Angel on the head three times, knocking him to the ground. I mean it was an accident and now we have angel on the ground all blooded up, there was blood, I mean everywhere. He started having these seizures. So he tries to like crawl out my apartment. So he starts freaking out, we can't let him go. I get on top of his chest and I just start strangling him. I put a pillow on top of him to make sure that he doesn't scream. Well what do we do now? Do we call the police? But suddenly I realized, I mean,

angels dead, right? If he's not dead, he's probably gonna be brain dead. If he's not brain dead, he's probably gonna be paralyzed for the rest of his life, maybe even comatose. What kind of life is that? We call a police, he's in a coma for the rest of his life and guess what?

I'm in jail for the rest of my life because I killed him or I put him in that comatose state. No, no, no, no, we can't do this. Freeze and Michael, they start talking about what are we going to do? What are we going to do? Exactly how are we going to get rid of this body? How are we going to kill him? He's still not dead.

So they say, okay, go grab me a needle. They grab a heroin needle and they fill it with drain. You know that really? Oh my god. Like, that chemical is scary. You put it down your drains and it just obliterates everything it obliterates all that clump tear anything that might be clogging your drains I heard it's really bad for your pipes. It's a corrosive material, right?

So they put drain out into this heroin needle and they inject it into angel's body We've we talked about a drain. Oh killer right? angel's body. We've talked about a drain of killer right? Theory painful. So they inject it into angel's body and he starts spasming out. They said that there was some pain in his eyes and then he died. So now what? I mean, there's blood everywhere. We stepped all over the blood. There's bloody handprints on the wall. Should we do some more drawings to make sure that we're thinking clearly so they do a dangerous amount of crack at this point And they decide to throw Angel's body into their bathtub and clean up and go shopping

Whaa? So James A.J. is like, what do you mean go shopping? And Michael looks around the apartment No All of this stuff? The new velvet couch I just saw? You bought that right after you killed Angel? With Angel's money? With Angel's money? Is that right? Yes! Wow. Okay, so you go shopping

and then what? What happened then Michael? Well then that night we decided to invite people over. We were gonna have a party. So we told them don't mind the smell. Let's just do drugs in the living room. So we're all doing drugs but of course it's like a sitcom, a girl goes into the bathroom to pee and they aren't behind the shower curtain, I guess it had like moved, right? He's not alive, but like for some reason they aren't like fell down from the position that it was in, Angel's arm. And the girl is like, oh shit, sorry, I didn't know someone was in here, so she quickly leaves the bathroom. And at this point, Michael starts freaking out. We got to close up this bathroom. They put a mattress in front of the bathroom door

so that no one can use it and just kept saying the smell is plumbing issues, the smell is plumbing issues. And for the next week, they invited more people over, had more parties while Angel's body was decomposing in the bathtub. So eventually they're like, we gotta do something about this. The scent is horrible, he's bloated. Okay, so Michael, Michael tells Fris, go to the local Macy's. I want you to buy some kitchen knives.

At Macy's, okay? Buy some kitchen knives. Why? Why Macy? I don't know. I'm assuming it's more affordable elsewhere, but Macy's. So he goes and buys like regular steak knives, maybe like a regular kitchen knife, at Macy's, brings it home to Michael and he just goes in there and starts dismembering him. So he chops off angels legs, puts them into like a box, ties them together and like a bundle, that's what they kept calling the body a bundle, because the body is now wrapped in bedsheets, put the leg bundle in a box, and then the torso and the rest of his body into another box. James is like, well, isn't it hard to dismember a body?

Is this a low too much information for James to handle since he's so drugged out? Yeah! And he said during this entire process, he kept reaching for a bag of heroin because he was like, I can't do this. I think I need to be more drugged out for a story like this. So he's saying, yeah, we dismembered him. Well, isn't it hard to dismember a body? That sounds crazy. Well, no, it's like cutting into chicken. I think he's so decomposed that I just use regular like steak knives. The bones also snapped super easily. That's how he's describing it. Nonchalantly, as if he just mealtraped for the week.

So what did you do with the body, Michael? We put them in two boxes, we got into the elevator, and then there was an old man in the elevator, so we were like, oh shit. And he kept commenting about the smell, and we just giggled, like, yeah, it's our stuff, it's nasty. They get into a cab, they get driven to the Hudson River, and they just toss the boxes off. Now, the box that contained the legs, it sank to the bottom. But the other box that had the rest of Angel's body, the inside was lined with quirk,

like some sort of foam. It was a TV box, okay. Oh my God, are you kidding me right now? So they see it just floating away, not sinking with floating away. So James is like, whoa, what did you do at that point? I mean, what can we do? You want us to go back into the river and make it sink? We just watched it float away. So after this whole story, Michael looks at James St. James and said, does

this change your opinion of me? Do you love me less now? They're dating? No, they're just best friends. And he says, I mean, I don't know how do we act? You know, James ain't James. He's coming down from a drug binge. Like, what does he even say? Even if you're completely sober in the right frame of mind?

What do you even say to a story like this? So he just says the easiest thing. Of course I love you. I always knew you were um... capable of doing big things, right? Yes. Historical things. Oh, you think so?

That's so sweet. This is the conversation. Wait, wait, wait. So the guy has no guilt, no remorse. No, he's just... He's like, that's so sweet. You think that I'm capable of doing big things? Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait Yeah, they're angels. And they both start laughing. And I think that they were laughing for different reasons. Michael was laughing because he genuinely was having a good time. He thought that this was funny.

I think James St. James was laughing because what do you do in that situation? He's probably also super high. So I just don't even understand. This is actually this whole podcast. I'm going to leave all of it in the source notes. There's a couple really good documentaries But there's also a book called party monster written by James St. James

It's kind of a memoir, but it goes through this whole thing this whole murder this whole dismemberment and it's insane It's like this intimate look right dab in the middle of it because he is the murderers best friend So it's fascinating. He's still alive. He lives in Los Angeles. James St. James. He's a TV personality and author. The book, Party Monster, was adapted into a movie. He makes regular appearances on multiple different reality shows like Rupal's Drag Race, America's Next Top Model. You get it. I highly recommend that book. So good. But who is this Michael character? His name is Michael Allig and he was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. He was the second of two children and his parents got divorced when he was four years old. So this took a lot of just pain. He loved his parents, he wanted them together, but

now they're divorced. But he decided I'm going to focus on school and he starts studying and studying and he actually graduated a straight A student top 8% of his high school. But socially speaking, he was having a rough time. He was constantly bullied for his sexuality. The environment there in South Bend, Indiana was just way too conservative. So his dream was like many people's dreams, you know. I'm going to move to New York City, okay? I grew up in a small town.

I totally feel this. So he's like, I'm going to go to college in New York City. I want to be someone someday. And when you move to New York City, you have a way bigger chance. I mean, this is it. At the same time, in another small town, there was James St. James, the author of this book, who is also in the same sense of, like, grew up in a less populated area. Wanted to move to the big city. This is his dream. Now, he gets to New York City first. James St. James. He's in his 20s and he just does not want to blend in. He did not come to New York to just disappear in the crowd of people. No, he came here to be someone. So he wants to stand out. And the only way to do that is to climb a social ladder. And it all starts at the club scene. The hierarchy of the attendees

at the nightclub is so important. This means that some people can just walk through the nightclub door without waiting in line without paying. Sometimes they will even be paid to be there. And they're not a celebrity. It's not like they're on the posters like, oh, Rihanna's coming to the club tonight. No, that's popular. Just regular New Yorkers that have a high social standing. Yeah. And there's even these tabloids who will have sections for New York influencers before there were influencers You know like just club goers. What are they wearing to the clubs? Who are they hanging out with? Where did they eat before they went to the club?

Like straight up paparazzi. They were called Celeb U-tons So kind of like a mini celebrity you would spend six hours getting ready for the night out and you would say does my hair look good? Will it look good if paparazzi is outside the club? How did it? Is it media friendly? You need to have an eye catching look but it's got to be simple enough so it doesn't look like you tried hard because that's like the last thing that you want. You got to make sure that your friends don't wear something that clashes with you. You got to be on the same like color scale. Everything's got to work. Now, once you get to the club, you spend an hour and 30 minutes there, not one minute more. You don't want to overstay your welcome. So right when you walk in, you've got a partner

with you. So it's you and one other person. They should be attractive. They should be fun. And this is the only way to dominate the club scene. You walk in a full circle around this massive club. Say hello to every single person in the room, even if you don't know them. Actually, especially if you don't know them. Say hello. So good. But tend you know them. They won't say I don't know you. Just say, oh my god, it's been a while. I love your shoes, you know? Oh my god, I haven't seen you around. Where have you been? Anyways, we'll catch up later. Just keep going. Don't stop the conversation. Say hi to everyone smile

be animated this is what I'm gonna do for our family um gathering yes I'm having you in a while a little little niece she's like who are you I was born yesterday I haven't seen anyone mom having you in a while good to see you you looking good you look younger yeah this takes about 25 minutes to go through and say hi to everyone. Once you're done with that, separate in opposite directions. Your partner goes one direction, you go the other direction, and the whole time, you say that you lost your partner. Everyone knows you guys walked in together, everyone saw you guys just going through the room and say, oh my god, I lost my friend. Have you seen them?

And you have to include everyone in your desperate hunt to find your friend. I don't understand this part. What's the purpose of this? To build like rapport. Oh, have you seen my friend? Oh no, I haven't. So it's less awkward than like, hey. Oh, oh, man.

I have to see my natural conversation starter. So both of them are looking for each other on opposite sides of the club Involving everyone in their search. That's another 25 minutes freaking love this technique. I just want to say I love this It gets even better because I hate going to events and that just there you don't know what to say right exactly. Have you seen Have you seen Stephanie still? I have you seen that girl. It's probably eating something. Okay So that's another 25 minutes then when you finally meet up in the middle with your partner You scream with joy and you make a scene a happy scene and then afterwards you go around the room one last time Letting everyone know that you guys have reunited and thank you so much for your heroic efforts

in reuniting us. And before you even have fun, you leave. Don't stay a minute longer than an hour and a half. Go to the next club, do it again because you want to be wanted. If you overstay or visit, you don't look like a hot commodity. So what if I go to a club, and I just see like 10 people in the room asking me,

have you seen my partner? What about my partner? Yeah, I think you're at like a swingers club with that point of view. So then you go to the next club. You do it again, you do this every single night for three months at all the hottest clubs in New York City. And then before you know it, you will know everyone,

and everyone will know you, which immediately makes you fabulous, and immediately makes you an A-list clubber, because you know everyone. And that's exactly what James St. James did, and it worked, I mean, he was, he was even named by Newsweek magazine as a Celeb Yutant. This caused a bit of a fight between my fiancee and I because

during this past quarantine, during the last year, I signed up for an ungodly number, a subscription services. I mean, it was out of this world and now that things are opening back up, I don't really need all of that, okay? I don't need to entertain myself by watching 50 documentaries every single day. I can go outside and enjoy my time, so the process of canceling these subscriptions, I'm thinking about, first of all, I don't even know which ones I have, second of all, I gotta go on to each website and cancel them and sometimes I make you call them and it's just, it's not fun, that's not how I want to spend my summer. Until I found out about TrueBill.

TrueBill is the smartest way to manage your finances. It's an easy to use app and it reviews all of your reoccurring charges in one place. You can actually cancel the subscriptions directly through the app so you no longer have to go through 25 different streaming services looking for that cancel button that they conveniently hide. They have a variety of tools to help customers improve their finances. You can actually even go further and make a monthly budget and expenses on their app. You track and evaluate your savings goals. They also have automated savings.

So you choose how much to put away every single week that you no longer have to be tempted. And my favorite part is that you get push notifications when you're getting close to going over your budget. So you're like, oh, oh, pump the brakes. It helps easily identify fraudulent activity, and it offers multiple ways to save on your bills. Like, they work with some of the nation's top providers to negotiate and lower your bills, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Spectrum.

Yes, you probably didn't know that you can negotiate your bills with those companies. They also have bank-level security, so you can feel good about your finances. They have even saved its users more than $50 million, which is crazy. The average person saves $720 per year with TrueBill. So get started today at trubel.com slash rotten. Take control of those finances

and start saving at trubel.com slash rotten. That's trubel.com slash rotten. That's truebill.com slash rotten. He had paparazzi take pictures of them. If you tell James St. James, being popular is not important. He would argue that he had a wonderful time. You know, he knows it, but it's a good time. He met a lot of fascinating people. Now, he also has some side tips in this book that I thought were fascinating. If you're going to be in a picture that's going to be in a newspaper or maybe an article, let's say everyone is the same social standing. It's not you and Jeff Bezos, but it's just you and three other people.

Everyone's got the same standing. You always stand on the right because the picture will be inverted and you'll be on the very left. They always name the people from the left. So in this row, it'll say, pictured left to right, James St. James. Psychologically, if your name is first, everyone in that picture will suddenly believe that you were better than them, that you have a higher social standing than them. Always stand on the right.

Love it. I love it. So finally, he's made it to the top. He's an a-listister at all the best clubs. And that is when Michael Allig moves to New York City. And he does the same thing. He starts going around, introducing himself, and telling everyone, matter of fact,

I'm gonna be the next big party promoter in New York City. These clubs are lame. They're boring. I'm from the Midwest, and I'm gonna spice things up. Every New Yorker is like sure sure You and every other millions of people that come in from the Midwest every single year No, no they look Michael up and down and they're not loving it. His style is not you know his style is not them He looks like he's from Indiana. We can tell you're from the Midwest That's how they felt. He's not New York enough yet

So they just kind of ignored him and he would say, well, can you guys please come to the party that I'm planning? It's at this bar. I got hired recently. And James just looks at him and says, yeah, but I would rather have rectal cancer. Thanks for asking.

Bye. And just leaves. This is their first meeting ever. Every single night that they went out, there was Michael again at every single club just trying to get into their circle, their A-list circle, and Jane St. James and the rest of his friends were so sick and tired of him. The only reason people were putting up with Michael at this point is because his boyfriend was hot. His boyfriend was a superstar DJ by the name of Kiyoki, aka George Lopez. So they're

like, this guy is hot, okay. We want him around, but we don't want Michael. I guess it's just the extra baggage. You know, I'm listening to this and I'm fascinated. It's bringing me to a world and I'm like, wow, people did this. This is such an interesting world. But now I'm thinking about exactly 50 years from now, people is going to be talking about these TikTokers and influencer

Or just like the things they do when they go out to eat or go into clubbing. They're like wow, did you know? People used to do these like 15 second dance just 15 seconds just 15 seconds and they're so famous They're called tick-tockers or influencers. Yeah, and what have them killed another one? What it's gonna be a true crime case. What it's gonna be okay? The tension there I can feel it with these tiktokers are already boxing. Yeah Just so fat. Don't you think people like people in the future are gonna be like what? Just say it just wait because we haven't even gotten to the Christmas lights out the butt yet Yeah, it gets wild and eventually as time passed the old crew was out and the new crew was in

So they call them Celeb Ytons right now. This is James St. James's group. They're all very put together It's almost like this pageantry. There's this aura of high class status. Kind of gives you like old money vibes. Like that's how everyone described it. But people were sick of it. They wanted a new wave. They wanted a new wave of people to talk about. And that was the new kids, the club kids. Now these people, they were outrageous. All of them were about individual style. They wanted to come to these parties just full on. They didn't care about simplicity. They don't care about simplicity They don't want to look like oh, I barely tried for this event. No, they wanted to come in wearing a flower pot on their head

Some of them would come in with the Virginia ham stuck to their face Just the most outrageous costumes and enough to get eyes turning that's the party So this new wave starts coming in and Michael Alec immediately takes notice of this and he starts spearheading it. He becomes a little leader. And he's like, okay, I'm going to be this club promoter. I'm going to really lean into this new era of clubbing. We're going to make it the club kids moment. They're going to be known for their crazy costumes.

I mean, they had a crazy good sense of fashion, so good at partying. It was like, a party was like their job. To be honest online, it says that a lot of these fashion trends were influenced a lot during the time by the club kids, which were just some random kids in New York City. And a lot of them were part of the LGBTQ community. And so this, the fashion was adapted by, yeah, the heterosexuals.

And it just went mainstream and mainstream, but nobody gave them credit. So it was like this whole thing, but they did a lot. They had fun names, like they were went mainstream and mainstream, but nobody gave them credit, so it was like this whole thing But they did a lot. They had fun names like they were called Oliver Twisted, Julius teaser The I mean these costumes were intense. They would have alarm clocks. No full on wall clocks And they would weave their wig around it and they would just have this clock on top of their head Wow Giant Thanksgiving hands in their hair.

Screwdrivers glued onto their face. I mean, it was a lot. And a lot of people loved it, because it's an enduring group of people who probably weren't accepted growing up. But now they have this own little family. They have fun. They support each other.

And everyone's looking at them. Like, oh, wherever they go is the next big club. And we want to get on the guest list. So all of a sudden, these kids were bullied in high school. Everyone's trying to be their friend we want to get on the guest list. So all of a sudden these kids were bullied in high school. Everyone's trying to be their friend, trying to get on these guest lists. So it was like this very, very fascinating, amazing switch of power. The old club scene is dying and Michael was stepping up to create the new scene. There was just this certain energy that he had.

So a club by the name of Tunnel let Michael be the party promoter, the planner, and it was like giving a kid a limitless credit card He did it all they served cat food as cocktail Appetizers because that's different that's different and edgy Everyone knew it was cat food and they would eat it and be like wow. This is this is bizarre I love it. They had ecstasy punch. Yeah, the drugs were just flowing. They had peanut races, three-legged drag queen races Peanut races. I thought it was you get into a bag and you hop to the other side But a peanut races when you have one peanut on the ground and you get on all fours

You use your forehead to roll that peanut to the other side. Oh, that's so much more fun That's so much more fun in the back. Yeah, that's the club. I want to see so much more fun. That's so much more fun in the back. That's the club I want to be. Yes. So they had peanut races, three-legged drag queen races. I don't know what that is, but that's what they had. Wow.

I mean, people were going all out. Getting on the guest bill is meant that you were somebody. There was a guy named Floyd. They called him the human money tree. Boy. They called him the human money tree. Money. They weather.

And the reason is because a couple times a night, he would tape $100 bills all over his naked body and run in circles in this busy club. And whatever you were able to take off of his naked body, you get to take it home with you. I mean, think of all the touching that could be done in that situation. That's a lot. It was a free for all. This became so good that Michael started just dropping thousands of dollars on the ground every single night. A violent mob would come on just like reaching over each other trying to grab it.

They would have pool parties and the basement of a club in New York City where there was no pool. So they would get these kitty pools and they would just start filling them up with water. People would come in their swimsuits. It's like a famed party. But then Michael would get very distracted because he's doing drugs as a club promoter. He's doing a lot of drugs. So he's high, he's in the corner, not turning off the water and the whole basement would flood. And people would start getting naked just running around in this giant filthy germ nasty basement filled with water. So people were mad, but what's the next big thing? There was a woman by the name of Lady Hennessy Brown, who promised Michael that she would

come and go on stage at the tunnel and set her vagina on fire. And she would also lactate onto the audience. She would squeeze milk out of her boobs onto the audience. Okay. This is the clumpsina. Every single week they always outdid themselves. I mean, they were the talk of the town. This is crazy. In a town like New York City, to be the talk of the town, that's hard. That's difficult. They threw these massive birthday parties at one point. They threw a party for a drag queen by the name of Christina. And they started seeing her happy birthday at the club, but someone threw the cake in her face. She gets pissed off, she snapped, what does she do?

She goes inside her purse and grabs a machete because who doesn't have a machete inside of their purse and she starts forcing all of the club goers into one corner. So on a regular Saturday night there was a hostage situation happening at the tunnel basement nightclub and eventually three security guards tackled her I mean they were like do we laugh? Do we do we cry? They were being held hostage by a homicidal drag queen like what do you do? It's just a weird And it was her birthday. What do you do at this point? It was just a lot going on Just too much going on. So then Michael gets a new job at the limelight, another club,

and this was run by a man by the name of Peter, who wanted to pay Michael to run it and get even crazier than the tunnel. He said, I want to outdo the freaking tunnel. So people were coming out. They had this unisex masturbation machine, which I feel like in any other context, this sounds like some sort of weird creepy torture device.

But essentially, it was six cow tongues attached to a rotating wheel, and you would just walk up to it and just stick your genitals in front of it. I know you're envisioning it. So six cow tongues that were attached to a rotating wheel. Like actual cow's tongue? See, I don't know if it's fake or if it was real. But I'm assuming maybe it was real. Because later they do a lot of meat stuff.

They'll have meat parties where a lot of naked people will go around just wearing meat, but under the lights of the club, it would just start getting really rancid. These were parties that they had. So they had this cow tongue unisex masturbation machine that you just go up and put your genitals on top of it and this cow tongue unisex masturbation machine that you just go up and put your genitals on top of it and the cow tongues just rotate and I guess masturbate you. That's a lot. That's a lot of stuff. Okay. This is, I'm just unloading New York City in a gist on to everyone right now. The international viewers are like, what the fork I'm never going to America.

Michael's on top. Everyone's talking about it. They're just like you. The people that didn't enjoy it. They're like wait Cal tongues and people are enamored. I mean this is this is the craziest stuff. He's so innovative and now he's not willing to lose it all He goes even harder at planning these parties. Everyone's rooting for him. He wanted more and more and more like people would come up to him He wanted to do like freak shows. Someone would say hey, I've got three nipples and you would straight up look them in the face and say, you've got three nipples. Yeah, well call me when you got 12. Nobody cares. Another guy was like, hey, Michael, I was thinking I could, um,

I could S my own D on stage because I, I, I'm like missing a ribcage. I'm really flexible. I can actually S my own D. Michael would be like, yeah, well, I can do that too. Stop wasting my freaking time. I need better talent Like this is how crazy the party was getting there was a guy named um P drinker So if you know where this is going he would get up on stage He would fill up two to three massive bottles of hot pee and start coping it down in front of everyone.

And at the end of his performance, he would lick his lips, he would shake his wavy and take a little bow. Then there was another woman by the name of Ida, and they said that nobody compared to Ida. I mean, she was a showbiz woman. So on Christmas Eve, this was her debut. She went on to stage and pulled a string, a fully lit Christmas bulbs out of her butt, one by one twinkling and twinkling. And everyone in the audience was so, so high on drugs, which I hope that this is not glamorizing drugs in any way, because trust me, we're going to get reality checks on this one. There's a price to pay for everything like this, but they were so high on drugs

That they felt like this is the meaning of Christmas The meaning of Christmas. This is what the holiday spirit is about So she starts you know plucking them out one by one and gives a nice little bow But now they start realizing, wait a minute They're shining so bright and it's not plugged into an outlet. So they pull their aside and they say, how are they still lit in your by-hole? Just as well, in my other hole, I shove a battery pack in. Very carefully, because if that leaks into your body, that's just battery acid. So it's all about the showbiz, you know? I mean, it's dangerous, but that's exactly how she did it. Okay.

And then eventually, you know, like I said, there's always a payment for these really, really dark decisions. And the drug started getting worse and worse. Everybody knew. Everybody knew something was going to happen soon. Even the club owners, New York City started paying a lot of attention to it This is actually the time of Rudy Giuliani is gonna become merit. Yeah, Rudy Giuliani Trump stood He's gonna become mayor of New York City and this is the whole thing of we're gonna clean up New York City There's too much drugs. What are these free-for-all clubs? They're not listening to the laws This is insane. No one. This is not a respectable place anymore So there was just this this feeling that something was about

to go down. Something really bad was about to happen because nobody was pumping the brakes on this shit. It was just getting worse and worse every single week. And Michael Alec was starting to be part of that. I mean, he was doing way too many drugs at this point. He spent more time doing drugs than his actual job and just was slipping away. He was more obsessed with his newfound fame that he was willing to do anything.

So he started doing these outlaw parties, which means he would get all dressed up. A lot of them were on full-on drag, but not just like drag, but full-on wearing nothing, but sequins on your genitals. Like full on costumes, beautiful stuff. But their favorite thing was to go to a normal setting, quote, normal setting. So think Burger King on Times Square. Yeah, think subway station and just kind of shock the normal people, quote, unquote normal.

I'm saying normal because they're normal people too. You get what I'm saying. But that was kind of like the essence of it. We're gonna go shopping. So they're looking for a reaction or a conversation. Yeah, so they would do it. They would start going around places. They were wearing muzzles. I mean, Michael at one point was naked except feathers glued to his balls and his pain. That was it. Just full on naked. They'd go into a burger king and all of them, like 50

of them were there. Just all decked out ordering burgers. And at one point the police crash it. They're going into Burger King. We're gonna take them down. This is public and decency. Like we gotta put your balls away, sir. This is what the police were going in there. Ford and Michael decides to make a run for it. He grabs a cab outside, but the cab driver sees that the police are chasing him. Yeah, no, I don't think so.

Get out of my cab. I'm not giving you a ride anywhere. I'm not, I'm not harboring a fugitive. Are you crazy? But Michael's like, I'm not getting out. So he's just sitting in the back. So the cab driver gets out of the driver's seat and tries to go to his door in the back

and pull him out physically. But Michael leans to the front and locks the doors. So now the cab driver is locked out of his own cab. But somehow he manages to get the trunk open. Grab the bat from the trunk and starts bashing in the window. And there's just glass exploding everywhere. Michael is just covered in blood and glass and runs out naked in time square. The rest of his friends had skadaddled because you know, the police had arrived.

Somehow he makes it home, passes out in the lobby, bloody naked. It took three people working the lobby to carry him back upstairs. And at that moment, an old Asian woman, his neighbor, comes out of her apartment screaming, I can't do this anymore. Because Michael is known for causing us a thing. Like, that was his thing. So there were seven major events leading up to the murder that shows the path that Michael was going on. And these are kind of things that are just bizarre, right? So the first event is that they were doing this trip out of state.

I mean, the club kids were becoming so popular that these out-of-state clubs, like think Midwestern cities, they were paying Michael to bring a couple club kids to make an appearance at their club and all of them were starting these smaller sections, these smaller like chapters of the club kids. So like think, um, Milawaki would have their own club kids based off of the New York club kids. I mean, everyone was obsessed. So they would do all of these out-of-state trips and they were getting paid for it. So of course, James ain't James.

He's so excited. He packs. He's like ready for this. Yeah. James is part of the club kids now. Yeah, because he's a good adapter, you know? He genuinely loved the Celebittont phase much more. but it's all about adapting. Right, right, right. So he's going with the flow, you know, and so he's so excited for this vacation. I mean, just

packs everything. But Michael doesn't even start packing until they're already due to leave to the airport. So James is annoyed. I mean, yes, he parties, but he grew up in a house where you show up to the airport two hours early. See, there's two types of people. People who show up 20 minutes early, people who show up four hours early. Okay, that's it. There's no middle ground. So he's getting annoyed. We're going to miss this. We're going to miss the flight. And then what? We might as well just start unpacking now. And Michael's like, James, you are doing too much. It's not that serious. They get into a cab. And all of a sudden, Michael's like, James, you are doing too much. It's not that serious. They get into a cab and all of a sudden Michael's like, stop the car. I've got to use a payphone. What? Why do you need to use a payphone? James is getting mad. He's like, get back in the

car. We're already, we're never going to make it. I went to go see my niece for the first time the other day. And when I tell you she has a set of lungs on her, she really has a set of lungs on her. I mean, she was all over the place crying here in their screaming bloody murder and there were certain points in this trip where I just, I love her so much, but people are taking care of her and maybe I need to edit a video. Maybe I want to listen to a podcast just relax for two seconds and I was actually genuinely able to do that because of my Raycon earbuds. You guys already know, I talk about them all the time, even on my YouTube channel, because

I genuinely love it so much. They are probably one of the most comfortable earbuds that I have stuck inside my ears, because every pair of wireless Raycon earbuds, they come with silicone inserts that you can customize to your ear hole, so they have extra small all the way up to extra large and it just fits perfectly So if I'm going on a jog if I'm walking the dogs if I'm going on a trip like getting into an airplane I never really have to worry about oh my god Is this earbud gonna fall out and I'm just gonna lose it into the dark abyss? Not anymore you also get these crisp powerful sounds these beats that have the price of other premium audio brands.

They also look great and they feel even better. They come in a range of cool colors, and they have quick and seamless Bluetooth pairing. I've had so many earbuds where it takes me 25 minutes to pair with my phone, and I'm like, why? You're supposed to know this already! But Raycon's so easy, just grab and go, and they have a 24 hour battery life and portability. I take them everywhere I go, always in my purse, it's a must have for my everyday. Whether you guys are traveling for summertime, go into the beach, listening to music by the pool. Ray Khan is offering you guys 15% off of all of their products and here's what you got to do to get it. Go to buyraycon.com slash rotten. You'll get 15% off your entire Ray Khan order and it's honestly such a good deal. You might want to grab a pair for you and a spare, maybe for you, maybe for your sister,

that's 15% off at buyraycon.com slash rotten. So Michael just casually gets back into the car. They make it to the airport and when they arrive, they're 20 minutes late after the flight was supposed to take off. Not even after the flight was already boarding. Like, it should have left the airport, but they hadn't taken off. And so they're pleasantly surprised, except for Michael.

He doesn't seem surprised at all. And they sat there waiting to board, but they said that boarding wouldn't start for at least another hour. Again, everyone else is surprised, but Michael. And so finally, James St. James goes up to the person working the desk and is like, hey, why are we not taking off?

Oh, we're just doing a routine check because we had a bomb threat that was called in. And he sits back down and he says, guys, there's been a bomb threat. Michael Accentiment says, I told you, I told you we'd make it. I mean, what? So they get on the plane, they leave.

They're in the air, and once they land at their destination, they're holding up the entire plane again, because they stole the oxygen tanks. You know the oxygen tanks that are kind of hanging in the back for emergencies, you go and you grab one. But they decided this would be a really good cyber look. They could wear it with their costume to be carrying on these oxygen tanks. So they stole it, but the flight attendant's noticed

and said, nobody is getting off this plane until we get those oxygen tanks back. So finally, everyone, I mean, the whole time, the whole plane, the cabin knew it was them, because the whole time they were being very, very loud, they were like, let's take the oxygen tanks. So finally, they gave up the oxygen tanks and they were arrested when they landed.

Now, the next story is that Michael had this insane obsession with Legos. Insane. He would fly out to Germany to the original Legos factory and he would purchase the newest, the rarest Legos that he could find. But one year that he went, he saw a bunch of young men, a bunch of young German men, they were like, what what you're from New York City and they look so enamored

Wow, what is that like I've never been to America. I've never been to New York City I'm not saying Germany is better or worse. I'm just saying they were very fascinated by New York City And so he offers one of them a minor one of them is a minor and he offers them a job in New York City I'll get you a visa. Let me take you to New York City So he brings home a job in New York City. I'll get you a visa. Let me take you to New York City. So he brings home a German minor boy. And then something clicked in Michael's head. There are so many young boys in Germany who are so interested in coming to the United States.

They want to do drugs, they want fame, they want a party. And I know that there's a bunch of old guys in New York City who would love to fund these parties in return for sex. And of course the German boys they would be told ahead of time about the agreement. It's not like I'm just gonna be like oh well now you have to have sex with these old people. I mean it'd be perfect right?

It did not occur to Michael at one point during any of this as he's even taking polaris of the miners in Germany to bring them back the pictures. He's gonna bring them back to America to auction off to his old rich friends. During all of this, it did not occur to Michael that he is essentially starting a ring of undraged human trafficking. What was he thinking? Matchmaking business. Like it's funny because of how ridiculous it is. Like he genuinely thought that this is... I think he was so into his crazy ideas every day. That he just doesn't realize that this is human trafficking of underage minors.

And saying. And he thought that he was just making everyone happy, both parties. And thankfully, none of it worked out, not because he got his head back together and was like, wait a minute, wait a minute, this is bad, this is sex trafficking, but because it was really difficult to get visas. So he was like, that's too much paperwork. I'm not even making money at this point.

And the first minor that he had brought back from Germany took the plane ticket and just dipped. They never saw him again. He didn't go on that plane ride back to Germany, so they have no idea where he was. So you're like, this is not a good track record. That's why they stopped it. So a couple weeks go by. And one day James St. James is in a club bathroom and he keeps saying, James St. James. It's really hard to just say James. Okay, you know what, you're right. So one day James, okay, man, he doesn't sound as good though, no?

So one day James is in the club bathroom and he mentions to someone that his ultimate dream in life is to try a nine-inch line of ketamine, special K of very intense drug off a 10-inch penis. He wants to snort nine inches of special K of a 10 inch penis And very specific and of course Michael overhears this and he is a man that makes it happen So Michael makes it happen brings in a man who's got 10 inches I thought Michael said I can make it happen for you. I've got 10 inches And brings it away with 10 inches brings Brings in that special, okay? And James did the whole line, and he just said like he felt like a whole new world.

James thought that he was like in this bathroom state for the next seven years. Cause that's what drug studio, okay? Seven seconds went by, but he genuinely deep down in his heart felt like seven years had gone by and he had never left the club bathroom. And I'm laughing, but it's terrifying,

and it's horrendous, and it messes with your brain. Every time you do drugs, your brain, the chemicals alter, you're not going to be as smart and funny, okay? Do you want to be smart and funny or do you want to be drugged out? Is that how I'm going to teach my children to do drugs? Because that's really not a good. Yeah, that's not that strong. I'm going to work on my arguments against drugs. I'm working on it. So we get rushed to the hospital and Michael was so excited his best friend had OD

So that means he can take James's drink tickets What is that? It's like you get tickets to get free drinks at the bar So Michael does not even go to the hospital where James overdosed There's supposed to be best friends at this point. And a few days later, they have this huge dinner party and Michael stands up in front of a crowd of people and says, everybody, look at me, I'm James St. James. Pay attention to me or I'll try to commit suicide again. And he makes like motions with a butter knife on his wrists

and everyone just started laughing. So Michael is insinuating to the whole friend group that James overdosed on purpose to be the center of attention. So he's like really losing touch with just humanity, people, empathy, everything. And then it starts getting worse. Michael ends up in jail soon after all of this and he calls up James and James is confused.

What the fork, why did you end up in jail? What happened, what did you do? Well, let me explain. I was un, I got arrested because I was approaching some underage sex workers. No big deal, but I have my own cell and I have a TV in my cell. How?

How are they treating you like that? What? Are you calling me from your cell? How do you have a phone in your cell? Well, I told them that I have AIDS. And my lawyer got me a special room with my own phone. I hope you don't mind, but when they arrested me, I gave them your name and your social security number. What the-

What? And then it gets worse. So he says, not only was I arrested for, you know, trying to pick up an underage sex worker, but James, I was arrested because I broke into a stranger's apartment to have sex with that said underage sex worker. And I urinated on this random person's furniture. The cops came. There was this huge chase and I assaulted one of the cops. So anyways, I gave them your name. What? But James still is friends with Michael, right? Once he gets out of jail, I don't know if it was ever

figured out. I'm sure the police realized that this is not the guy, right? They're looking at the record. So they're like, OK, you gave us this name in social security number, but you're obviously not this person. So I'm sure it was all cleared out. But the fact that he even thought that that was OK, or even joked around and thought that it was OK, is bizarre.

I mean, this whole thing is getting so bizarre. So when did they're walking down the street, a local street in New York City and they see a bunch of cardboard, I want to say like box houses, the cardboard boxes were owned by people without homes and they had just try to get some shelter because there's a lot of you know, whether problems in New York, whether it's too hot, maybe it's too windy, maybe it's too cold, right? Some of them were grand, I mean some of them were like two stories tall and I had a door and everything. And so I guess maybe if you're a passerby,

if you try to take the sad part out of it, then you might think like, oh, that's interesting. Like they're really good at building. Maybe you would think like that, right? I don't know. So that's exactly how Michael was thinking, oh, James, look at these, they're so fun, look, look, look. And they knocked on a door, and that man gave them a gracious tour of the place.

They said, well this is pussy like my make shift room. This is like my make shift bathroom all made out of cardboard boxes. I mean it really was impressive. And Michael suddenly had the best idea. They would rent out this place. From this man without a home, they would rent it out. Pay a money like an Airbnb. And all of our friends would come in here with all of our Wonderful clothes on almost like we're going out to the club

But we're gonna come here and we're gonna spend the night here and vlog the whole thing. We're gonna film it all Imagine the outrage James. Imagine James is like that sounds messed up, you know Yeah, but that's the point. These wacky kids have done it all. They're so jaded with life the only way that they can entertain themselves is to live like homeless people think about it. I mean, this guy is really losing it. Yeah.

So out of touch. So, that's the path that Michael was headed on. Now, who is this freeze person? Because he is, you know, the other half of this entire murder, this entire crime, this dismemberment. So this is the other murder. So his name is Robert, but he goes by freeze. And it just seems like he's a person with a lot of personalities,

like very different distinct phases. So if you met him during freeze phase one, he's kind of timid, very shy, doesn't really talk to people, not outgoing at all. Never really came out of his shell, but then Freeze No. 2 came out, and suddenly he was outgoing. He just wanted to go out all the time, he was witty, he made people laugh, he was hilarious. And that mainly happened because one of his best friends, Freeze's best friend, moved to New York City, and they became the new IT drug dealers at all the clubs.

They took out $13,000 of their savings, spent it all to buy their stash of drugs. They were gonna go sell it with the help of James St. James. James is like, I know all the people. So I'm gonna connect you with the people that want drugs and you're gonna have a loyal clientele. They're gonna only keep coming back to you. They're gonna be looking for you at parties.

You're gonna have fun, but you're also gonna make money at these clubs. That's the best of both worlds. So they hit up all these elite party goers, Looking for you at parties! You're gonna have fun, but you're also gonna make money at these clubs. That's the best of both worlds. So they hit up all these elite party goers, but James keeps telling them, you know, with these types of people, you need to lose some to win some.

So you need to give out free drugs. They need to sample it to make sure your stuff is good. So they started giving out more and more free drugs, like marketing costs. They wanted to think of it as like a Fortune 500 business. Okay, these are the marketing costs. We just have to pay it. That's the only way word gets out that we're in business.

They go to the clubs, free drugs for everyone, you know, making these connections. And of course, James would get thousands of dollars worth of free drugs as a consultation fee. But honestly, the whole time, they were doing the drugs more than anything, and it was really bad. They said that the drugs were so bad that, James would have a conversation with one of them. The same conversation for 14 hours. They would sit on the couch and it would go something along

the lines of this. I just love Oreos. Oh, Oreos, yeah, but not the double stuff. Yeah, that's just too much filling, don't you think? Yeah, definitely too much filling. But the original? The original? No, that's good stuff. Yeah, I do love an Oreo every now and then. Five minutes later. I just love Oreos. Oh, yeah, Oreos. Yeah, but not the double stuff. It just on repeat. And they were losing friends because people were walking on this in their apartment and just be kind

of disgusted. Like, how are you guys? Drugs are supposed to be, I guess, fun, but this is the reality of drugs. Drugs are not fun. This is what happens when you're on drugs and to be faced with that, I think people were really turned off. Like 15 hours of this conversation, I can't do this anymore. And so Freeze becomes extra popular. He would actually sit in a circle with people with a bag of drugs.

And he started controlling the crowd. He knew that he was in a position of power. So he would give them this whole story. He would go on to a storytelling spree. And all these people think that he's given out free drugs so they're gathering around him. And if you're looking from the outside, it's Freeze animated, telling stories with his hands,

and everyone just bobbing their heads up and down, just trying to act like they're paying attention so that they can get free drugs. And he started using this to their advantage. People would suffer for free drugs, and he would get some satisfaction out of it. They would actually end up losing around $2,000 a night in giving out free drugs. So once they're stashed, their life savings was getting low on drugs, they needed to find

more drugs. So in the apartment of Freeze and his best friend, the drug dealers, they needed to find a bag of cocaine. They knew it was somewhere in the house, right? It had to be. So they searched the furniture. They start, you know, kind of going through the cracks of the couch, but they can't find it. What must be embedded in the couch? So they start ripping up the couch cushions. They start, you know,

putting every piece of furniture to the side that they've already searched. They want to go just section by section. They drain the water out of the water bed because they think that somehow there's going to be a plastic baggy of cocaine in there. They check every single ice cube in the freezer in case someone had frozen the cocaine and water. I don't even know how that works. I mean, you can clearly tell that they weren't thinking straight. And then it started getting even worse. I mean, they started thinking maybe it's under the floorboards and at one, like, one section of the apartment, they had ripped out the floorboards. Like, imagine ripping out the hardwood floors, because they thought it was there. And then eventually, they stripped search each other, like they were in jail, because you can't trust these hose.

So it's less about finding the drug. It's more about their so influence at this point. They're just doing crazy stuff, right? It's like they're so desperate for the next dose of drugs that they have convinced themselves. There's this magical big bag of cocaine somewhere. They just forgot about it. And they're so desperate. I mean, I think it's like,

I think when you're at this point, maybe the idea of it helps you a little bit. Who is they? Like James St. James, Michael Alec, Freeze, Freeze's, you know, fellow drug dealer, their friend group of the club kids. I mean there were definitely a lot of club kids who weren't as into drugs but this specific group of people were very very much into drugs. And they blew through all their money. Yeah and I know like all the true crime stories that we do I try

to tell it seriously but at the time, not so serious that you leave super depressed, right? So with this whole drug thing, just another disclaimer. Seriously, don't do drugs. It just, I have never seen it work out for anyone. Even for fun, it ruins people's lives. You lose family members to it. It is one of the most devastating things. Yeah. So, please, just keep that in mind. None of this is fun. Someone gets murdered and dismembered, okay?

It's not a good time. So then Michael starts realizing that this time around, it's taken a turn for the worse. He's doing more drugs than he's ever done, and he's becoming part of the old group. I mean, New York City's cut throat. The club kids are on their way out. There's a new group of people. They're even crazier. They're even wilder.

They're even younger. And Michael, because of his drug use, said she can't keep up. He can't keep planning these parties that people want to go to. So his new business plan, trigger warning, was a restaurant called Auschwitz. He wanted to call it Cafe Auschwitz. It would be a gray building with barbed wire and the only menu item would be water. And he wanted to have hot waiters in Nazi uniforms. So again, this kind of shows you where Michael is. He's so detached.

It's to the point where I mean, it's, I don't even know how to describe this. How do you go that far gone, right, from just humanity and society, like what is going on? Then he decides, okay, maybe I don't want to start a cafe. That sounds like too much work. Maybe I just want to renovate my condo. Now mind you, Michael had not paid his mortgage in the past three years. There is a lot of confusing things about this. First of all, who doesn't pay their mortgage in three years?

Second of all, how do you convince someone not to foreclose your place without paying mortgage in three years? But Michael somehow did it. But during this moment, he's like, I'm gonna renovate the kitchen. So he starts pulling out all of the appliances. Out of his kitchen, I mean just exposed wires piping everywhere. It was bad. This is the state of his life. So James goes over one day to Michael's and he sees this absolute mess, but they still want a party. It gets more and more sad, right?

None of them have money, not one person. They don't even have a dollar. Will do you guys have any jewelry we can sell for drugs? I've already sold it all. Well, no, you saw me sell my necklace last week. Okay, well, can you call, can one of you guys call your parents and tell them that you need tuition money or something? I mean, maybe, but I called last week, and right now it's like three in the morning.

They're not going to send me tuition money. And they're all sitting around, getting angry and angsty, and they see this clock. This grandfather clock. That was Michael's Christmas present from Peter. His boss and says, well, why don't we just sell that? But it's three a.m. It's not like there's just like a thrift store that's open that we can sell it to or like a consignment place. I mean what do we do? So Michael puts on his clothes and starts going door by door in his apartment

building to sell this grandfather clock to his neighbors. As if it's a completely normal thing. At 3 a.m. At 3 a.m. And he's so persistent that some of those neighbors just want him gone from their door so they give him a little bit of money and they use that money to buy drugs. Why is nobody helping them, right? Where are Michael's parents? What's going on? Most of these kids' parents didn't live in New York City. If they did, maybe they just didn't know or they weren't around.

Maybe they were busy, you know. As for Michael, his mom knew about his drug usage and she allegedly would say things like Michael You're getting so skinny. It's because you eat and you eat but every day they have to take you to the hospital to pump your stomach That kind of insinuates that he's a lot had a lot of overdoses, you know that they have to pump his stomach or alcohol poisoning You're getting so thin. Are you taking your vitamins and he would straight up? Allegedly in front of all of his friends tell his mom yes because we makes vitamin B12 into the cocaine and She would just kind of laugh it off allegedly Some of you guys might not know this but I used to work in jewelry at high-end jewelry store, and here's what I learned about jewelry in my lifetime. It's that you can sometimes get really affordable jewelry, but maybe they're on the cheap side

and it turns your finger green, and the dainty-ness is no longer dainty because it's snapped in half. Or maybe it's so expensive where you're like, what? That makes no sense. Why is it that expensive? Who can even afford that? And then somewhere in the middle. You've got great companies like Anna Louisa People who give you affordable jewelry that's not gonna turn your finger great

They have fair prices. They also have beautiful jewelry and they don't mark it up just to make crazy profits Anna Louisa has been one of my favorite jewelry brands for the past like three years I actually had my first piece with Super Special. It was a friendship bracelet. And I just love the way that Analuisa jewelry is made and it feels every time I put it on, it's one of those pieces where whether you're wearing their rings, they almost glisten in the sun.

So you keep doing things with your hands. You're like, let me just reach on over. Oh my God, that looks so good. They have long lasting pieces crafted with care from the best noble metals. They're so confident they even offer a 365 day warranty. They've got crazy high production standards because they do limited batches

that eliminates excessive waste and they're actually a carbon neutral company. So 100% of the carbon emissions related to their products life cycles are offset. And right now I'm on this kick where I feel like simple outfits are amazing if you jizz it up with some jewelry Like you're talking jeans, white t-shirt perfect for summer, but throw on some stackable gold-plated rings

Throw one that dainty necklace maybe sometimes even layer three necklaces I mean you look elevated. They have fair prices. So Julie starts at 39 dollars And they have new jewelry collections released every single Friday. Make sure to go to Anneluisa.com slash rotten. That's ANALUISA.com slash rotten to treat yourself in your loved ones and use my code rotten to get 10% off. I absolutely recommend them. I mean they're a great brand and they make such beautiful sustainable jewelry. So go to Anneluisa.com slash rotten.

That's ANALUISA.com slash rotten. That's ANA, l-u-i-s-a dot com slash rotten. Code rotten. So Michael's undergoing this transformation. Freeze. Freeze number three comes out. He had lost his apartment, all of his money, his best friend slash fellow drug dealer moved back home, left New York City, and he's completely alone.

He starts drifting about, and a lot of people said that during this time it was just like negative energy was radiating out of him. You didn't even want to be around him because it's not even about talking to him. He just seemed like something was weird, something was going on. And eventually, Freeze moves in with Michael and this is where the story turns murderous. They brought out the absolute worst in each other. People stated that they are like evil twins, two evil twins that had their own little language.

They would only talk like babies with one another. So they would say things like spooky la-du-du, free-screws laverlada when they are like calling each other's names. Like I guess it's like one of those couples that are like, how do you boo-boo-munchkin? Like does that make sense? And you're just like, oh my God, we're like in our 30s, guys, don't do this. That's how people were seeing them.

Both of them together, they just complemented each other in a very negative way. They knew exactly what they wanted from people and they knew how to manipulate people to get what they wanted. And it worked amazingly. So they start getting more angry, they start using more drugs.

And during this time, out of the ashes comes a man by the name of Angel. His birth name is Andre Melendez. So if you guys are like looking up the case, you can also type that in. He would actually wear these wings, like these feather wings, like think Victoria's Secret wings at the clubs.

And this is really smart because he was a drug dealer, and it's great for business because people would say, hey, find the guy with the wings, he's got the drugs. Now he had immigrated from Colombia when he was 8 years old, and a lot of the club kids in comparison, right, like Michael's friends, they had parents who still had some money to like fund their adventures, or help them when they needed it out, but Angel didn't have any of that. Like, him and his family, they struggled every day of their life. Angel really didn't have many friends.

He was super close with his family. That's who we just grew up with. Working class family wasn't a pushover, just wanted to make ends meet. So that's how he ended up becoming a drug dealer. Now, when Angel meets Michael, even though Michael himself felt like his celebrity status was dying, Angel just felt happy. He was like, wow, this might be my way to finally save up enough money in this drug dealing business so that I can get out.

Like he genuinely didn't want to do this long term. So Angel adored the crap out of Michael. Would even give Michael free drugs, knew that Michael was trying to steal money, steal drugs from him, but kind of let it slide because it seemed almost like he was appreciative that Michael gave him the chance at one of these clubs, that he introduced him to people. So maybe to him this is just the working cost. A lot of people that knew Angel closely said that he was completely embarrassed to be a drug dealer.

And what he would say is that I don't want to be a Latino drug dealer, because you know, especially at the time there were so many stereotypes and he was like, I don't want to be a Latino drug dealer. Because especially at the time, there were so many stereotypes, and he was like, I don't like the fact that I'm contributing to this stereotype, and I don't want to do this. It's not like I want to. I just need money to pay bills for my family. He didn't do much drugs.

He was really on the straight edge. Never really did drugs. Didn't really care about that life. Just wanted to make a living. He started saving up money because he wanted to pursue a different career path, and that is when the murder takes place. Because he was on his way out.

He confronted Michael and says, listen, I know you're stealing money from me. I need it back because I'm not trying to do this anymore. They got into a physical altercation and Angel was murdered. So once the murder takes place, people start noticing Angel's missing. Gossip starts swirling. You know, where did he go? What is he doing? Some people talk about how he was a victim of vampires in the East Village.

Yes. Maybe he's in witness protection program. I heard that his head was found in the Bronx and his hands in a freezer in Staten Island. No, I heard that he was mugged in Harlem. Well, I heard he went back to Columbia. So there were so many rumors circulating. Michael and Fris, they start panicking, right? People are on to this missing person's case, so they start hatching up this plan.

Michael's plan was to move to Germany, live the rest of his years making these very artsy European films with his friends in Germany. It was going to be amazing. But before he goes to Germany, he's got to go to Denver, Colorado, right? That's where his ex-boyfriend DJ, Kyoki lives, and he's gonna get sober in Denver, Colorado. He's gonna get rid of all that drug usage and then go to Germany completely sober. He would constantly say this, but he never left. So months went by, and then there was the latest story that started circulating and this was actually posted in like a local newspaper, like a little column. It said that, Mr. the story goes like this, Mr. Mess was fighting with Mr. Dealer about

money when Mr. Dealer started choking him. That's when Mr. Mess number two walked in and hit Mr. Dealer over the head with a hammer. The two messes, Mr. Mess and Mr. Mess number two, they didn't have a solution so they shot up Mr. Dealer with Drainow. And Mr. Dealer died, they dismembered the body and threw it in the river. I mean, this is a pretty accurate retelling without the names, you know, very, very accurate on the newspapers. And it's, I mean, this is wild, but because there were no hard facts and it sounds insane,

everyone was treating it like pure gossip. See, you would think Michael's gonna lay low. I mean this story is too accurate. It's just a matter of saying Michael is Mr. Mess and for uses Mr. Mess number two, but instead of laying low, Michael goes around telling every person that he knew that would listen what happened about the murder. He would tell them. And then at the end of it, he would say, well, now it's not my problem. It's everybody's problem. Because if you know this, you're an accomplice and I need you to help me.

Um, it doesn't work like that. It does not work like that, sir. No, you're thinking, do the police know about these rumors? Have they heard about it? Yes. But Angel is a person of color. He's part of the LGBTQ community. He's a drug dealer. He's in a migrant. They kept saying without a body there's no crime,

which means there's no investigation. This guy's living a quote unquote high-risk lifestyle. We don't know. Maybe he's on the run. Maybe there's a turf or going on. Who knows? So Michael starts pushing back the date of his departure further and further and further and to be honest It just seemed like he was enjoying all of the attention. He had four going away parties So this this is the moment he already told James yeah, correct way after this is going on doing more and more I see just telling more people more people throwing parties And James didn't go to police or anything. No, but James was, he was struggling the whole time. He was making plans to move out of New York City after he heard about what Michael did.

He was also struggling with anxiety. Like he would have these massive stomach pains out of nowhere. I mean, it was bad. To the point, one of these four going away parties, you know, James is feeling all of this guilt. He's having these physical symptoms of that guilt of keeping this information in, right? And he gets these headaches stomach aches. He fainted at Michael's going away party. And Michael yelled at him. Really? Now you've gone too far. Can't you just let me have one moment in the spotlight? Just one.

Like, he thought that he was doing it to get attention. And Michael calls up a local reporter and says, hey, I want to discuss the plans. So the reporter meets with him and he's like, I heard about the story of Mr. Mess, Mr. Mess number two, you know, Mr. dealer. And anyway, I'm leaving the country. Because there's so many rumors about my involvement with the disappearance of Angel. So he's like, why are you reaching out to me? Like, this is really bizarre, but he takes notes. He writes up an article, because what the heck?

This is free press, right? Free story for him to do. I mean, just strange. After that, Michael gets even more attention, because now the rumors are swearing. Swirling, did you hear? Mr. Mess is actually Michael Allig. And he actually goes to a club with the words guilt written on his forehead. And because he's going to these clubs with that word written on his forehead, because

he's telling people everyone at the club, even strangers, just pulling them aside. I killed Angel. You guys know Angel with Angel wings? I killed him. I shot him up with Durena. He was telling people this. Nobody took him seriously. I mean, this makes it look more insane.

Let's say he did it. There's no way this is Michael doing that thing again where he's just trying to get attention, such an attention seeker. Maybe this rumor is even premeditated. Maybe Angel, because they were friends, maybe he's hiding at Michael's place, and there's gonna be like a party associated.

Maybe this is another one of Michael's crazy ideas. Maybe those missing posters that we've seen all over town. Maybe that's all club promotion later. Maybe it's gonna be like an outlaw search party. When we all come dress step, we do a search party and then we find Angel, but he's tied up to a wall being spanked, you know? Like, maybe it's one of that.

That sounds right. But then another rumor started swirling. Do you remember Peter, the boss of Michael? Well he goes up to James, and Peter was at Michael's house the other day, and heard Michael saying, let's kill Angel. Let's kill Angel. How can we kill Angel and take his money? I mean, let's just change coincidences in it, and the very next day Angel disappeared. So this is when James realizes, uh, maybe this was premeditated. Maybe he's not getting the full truth from Michael about how this was like a, this was a passionate crime.

He was bonking each other on the heads. They got into a physical altercation. Freeze came in. You get it. Now, Angel's brother starts calling around and he just wants to know what happened to his brother. Wanted to find him. The whole family is heartbroken. they're worried, they want closure.

So this is when the local papers start really seriously worrying about it, treating it like a missing person's case. They interview Angel's brother, they start talking about it, doing interviews, and Michael Alec had left, right? He had gone to Denver, but at this moment, when everything is ramping up, he moves back to New York City. And he claims that Denver is too boring. It's not fun, New York City is where I belong.

He wants to start a new club called the Honey Trap, where he's going to mail out jars of honey for the invitation. It's going to be like a honey trap to lure in young children. That's how he described it. So James, I mean, he couldn't do it anymore. Like this guy's coming back, he's talking about a new club, someone's dead and dismembered. I got to move. I got to get out of New York City and he moves to Los Angeles because there was too much death, too much ugliness in New York City. And he drops by his mom's house in the med west

to drop off all of his stuff. And around this time, two kids had noticed a box that had washed ashore in Staten Island. It was a TV box. So they started poking at it. I mean, I had like some kelp on it. And then all of a sudden, they see an arm pop out. They look closer. There's a torso. And they freak out. And they run to the police. And they bring in to be autopsy. The legs were removed. The body was castrated, which means the genitals were removed. And they were surprised by the fact that whoever's body This was had just the widest teeth that they had ever seen almost like a movie star. So maybe this person wasn't I know it sounds really bad

But I guess what the way they were thinking is okay. Well this person definitely isn't without a home This is because it had I mean this person had dental care There must be at least one person who knows that someone's missing in New York City, right? So they brought in experts and they concluded that this body was Asian. What? Yeah, so they did a facial reconstruction sketch, but it made them look Asian because that's what they believed, you know, their heritage was. Straight up look like a Chinese man, I'm just going to be honest with you guys. The sketch made it look like a full-on Chinese

man, and they could not find a match based on that in the whole city of New York. No one was missing a Chinese man with this type of facial features with this age nothing. So they just forgot about it, you know. What's another dismembered Asian person? And they just threw the box into evidence and didn't really do anything else about it. Now, Angel's brother is going from police station to police station and they don't really care. You know, they're going to all these clubs and the club kids don't really care. It was just, it seemed like nobody cared.

Until finally, the police were forced to get involved because it seems like some local newspapers they were writing about it that caused a lot of pressure and they realized that when they went through the dental records of Angel, it matched the quote-unquote Asian man on Staten Island. So I don't know how they got the fact that he was Asian because he's Colombian. But because of that mistake they did not link the two together sooner. So this was like a multiple month process. But after they did the dental record immediately they found out it was angel. It was angel. Then why the hell did you not just do that?

Exactly. What are you doing? So then the news starts reporting Angel's body have been found in Staten Island and you know they had him in the evidence for a while they didn't know it. So that was like a whole ordeal and Michael did not seem worried at all because he was working with the police. So this is when Rudy Giuliani became mayor of New York City. Yes, that Rudy Giuliani and his whole spiel

on becoming the mayor of New York City was that he was gonna clean up New York City. He's gonna clean it up. No more drugs, no more clubs. This is a disgrace. So his main priority was getting rid of drugs and clubs. And of course, he is going to go for the LGBTQ ones first because of course that's the only place that crime exists so he starts

just going at it going strong and he realizes that the boss of the limelight and the tunnel his name is Peter remember he's letting drug dealers deal in his clubs maybe he's like a drug king maybe he's running like a mini operation with all of his clubs, I mean, he's like a mobster, we gotta arrest him, but the only way to get good testimony is if the people closest to him testify and Michael was one of them. So the prosecutors, they needed Michael to go to trial, they needed Michael to testify

and it would not be smart to charge Michael with first degree murder because that's going to come up in court. You know, Peter's attorney is going to be like, oh, Jerry, do you guys trust this guy really? Well, he's been charged for first degree murder, which is worse than drug dealing. So the DA told the police we're not arresting Michael. But the police decided we're going to do our own thing. We're going to go behind the DA's back, get an arrest warrant for second-degree murder, and we're going to arrest

Michael. So they arrest him and through the fighting of the DA and the police, and I genuinely believe that what was happening was fully political. They cared more about bringing down Peter, this alleged drug king, versus a murder. They arrest Michael and Freeze, and because the prosecutors were annoyed with the police, there was a lot going on. Michael and Freeze were allowed to enter a plea deal. PLEGILTIED to manslaughter, and their sentence would only be 10 to 20 years. For the murder and dismemberment of Angel.

So they got Freeze's full statement on on what happened and the main kind of difference is that Michael claimed that the Gereno was injected into Angel, whereas Freese claims that the Gereno was poured into Angel's mouth and they placed duct tape on him so he was forced to swallow the Gereno. So that's the main discrepancy, but Freese was in jail and he was released in 2010 on parole. Michael was released May 5th of 2014, but Christmas of last year, so Christmas Eve 2020, Michael died of an accidental drug overdose at 54 years old in New York City. Wow. And that is the story of the club kids and...

How's James? Oh, you're saying he's good. He's on TV. He's on TV He's on America's next top model. He is a guest appearance on RuPaul's drag race So he's doing good. He's doing well. Yeah, he went through a lot went through a lot His memoir party monster is really good. It's it's one of those books where you just fly through it and you're like what every page You're like, what? Every page, you're like, what? Yeah. What is going on here? They made a movie out of that book too.

A movie adaptation. I haven't watched that one though. But I mean, this is, this is gnarly. I think this is one of those cases where, yeah, obviously, something's wrong with Michael and Freeze. It's very clear, right? But it almost makes murder seem relatable. We do a lot of cases where these killers were abused their entire lives, they grew up isolated, they just like went through the worst things possible on the planet, they had no friends, no loved ones,

and then they just wanted to commit sadistic, torturous murders, right? You're like, whoa, this is not relatable, that's crazy, that's scary. But but then this one it's like this guy in New York City just party having a good time and joining his youth And sub killing someone I feel like it relatable is a little Not relatable, but in the sense of like truly anyone can murder someone Yes, and also, but also, I mean that's like 50-spit steps later, right? Yeah, he's taken so much step. Yeah, I was relatable for the first, I was like, oh, that's a fun party with the peanut, whatever. Yeah, the peanut race. After the peanut one, I don't know anymore. Like the Christmas, you weren't feeling the holiday spirit.

Yeah, I won't be attending, though. The peanut rolling was kind of interesting. Yeah, but everything after No attending though. The feeling of rolling was kind of interesting. Yeah, but everything after no RCP for us. Yeah, this one was, I mean, be safe out there. Don't do drugs. And for that one person that feels like they need to constantly associate crime with a group of people, this has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community.

I've seen, we talk a lot about heterosexual murderers, so just keep that in mind, okay? And I hope you guys enjoyed this week's mini-sode, and I will see you guys on Wednesday. Bye!