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Date of Sentence: 07/17/98
Circumstances of Offense:
Daniel Lugo was convicted for,
among other charges, the attempted murder of Marc Schiller as well as
the murders of Griga and Furton.
Kidnapping, Extortion and
Attempted Murder of Marc Schiller:
Schiller was a successful
executive who hired Jorge Delgado to help with his business. Delgado
often visited Schiller’s house and the two eventually became good
friends. Delgado worked out at Sun Gym where Lugo worked. Lugo began
joining Delgado on visits to Schiller’s house. Through Lugo, Delgado
also became acquainted with the codefendants, Noel Doorbal and John
Mese.
In 1994, Schiller questioned Delgado’s business practices, which
caused an argument between the two. Schiller told Delgado he was
severing the business ties between them. Lugo convinced Delgado that
Schiller had cheated the two of them in billing operations. Upon Lugo’s
advice, Delgado hired John Mese as a replacement accountant. Delgado
testified that Lugo produced documents to back up his claims.
When
questioned by Delgado, Schiller denied any wrongdoing. It was at this
time that Lugo, along with friends of his, made a plan to kidnap
Schiller and force him to sign over assets Lugo believed Schiller owed
him and Delgado.
Although Delgado had originally told Lugo he wanted
nothing to do with the plan, he became very involved in the plot.
Delgado gave specific information to Lugo about Schiller’s life
regarding his schedule, details about his home, and family to Lugo.
Lugo and his group then secretly observed Schiller.
After a few attempts, they were
successful in kidnapping Schiller. They took him to a warehouse Delgado
had rented. Lugo to demanded that Schiller sign over his assets to
him. After Schiller refused, the group began beating him and shocking
him with a stun gun. Schiller finally agreed to sign after Lugo had
threatened to harm Schiller’s wife and children. Schiller unwillingly
began signing checks and documents, giving Lugo possession of his
property and assets. During this time, Schiller was blindfolded, so he
could not see what he was signing.
Three weeks into the kidnapping, a
member of the group approached Lugo and convinced him they needed to
kill Schiller because he could possibly identify some or all of those
involved. In the fourth week of the abduction, they forced Schiller to
consume a large amount of alcohol. Lugo took Schiller’s car and ran it
into a pole to make it appear as though Schiller was involved in a car
accident.
They took Schiller to the car and put him in the front seat.
They then poured gasoline over the vehicle and set it on fire. The
group was then ready to leave the scene in another car when they saw
Schiller in the road. Lugo then told the driver to run him over, which
the driver did. They left the scene convinced that Schiller was dead.
They found out later that Schiller had actually survived, and, at his
request, was transported to New York. While Schiller was in New York,
Lugo and his group emptied his house and bank accounts. Schiller was
able to identify Lugo in his testimony because he recognized Lugo’s
voice during his abduction.
The police found items described as
belonging to Schiller in Lugo’s possession. Also discovered, were
checks from Schiller’s checking account, which were payable to Mese.
Abduction, attempted
Extortion, and the Murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton:
Noel Doorbal, one of the men
involved in the abduction of Schiller with Lugo, learned of another
wealthy executive, Frank Griga, and his girlfriend, Krisztina Furton.
Doorbal relayed this information and convinced Lugo to form a plan to
kidnap and extort the couple. Lugo accepted and was again in full
participation of the planning process.
Lugo and Doorbal planned to
visit Griga under the guise of presenting a business proposition. They
planned to gain his confidence through this encounter; however, Griga
was not interested.
During their second visit on 05/24/95, Lugo and Doorbal were to carry out the abduction, but Lugo aborted the plan.
They returned later that day and invited them to dinner. Lugo’s plan
was to lure the couple to Doorbal’s apartment. The couple did follow
Lugo and Doorbal to the apartment.
Jorge Delgado visited Lugo and Doorbal at Doorbal’s apartment on 05/25/95, where he was informed that
Griga was killed during a fight with Doorbal. Once Furton, Griga’s
girlfriend, knew Griga was seriously hurt, she started screaming. It
was at that time that Lugo restrained her and injected her with Rompun,
a horse tranquilizer, to subdue her.
They then started focusing on Furton for information about the code to enter Griga’s home. Doorbal
had carried Furton to the bottom of the staircase, where she began to
scream again. She was then injected a second time with the horse
tranquilizer.
After answering a few questions, Furton decided not to
supply them with any more information. They injected her with a third
dose of the tranquilizer, which resulted in her death. Lugo hired a
corrections officer, John Raimondo, to kill Furton and dispose of both
the bodies. He did neither.
Lugo went to Griga’s house with
what he thought was the code to get in. Once he realized he did not
have the correct code, he called Doorbal who informed Lugo that Furton
was dead. When Lugo returned to Doorbal’s apartment, he told Delgado to
go home and to return to Doorbal’s apartment the next morning with a
truck. The next morning, both bodies were loaded onto the truck and
they took them to the warehouse in Hialeah. After Lugo and Doorbal had
purchased the necessary equipment, they proceeded to dismember the
bodies. They also attempted to burn the heads, hands and feet. Lugo
and Doorbal removed everything from Doorbal’s apartment that had blood
on it.
On May 27 Lugo made a trip to the Bahamas to try and gain access
to Griga’s bank account. He was not successful and returned to Miami.
On May 28, Lugo, Doorbal and another man disposed of all the body
parts. Lugo ran off to the Bahamas, where he was arrested in June 1995.
*****
Trial Summary:
10/02/96
Defendant was indicted on the following:
Count I - Conspiracy to
Commit Racketeering
Count II - Racketeering
Count III - First-Degree
Murder (Furton)
Count IV - First-Degree Murder (Griga)
Count V - Kidnapping
Count VI - Kidnapping
Count VIII - Attempted Extortion
Count IX - Grand Theft Auto
Count X - Attempted
First-Degree Murder
Count XI - Armed Kidnapping
Count XII - Armed Robbery
Count XIII - Burglary
Count XIV - Grand
Theft (Second-Degree)
Count XV - Grand
Theft Auto
Count XVI - Possession
of an Identification Plate
Count XVII - Arson
Count XVIII - Extortion
Count XIX - Money Laundering
(Counts XIX – XXVII)
Count XXVIII - Forgery
(Counts XXVIII, XXXI, XXXIV, XXVII, XL, XLIII)
Count XXX - Uttering a
Forged Instrument (Counts XXX, XXIII, XXXVI, IXL, XLII, XLV)
Count XLVI - Conspiracy to Commit a
First-Degree Felony
05/05/98
Defendant was found guilty on all the charges on the indictment.
06/11/98
Upon advisory sentencing, the jury voted, by an 11 to 1 majority, for
the death sentence.
07/17/98
Defendant was sentenced as follows:
Count I - Conspiracy to
Commit Racketeering – 30 years
Count II - Racketeering – 30
years
Count III - First-Degree
Murder (Furton) – Death
Count IV - First-Degree Murder
(Griga) – Death
Count V - Kidnapping – Life
Count VI - Kidnapping – Life
Count VIII - Attempted Extortion
– 5 years
Count IX - Grand Theft Auto – 5
years
Count X - Attempted
First-Degree Murder – Life
Count XI - Armed Kidnapping –
Life
Count XII - Armed Robbery – 15
years
Count XIII - Burglary
– 15 years
Count XIV - Grand
Theft (Second-Degree) – 15 years
Count XV - Grand
Theft Auto – 5 years
Count XVI - Possession
of an Identification Plate – 5 years
Count XVII - Arson – 30 years
Count XVIII - Extortion – 30 years
Count XIX - Money Laundering
(Counts XIX – XXVII) – 15 years
each
Count XXVIII - Forgery
(Counts XXVIII, XXXI, XXXIV, XXVII, XL, XLIII) – 5 years each
Count XXX - Uttering a
Forged Instrument (Counts XXX, XXIII, XXXVI, IXL, XLII, XLV) – 5 years each.
Count XLVI - Conspiracy
to Commit a First-Degree Felony – 15 years
*****
Codefendant Information:
Noel Doorbal
(DC# M16320)
was indicted on 10/02/96 and sentenced on 07/17/98 on the following (CC#
95-17381-B):
Count I - Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering – 30 years
Count
II - Racketeering – 30 years
Count III - First-Degree
Murder (Furton) - Death
Count IV - First-Degree Murder
(Griga) - Death
Count V - Kidnapping – Life
Count VI - Kidnapping – Life
Count VIII - Attempted Extortion
– 5 years
Count IX - Grand Theft Auto – 5 years
Count X - Attempted First-Degree Murder – Life
Count XI - Armed Kidnapping –
Life
Count XII - Armed Robbery - Life
Count XIII - Burglary
– 15 years
Count XIV - Grand
Theft (Second-Degree) – 15 years
Count XVII - Arson – 30 years
Count XVIII - Extortion – 30 years
Count XLVI - Conspiracy to Commit a
First-Degree Felony 15 years
John Mese (DC# Q03835)
was indicted on 10/02/96 (CC# 95-17381-F) for the kidnapping, extortion,
and murders of Griga and Furton and the kidnapping and extortion of Marc
Schiller. A jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the
indictment; however, the judge set aside the convictions pertaining to
the Griga/Furton crimes. On 07/20/98, Mese was sentenced to 56
years’ imprisonment for the kidnapping and extortion of Schiller.
Mese appealed and the State cross-appealed the sentence to the Florida
District Court of Appeal, Third District. On 06/19/02, the DCA ruled
that the trial judge improperly set aside the two RICO convictions and
ordered a new sentencing hearing to be conducted on those counts.
On
01/15/03, Mese was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment for one count of
Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering.
John Raimondo
(DC# 198195)
was indicted on 10/02/96 (CC# 95-17381-I) on one count each of
Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering, First-Degree Murder (Furton),
Kidnapping (Furton), and Attempted Extortion. The State nolle prossed
all but the kidnapping charge, and Raimondo was convicted and sentenced
to eight years imprisonment for the crime.
Jorge Delgado
(DC# 126314)
was sentenced to two prison terms of 15 and 5 years for his role in the
murders of Griga and Furton and the attempted murder of Schiller (in
return for testifying for the State).
*****
Case Information:
On
09/28/98, Lugo filed his Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.
Lugo’s appeal claimed error in the trial court because they did not
grant him separate trials for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organization counts, the Schiller counts and the Griga-Furton counts.
The trial court did separate Lugo’s trial from his codefendants but
found that he could be tried on all counts in one trial. This Court
agreed with the trial court in that each count was connected and similar
enough to try in one trial. They further stated that, even if the
counts were tried separately, the charges could be introduced as
evidence in each trial.
Lugo also contended that there was insufficient
evidence in the convictions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organization counts. Another issue Lugo raised in the appeal was that
the State made improper comments during opening and closing arguments.
In addition, Lugo raised that there were errors in the introduction of
evidence from previous convictions as well as Brady claims. The Court
found no reversible errors in the trial courts decision and affirmed the
convictions and sentences on 02/20/03.
On
07/28/03, Lugo filed a Petition for Writ Certiorari to the United States
Supreme Court, which was denied on 10/06/03.
On
04/21/05, Lugo filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court, which was
denied on 03/29/06.
On
07/31/06, Lugo filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, which
is currently pending.
FloridaCapitalCases.state.fl.us
Daniel Lugo
Noel Doorbal
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