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Very Scary People is a crime documentary series that strives to document spine-chilling true crimes, taking place across history. Season 6 of Very Scary People is hosted by American actor and singer Donnie Wahlberg, which, as per its synopsis, sets out to explore the most evil minds in society.
Episode 2 of Very Scary People season 6, titled The Sun Gym Sadists, showcases the history of crimes related to the Sun Gym gang, which terrified the Miami, Florida area during the 1990s. The gang primarily consisted of bodybuilders, who were collectively responsible for two murders, robbery, blackmail, and other failed assassination attempts.
The Sun Gym Sadists episode of Very Scary People is set to release on Monday, December 22, 2024, on Investigation Discovery.
What is the story of Very Scary People's The Sun Gym Sadists
Based on the real-life events encircling the story of The Sun Gym Gang, Pete Collins wrote a three-part series for the Miami New Times. It was published between 1999 and 2000, and the collection was titled Pain & Gain. This later inspired a 2013 movie of the same name, directed by Michael Bay.
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A Pain & Gain article, published by the Miami New Times on December 23, 1999, provides a view into the life of Daniel Lego, one of the gang's prime members. Even before committing the series of horrendous crimes, as part of the Sun Gym Gang, Lugo had a history of legal troubles. Back in 1991, he had served 15 months behind bars for bank loan fraud.
The Sun Gym was located in North Miami, Florida, which had been a known destination for bodybuilders. Back in 1993, Lugo was working as a manager for the gym, while another man named Noel Doorbal was one of the co-workers. A year later, Lugo hired a man named Stevenson Pierre as the back office manager, who slowly then became the desk clerk.
As per the Pain & Gain article, Lugo had tried numerous business ventures during that time, but most of them had failed. However, he saw a big opportunity to make a good amount of money when his trainer, Jorge Delgado, offered him a hefty share for retrieving money from a business partner.
Who were the victims of the Sun Gym Gang in Very Scary People's The Sun Gym Sadists
The abduction of Marc Schiller
Marc Schiller was a businessman who had been a partner of Delgado in a failed business venture. Delgado told Lugo that he owed Schiller money back from 1991, which he still hasn't returned. Lugo, upon realizing this could be a profitable prospect, held a meeting with his gym peers, Noel Doorbal and Stevenson Pierre.
Lugo made up a story that the man Marc Schiller had stolen $100,000 from him and $200,000 from Delgado. Lugo broke it to them that if they helped Lugo abduct and retrieve the money from Schiller, they would receive $100,000. Doorbal and Pierre both agreed, and they collaboratively decided to kidnap Schiller from his house.
The gang made numerous plans to kidnap the man, which even included disguising them in ninja outfits on Halloween and knocking on Schiller's door. However, none of the attempts worked. The Sun Gym Gang made a total of 7 unsuccessful attempts until Pierre was excluded from the team.
According to Pete Collins, a heavy lifter and former trainer at Sun Gym, named Mario Sanchez, who was known as Big Mario at that time, was included in the team. It was on November 14, 1994, when Marc Schiller was abducted in the parking lot while returning from an unsuccessful business deal to sell a Schlotzsky franchise.
They took the victim to a warehouse belonging to Jorge Delgado and then later brought back the car to avoid any kind of suspicion. The gang later called Schiller's wife, threatening her to leave his house with the children and provide them access. The abduction plan was initially made just for two days but went on to stretch for weeks.
As per Pain & Gain, the Sym Gym Gang kept Schiller bound in his own home during this time. They forced him to sign off most of his properties and wealth in their name. It was on December 15, 1994, when the gang members finally decided to kill Schiller in a fatal car accident, after which his life's insurance would be transferred to Lillian Torres, the ex-wife of Lugo.
They had forced him to drink heavily, leaving Schiller in a state of intoxication and helplessness. The victim was then strapped to the driving seat, while Lugo sat on the passenger seat, turning on the accelerator and directing the steering wheel towards a concrete pillar near a Schlotzky restaurant. As the car rushed towards the concrete pole, Lugo jumped out of the car, leading to a crash, with Schiller still inside the car.
However, Schiller was still breathing when the gang members went to inspect the scene. As a result, they slashed gasoline all over him and threw a fire to burn him alive. However, Schiller jumped out of the car right before the combustion and ran away from the scene. The gang members chased him from behind, but an approaching car made them run away from the scene.
Schiller was found in grave condition and was admitted to South Miami Hospital on December 16, 1994. The doctors considered him to have been willingly driving under intoxication. When the gang received the news, they went to the hospital with the intention of killing him.
However, by the time they reached him, he had already shifted to the Jackson Memorial Hospital with his deteriorating health. Marc Schiller survived, but his property was owned by Lugo and his associates.
The abduction and murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton
As per a CBS article, published on February 22, 2024, Frank Griga was a native of Budapest, Hungary, who moved to New York City and became a business mogul through his phone-s*x empire business. Noel Doorbal had been introduced to a mutual connection in a friend circle and learned about his wealth.
As per Pain & Gain part 2, published in the Miami News Times on December 30, 1999, it was Doorbal who proposed to Lugo that they make another abduction plan. The two disguised themselves as businessmen and attended a meeting, proposing fabricated business plans.
However, after numerous business meetings on May 25, 1995, Doorbal ended up killing Frank Griga after a conflict broke out in his apartment. Krzitina Furton was also there with Griga, whom Lugo had injected with a very fatal sedative called Rompun. Disappointed of losing Griga, the gang members tried to extract more personal information from Furton to get access to Griga's personal assets.
However, after injecting her with the sedative multiple times, Furton died. The next day, the gang members packed their bodies, took them to Lugo's warehouse, and dismembered them before disposing of them. Additionally, in 1994, the Sun Gym Gang members tried to abduct and forcefully obtain money from a Jamaican man named Winston Lee, but the plan was never successful.
How the members of Very Scary People's The Sun Gym Sadists were caught
As per the Pain & Gain part 2 article, after Marc Schiller's health began to recover, he hired a private investigator named Ed Du Bois to find information about his kidnappers and the assets that they had forcefully obtained. The Miami police came to know about this but brushed it off as a fabricated story.
Pain & Gain part 3, published in the Miami News Times News on January 6, 2000, narrates the post-events after the murder of Griga and Furton. It was on May 31, 1995, when the disappearance of the couple was first noticed by their housekeeper, Eszter Toth, who eventually passed down the information to Judi Bartusz, a friend of Furton.
Eventually, the Golden Beach Police Department was informed about the case, which got more suspicious when Griga's friend Lloyd Alvarez noticed his friend's Lamborghini on the street followed by two other cars. Marc Schiller eventually turned to Miami in June 1995 and informed the authorities about his abduction. It was on June 3, 1195, when the Miami Dade Police Department attained a search warrant for the houses of Lugo, Doorbal, Delgado, and the owner of Sun Gym, John Mese.
Lugo tried running away to the Bahamas; however, he was caught, arrested, and brought back to Miami. On June 10, 1995, he agreed to show the hidden the bodies of Griga and Furton. They were cut into pieces and then kept inside barrels in Southwest Miami. They still couldn't find the heads, hands, and feet of the victims that were required for identification.
However, after intel provided by an anonymous source and the serial number of Furton's breast implants confirmed their identification. As per Pain & Gain part 3, the trial for the Sun Gym Gang members began on February 24, 1997, which became the longest and most expensive court trial in the history of Dade County.
On October 2, 1996, Daniel Lugo was indicted of over 40 charges and was awarded death sentence. Noel Doorbal received a death sentence on July 17, 1998, while John Mese was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Jorge Delgado received two sentences for 5 and 15 years; however, he was released after serving 7 years in prison.
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