'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Sun Gym gang was an infamous group of five bodybuilders who were members of the Sun Gym in Miami, Florida during the 1990s. The men, Daniel Lygo, Noel Doorbal, Jorge Delgado, John Mese, and John Raimondo, were responsible for multiple abductions, extortion, torture, and the murder of two people.
The Sun Gym gang devised multiple plans to kidnap and torture wealthy men to transfer their assets in their name. However, the plan seemingly went awry as they ended up killing two people.
Two members of the Sun Gym gang, Daniel Lugo and Noel Doorbal were given the death penalty by a Miami-Dade jury. Meanwhile, John Mese was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, and John Raimondo was given an eight-year sentence. The final member of the Sun Gym gang, Jorge Delgado served seven years in the Everglades Correctional Institution.
Trending
According to a Miami Herald article from December 21, 2024, Daniel Lugo and Noel Doorbal were released from death row, after three decades of trials and investigations.
Episode 2 of season 6 of Very Scary People looks at the case behind the Sun Gym gang's crimes. Titled The Sun Sym Sadists aired on December 22, 2024, on Investigation Discovery.
"In mid-90s Miami, a crew of bodybuilders known as the Sun Gym Gang preys on the rich to rob them blind; as their greed grows, they turn to murder, resulting in one of the goriest crime scenes in Florida history," the episode synopsis reads.
What happened to the Sun Gym gang members?
Writer and journalist, Pete Collins, documented the rise and fall of the Sun Gym Gang in a three-part series titled Pain & Gain. The series was published in the Miami New Times from 1999 to 2000. As mentioned earlier, the Sun Gym gang members were a group of bodybuilders, who visited the Sun Gym in Miami, Florida.
According to Collins' article, Pain & Gain Part 3, the trial of the gang members included 98 witnesses and more than 1,200 pieces of evidence. It became one of the longest and most expensive trials in Dade County's history. Daniel Lugo was charged with 40 crimes and found guilty on October 2, 1996. He was sentenced to death for a double homicide along with his co-gang member Noel Doorbal, who was also given a death sentence.
Florida Capital Case Archives noted that John Mese was given a sentence of 56 years in prison on the same day as his fellow gang members. However, his sentence was reduced to 30 years on January 15, 200, but died of a stroke in 2004.
Jorge Delgado received two prison terms of five and 15 years but he was released from the Everglades Correctional Institution in West Dale after spending seven years. Meanwhile, John Raimondo was charged with the abduction and murder of Krisztina Furton, and spent eight years in prison being released in 2002.
According to an article by the Miami New Times published in 2013, Raimondo shared the details of his experience as part of the gang. He spoke about his experience after the release of the 2013 film Pain & Gain.
The Miami Herald published an article in December 2024 about Daniel Lugo and Noel Doorbal being freed from their death penalities. They were freed nearly three decades after they were charged with the abduction and double murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton. The resentencing took place at the Richard E. Gers, headed by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa TInkler Mendez.
As per the Miami Herald, outside the courtroom, Doorbal's attorney, Bruce Fleisher told the publication that the accused killer was relieved at being freed. He added that Doorbal had "accepted responsibility" for the crimes.
“He thinks he can do good for the rest of his life. He accepted responsibility. He’s remorseful and he’s going to do good things in prison to help others," Bruce noted.
The Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Kioceaia said that Noel Doorbal was addicted to a luxurious lifestyle. Kioceaia said that the abduction and murders were a way to fuel money to maintain his lifestyle.
Senior State Trial Counselor Scott Warfman commented on the betterment of Daniel Lego's behavior while spending his time in prison for three decades. However, the story of Sun Gym gang members goes far back to the beginning of the early 1990s.
What is the story behind the crimes of Sun Gym gang members?
Daniel Lugo was an ex-convict who worked as the manager of Sun Gym in 1993, where Noel Doorbal also worked. Lugo had previously tried to create a fake Hong Kong-based loan firm in 1991 and a collection agency for overdue gym payments in 1994. However, both businesses were unsuccessful.
As per an archive article on Florida Capital Cases, Jorge Delgado worked as a personal trainer in the Sun Gym. He was hired by a wealthy businessman Marc Schiller, to help with his business and the two became good friends. Delgado often visited Schiller's home, and since Lugo was a close friend, he would join the former.
Jorge Delgado and Marc Schiller had been business partners since 1991, and Lugo convinced Delgado that Schiller had committed fraud during billing operations. Consulting with Lugo's advice, Delgado changed his accountant and bought John Mese as a replacement. This was when Lugo and Delgado decided to forcefully retrieve money from Schiller.
As per a Pain & Gain article, Lugo arranged a meeting with Noel Doorbal and Stevenson Pierre in 1994, to propose a high-ticket offer. Lugo told them a made-up story, saying Marc Schiller had cheated them, stealing $100,000 from him and $200,00 from Delgado.
They were offered a sum of $100,000 if they would contribute towards kidnapping Schiller and retrieve their money back. They planned to disguise themselves and abduct Schiller from his residence. However, after seven attempts the Sun Gym gang members couldn't catch Schiller.
As per the Pain & Gain article, it was then the team excluded Pierre, and brought Mario Sanchez, a weightlifting trainer, who previously worked at the Sun Gym. Known as the "Big Mario," Sanchez worked as a licensed private eye in Florida, who was six feet four and weighed 270 pounds. He was working as a bouncer at the Hooligan's Pub & Oyster Bar in Miami Lakes.
The Sun Gym gang members picked up Schiller in a parking lot on November 14, 1994, after an unsuccessful business meeting to sell a Schlotzsky franchise. They grabbed and tasered him before taking him to Noel Delgado's warehouse. They also took away Schiller's car to avoid any suspicion.
The gang members called Schiller's wife and ordered her to leave the house and to give them access. They kept Schiller as a prisoner in his own home for over a month before he was forced to transfer his assets to the Sun Gym gang. These assets included his properties from the Cayman Islands and Switzerland.
Finally, the Sun Gym gang members decided to kill Schiller and claim it was a car accident. They made Marc Schiller drink a lot of alcohol for the next few days until December 15, 1994, when they put him inside his car with Lugo in the passenger seat. Lugo put his put on the accelerator and directed the car towards a concrete pole.
Right before the speeding car hit the post, Lugo jumped out, leaving Schiller inside. When the gang members went to check on the victim, he was still alive, so they drenched him in gasoline with the intention of setting him on fire. However, Schiller managed to open the door and run away. The Sun Gym gang members chased him but were forced to hide after they saw another car approaching them.
Schiller was admitted to the South Miami Hospital on December 16, 1994. The gang members entered the hospital intending to kill him, but since Schiller had been shifted to the Jackson Memorial Hospital, he wasn't killed.
The murder of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton
In a CBS News article, Zsuzsanna Griga, the brother of Frank Griga, spoke about the murder of Griga and his girlfriend Krisztina Furton by Sun Gym gang members. Felix Jimenez is a retired officer from the Metro-Dade Police homicide department and was the lead detective behind the investigation of their murders.
Frank Griga came from Budapest, Hungary to New York City, with just $10, but ended up making millions with a phone s*x empire. He was living with Furton and running his business. The Sun Gym gang members were introduced to Frank Griga through Doorbal, who proposed to kidnap and extort money from Griga..
As per CBS, on May 24, 1995, when Zsuzsanna Griga couldn't reach his brother, he got worried. It was later revealed that Doorbal killed Frank Griga after a business conflict at his apartment, the very next day.
After killing the primary captive, the Sun Gym gang members tried to retrieve information, from Griga's girlfriend Furton. They induced her with lethal doses of a horse sedative, Rompun, which ended up killing her.
The gang members carried both dead bodies to a warehouse in Hialeah on May 26, 1995. There, the Sun Gym gang members dismembered the bodies before disposing them off.
As per Pain & Gain, Part 3, the disappearance of the couple was first noticed by Eszter Toth, who contacted one of Furton's friends Judi Bartusz. Judi called the Golden Beach Police Department to inform them of the disappearance.
Griga's Lamborghini was seen on the streets, along with two other cars on May 31, 1995. Lloyd Alvarez, one of Griga's friends decided to follow the car and recognized Daniel Lugo in his Mercedes beside him.
Meanwhile, Marc Schiller had hired a private Miami Investigator named Ed Du Bois, to look into his abductors. The police contacted Bois to help with the investigation, and they began connecting the dots. After Schiller recovered, he told the investigators everything that had happened to him.
According to Pain & Gain Part 3 on June 3, 1995, the Metro-Dade police attained the search warrants for Daniel Lugo, Noel Doorbal, Jorge Delgado, and the owner of Sun Gym, John Mese. Lugo tried to escape to the Bahamas but was caught in Nassau and brought back into custody.
As per Pain & Gain Part 3, when Daniel Lugo provided the location where the bodies were kept in June. The remains of Griga and Furton's bodies were found in Southwest Miami and kept inside barrels.
However, after a crucial intel from an anonymous caller, and identification of the serial number from Furton's breast implants, the victims were recognized. The Sun Gym gang members were caught and put behind bars after this.
Filmmaker Michael Bay made a film the Sun Gym gang in 2013, based on Pete Collins' three-part article. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie, among others.
To know more about the story of Sun Gym gang members watch The Sun Gym Sadists episode of Very Scary People. The episode was released on December 22, 2024, on Investigation Discovery.
