The Chippendales Murders
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Welcome back to Write Answers Mostly, a podcast on what you didn't learn in history class but really wanted to. My name is Tess Valomo. My name's Claire Donalds. And you guys, we just want to like get an announcement out of the way. We're super excited about it. It's honestly been a long time coming, something that we've been really thinking about for a while. Yes, and like we understand this might be met with like a little...

Trepidation? Is that the right word? I don't even know what that means. Me either. But I assume yes. Just like people might feel a little... You might feel a little confused and frustrated. Well, because you all know how much change is hard for Tess and me. Yes. So... But also that we just like do, you know, have so many interests and we do have so many directions that we've always wanted to experiment with, with our work and this podcast. So...

For next month, we will be transitioning Right Answers Mostly from a history podcast to a lifestyle wellness podcast. Yes. And the reason why we're doing that is just because we feel like there's so much to be discussed in like our tone and like.

There's just this space that's missing for health and wellness podcasts, which is kind of toxic, and we want to break that down and give you guys something else. Yeah, and as I'm approaching my 30s that we're in our 30s now, we just feel like this space is so important for us. It's important to learn more about our bodies and what benefits us and our mental health. Yeah.

And I'm so excited. I'm so excited, too. We'll miss history, but history will always be there. Yeah, and we were kind of like running out of things to talk about. Like, this is going to be our last historical episode today. Exactly. And it's been a good time. Amen.

I couldn't look at you in the face when I was doing it. Guys, I'm so sorry. I was like thinking about like the people, like if I listened, I would be so pissed at us right now. Guys, I'm sorry, but you know how much I love April Fool's. She's a prankster. I am a prankster. We had to do something that was like shocking. Shocking. And a little scary. And you guys know we also never do a health and wellness podcast. Also, I was about to laugh and you're like, there's just a missing space in that market for like, what, two like white women in their 30s? Totally.

Talking about like fucking cleanses and grams of protein. Guys, with love and light, that is never going to be us. Absolutely not. And we have so much more history. We have endless amounts of history. We will never leave this space. No. We are so happy to be here. We were trying to figure out like what would be a good April Fool's show for you guys. And everything we said, I was like, I don't even want to put it out in the universe. I know. Because I was like, let's just say we're ending the podcast, which is so cruel. And I'm sorry that I really would not have done that to you guys. It was just my first. That's never going to happen.

It was just my first instinct thing. Claire was like, let's say we're having Trump on. Yeah. And that's even a tough thing to put out in the universe. I was like, I don't even want to, like, say, bleep his name next. Beep. Fuck him. Yeah, but we just had to, like, be a little playful with you guys. Sorry. It was funny for us. Yeah, it really was. Comment on our Instagram at RightAnswersMostly if we got you and what you thought. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gotcha. Gotcha. But...

We are excited to be back with another episode of our historical podcast. We sure are. Um,

We wanted to make a quick announcement that in our show notes, there is something very exciting for you to go check out. We're also going to be posting it on social media. And this is not a joke. This is like for real, for real. I swear. Pinky promise. If you're watching us on YouTube. Crosses don't count also. Because you can't say no crosses count as a kid because people would say no crosses count. Oh my God. I've never heard this before. So we'd always have to go. I was with some really manipulative friends in middle school. That was me. Yeah.

It was us. It was us. This is so true. But a very exciting announcement for our premium subscription, which is in our show notes. It used to be called Patreon. We're just calling it our premium subscription. Now you can join for two bonus episodes a month for $7.99. And we announced, say it Tess, a very special guest. Don't say who it is. Oh, I was like, oh my God. Sorry. I just like bulldozed over you. So I was like, hand the mic back to her. Oh my God. What do you want? What do you want from me?

I've just completely hijacked this podcast. I'm so sorry.

We do have a very special announcement of one of our most exciting guests. So that will be on there. Basically with this premium service is that you don't have to download another app. Nope. You don't have to do much. For $7.99 a month, two bonus episodes go directly, whether you are listening on Spotify or Apple, goes directly into your feed. So when you get that new extra episode, it just pops up right with our main feed. Right there. You don't have to go anywhere and you get all of the whole catalog of our bonus episodes. Thank you.

They didn't go anywhere either. Exactly. So you got them all. We know that you miss us every week when we're not back. This is a great way, too, when we do a re-release once in a blue moon to be like, I want to listen to fresh content. We talk about celebrity gossip, our personal lives. That's right. Our personal lives. Things are happening right now. Things are cooking. I mean, I am a single girl after all. She is a single lady in the city of angels. And you can put those two together. That's right. That's right.

Or just, you know, join our premium subscription. Everyone who's listening right now is shaking in their boots. They're like, okay, let's just get to it. Okay, we'll go, we'll go, we'll go, we'll go. But anyways, guys, hello. Hello. You know...

I'm excited to be back at Spotify as always. Yes. We were just talking about how nice it is to come into an office once or twice a week. The community here is so lovely. Shout out to Kevin. Kevin, are you listening? Kevin, are you listening? Because you are our king. And to Sam. Of course. Our tech kings. Our tech kings. We just literally texted Kevin. He set us up and everything, and we literally just texted him two seconds after he left the room saying, Kevin, we're already having a technical difficulty. He just walks back in and be like, what's going on, girls? Thank you.

We keep them young, I think. We keep them on their toes. Yeah.

But any updates, Claire? Any thoughts, feelings, life updates? I don't think so. We're in your birth month, which is very exciting. Taurus season is upon us. It is upon us. Not quite yet. We're still in the Aries. That's true. Which we appreciate. Excited to celebrate. You can also find out on those bonus episodes what Tessa's birthday theme is going to be. Oh, it's going to be good. It's going to be really good. It's going to be good. I almost dropped way too much money last night on...

Something that I'll talk about on Patreon. That Taurus energy. That Taurus energy. Yeah. You guys know how it goes. So my family's coming in town this month and that'll be a good time. Can't wait. And like, I think that's, and like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Such a dumb sentence, but I think that's about it. Anything exciting for you?

Going to Vegas. Oh my God, your outfit. When this, oh no. Yeah, I'll be going to Vegas at the end of the week that this is out. I got a great outfit from Nasty Gal. God, the skirt is skirting. I have to say, you know, we do try to limit our fast fashion. Claire and I have had this discussion before on the podcast of just like you can't, everything in life can't be 100%. Yeah.

We try, but we live in a capitalist society and it's just not going to happen. It is what it is. So I went to Nasty Gal and got this like really cool like chain, like see-through long maxi skirt that's like sparkly and like...

Didn't Paige wear a similar one on Summer House reunion? Oh, yeah, she did. Very hot. And I'm going to do it with like a white tank. And it's just like such good quality. And I'm just like so excited. And like I'm wearing like little like cheeky. Not an ad. Not an ad. But a good thing. Always. Call us. So, yeah, excited for Vegas. Excited to like, you know, get a spray tan and just like. Ugh.

Live it up. Live it up. Always. Yeah. So that's really it. That's all I'm kind of thinking about. Are you going to gamble? I always go to the penny slots. Okay. And I try to go to the Sex and the City penny slot, which is really fun. And then I like to play a game of blackjack for $20, and then I immediately lose my money, and I talk about how I shouldn't have done it for the next two hours, and that's always my journey. But did you only lose $20? Mm-hmm. Oh, that's not too bad. I know, but you know when you just like...

It takes me a while to get into the Vegas mentality of like, why do I just blow $20? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Even though it's fun, but this is what happens every time. Yeah. I actually, last time that we were there together, I won $50. You had good luck there, I feel. But then I'm actually, I think, pretty good at being like, call it.

Nice. See, I chase something. Well, it's only $20, too. That's true. That's true. That's like half a drink. Well, and free in Vegas. Oh, yeah. That is true. It all works out. We're driving. That sucks. But you're not driving. I'm not driving. Yeah. My baby's driving. You're being passenger princess. Of course. Yeah. Flights were just like...

Flights were expensive. And it's four hours, which like we've been doing like a lot of San Francisco road trips, which is more like six. So I feel like it's not going to feel too bad. Just ever since our hangover drive back from San Diego, I'm a little scared and scarred.

But you were such a hero when you were driving us back. We went on a girls trip and like the next day when we were driving back, it was also rainy. It was horrible. I was like shaking. I was also shaking. Everyone was shaking in a different way. You know, you just have to be like, don't think about it. Just get us there. Just drive. Just shut up and drive. Drive. Drive. Drive.

What are we talking about today? So guys, today it really took me, it tickled me when one of our Rammys... Well, we said no tickling. No tickling. It emotionally tickled me when one of our Rammys wrote in and they said, guys, ladies, have you ever considered covering the Chippendales murders? I'm interested. And I said, what the hell is that?

And then I looked it up and I was like, this is going to be so crazy. We have to cover it. I can't wait. What's your experience like with Chippendales, Claire? Wow. Funny ass test. Yeah. We went on that same Vegas trip. We were on a bachelorette trip and we went, it was Chippendales, right? It wasn't Magic Mike. I think it was Chippendales. It was Chippendales. Yeah. Yeah.

Right? Yeah, it was. And I had one of those Chippendales come on over and I did a little dance for him. He liked what he saw. And then if you are a premium subscription person, you're on our Close Friends on Instagram. And I'll stop talking about this, but I will post the video. I'll post it on Close Friends. You look really hot. Your hair looked great. Thank you.

Thank you. I like when you do like the straight. You haven't done that for a while. I'll do it. I'll try it. I really love it. Because the Dyson Airwrap I've just been doing blowouts. No, I know. But I do a little dance on him. Uh-huh. And then we embrace. I embrace the topless Chippendales man. The embrace kills me every time. The embrace, I was like, that was so like unexpected. We had such a connection. No, but I feel like

we had a connection that way. Yeah, you did. Hey. I think he was like, thank you for allowing me and you were like, thank you for choosing me. That's exactly what it was. So I have honestly nothing but fond memories of Chippendales. I believe my grandma went to Chippendales with some of her best friends one time too. I have nothing

but that's the only time I've been to a Chip and Dale show as well. And I just remember being like, I never want this night to end. Well, no kidding. I mean, it is like wild, the things that you see. It just feels like a feminist revolution in there. It does. Because it's like finally

we get ours, you know? With feeling safe and like celebrating and they're trying to make you feel really good and it's just like a nice experience. It is truly girl power. It is girl power. And I would recommend it to anyone. Same. It was such a good time. Yeah. And like it's, it's, yeah, it's safe and sexy, I'd say. We love safe and sexy. You know? Yeah. But it hasn't always been safe and sexy, Claire. Oh God. It hasn't always been at all. Okay. Um,

Starting out with my sources. Of course. We have allthatsinteresting.com, which this story is interesting. Okay. We're not even going to give that person- No, no, no. We'll never see them again. I'm never going to go on that website again, but it was thank you for your service. And Elle.com. Elle. Elle.

I have my thoughts about Elle.com. Give it to me. I said, Elle.com is like your mom's really chic friend from college who you see once every few years when she visits from Paris. She brings you really expensive, unethical face creams that are not FDA approved in the States and is always on the Whole30 diet. Phenomenal.

She's done the work, people. That is Elle.com. So she's like not our blood aunt, but our aunt because it's your mom's college best friend. Auntie. Yes. That you're just like, you're a little toxic, but I want to be you. You're really beautiful. She must smell so good and fresh. So good and fresh. But like she's always just eating like salmon and like, you know, you're just like. And almonds. And almonds and like a martini. And you're just like live it up a little bit too. Yeah, but she won't. But she won't. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh my God, I love that. Thank you. Welcome to the family, Elle. Welcome to the family, Elle. And then I'll let you take this one, Claire. Maybe we've done this one before. Time Magazine. Time. Have we done Time? I don't think we've done Time. I think of Time. I think of Time Magazine as like a grandpa. Like a very smart old grandpa. That is literally what I put. That's it.

I was like, it's like an old grandpa or like older figure with like big sweaters. Yes. A beard. Of course. I can also see like a green pattern blazer sort of thing. Like he kind of looks like the grandpa from The Parent Trap. And he smells of tobacco and peppermint. Time Magazine smells of tobacco and peppermint. Wow. You just like put me there. Wow. You put me there. Hey, I love our family. I love our family too. These crazy, crazy kids. So...

Chippendales is best known for its muscular male dancers, exuberant crowns of women, and dynamic shows. But the Chippendales murders proved that the lighthearted franchise had a dark side. Dun, dun, dun. I forget that there's murder in this. There's murder on the dance floor. And you better not kill the groom. Oh, was it mood? I don't know.

Always tough when you say something and then you just look at each other like, well, fuck. There's no going back? No, there's not. So Claire, who started Chippendales? Who was the founder? Who got this all started?

Do you imagine that it is a man or a woman? A man. It's a man. Yeah. So this guy named Saman, who later goes by Steve Banjari, he was an Indian immigrant born in Mumbai, India on October 8th, 1946. A Libra. He's a Libra. Just like my boo. Yeah. Just like my Indian boo. Literally, I was like, wow. Kanaal. This is the story of Kanaal. Yeah.

His origin story. He moved to the United States initially to operate a mobile gas station.

And then afterwards, a failed Backgammon Club. Do you know what Backgammon is? I have a Backgammon board. There's a Backgammon Club in Venice. I had never heard of this game, and it was showing up everywhere. There's so much backgammon. You've never heard of it? I knew. Once I saw the board, I was like, oh, that's what it is. I never knew it was called Backgammon. I don't know how to play it either, but the youth is playing it. It's like the new pickleball. The youth is playing it. There's so much crossover between this and Chip and Deals, which I was like, everyone involved in Chip and Deals in some way was involved in Backgammon. What? What?

I was like, why? Why? I don't know. I just don't know. It's a very strange Venn diagram. It is. Yeah. So then in 1975, he's in the States and he bought a struggling Los Angeles bar called Destiny 2, which turned into initially a female mud wrestling club. Oh my God. The pros are like, oh yeah. I was like, holy shit. Very like 70s, you know. Of course. Of course. And then later it turned into a female exotic dancing night. Got it. Got it.

And then finally he was like, wait a minute, wait a minute. There's something here. There's something here. And I would not say that this man is like a feminist. Like we have to have a place for women. But I think he was just thinking of money and he was like, women are horny too. Of course. I just appreciate him recognizing that. We appreciate a man that knows that women need to get theirs. Get theirs. Yeah. Right? Ladies, am I right? Ladies, am I right? So he finally renamed it Chip and Deals. Where did that name come from? I have no idea. Yeah.

Chippendales. I mean, those are the names of the little like chipmunks. I don't know. Yeah. I couldn't find anything about like where that came from. And so he's like, it's gonna be Chippendales. It's gonna be like a kind of female strip club. The men are gonna be hot and like it's gonna be sexy, but it's also gonna be fun. That was like his like first idea, which is essentially what it is now.

So Steve, we're going to call him Steve because even though his original name was Salman, he like went by Steve and in all the articles it was Steve. He was soft spoken. It's always the quiet ones. It's always the quiet ones. You're just like, I don't trust you. Yeah. But he really wanted Chip and Dale's to be like the opposite of him. He wanted it to be like loud and fun and just like very like exuberant and dramatic and theatrical. Yeah. Yeah.

He took the advice of doing this through this guy, which it always goes back to past Ram episodes, named Paul Snyder. He later shot and killed his wife and Playboy bunny model, Dorothy Stratton, in 1980 before killing himself. Wait, I think that I've heard about, like, the Dorothy Stratton, the murder of that. Because she was, like, a playmate that was, like, well...

Really well known, right? She was a famous playmate and he killed her and then took the gun to himself. Oh my God. Check out our Playboy episode. Please do. And so he was the one to be like, let's start a male or, you know, I'm going to help you kind of cultivate this male exotic dance night for ladies only. So the murderer said that. Paul Snyder. Yes. Okay. Yes. He said this.

Funny enough, Dorothy, who was murdered, was the one who suggested that the shirtless Chippendales dancers wear bow tie collars and tufts as a nod to the Playboy bunnies. She was like, what if the men were wearing something similar? Cute. And they've actually gone through a whole legal battle with that. I could see why. But she was the one who had that idea. May she rest in peace. May she rest in peace. Because, yeah, so Paul had seen some gay show, dance show, and he was like,

We should just like replicate this essentially. Yeah. But like make it more towards the stream out gay. Yes, exactly. Um,

So, Eric Gilbert, who was the former creative director of Playboy, made the case that Hugh Hefner deserves credit for Chippendale's success. I just, like, I think we're good without it, you know? I think it's like, who cares? It's like cuffs and a collar. Yes, my, okay, yeah, you're going to give, like, full credit for the whole thing? My God. I know. It's stupid. But, yeah, so that's always just been a back and forth thing. It's like kind of like tension between them, which I think is funny. Mm-hmm.

So, Steve recalls, at first, all the guys were worried about their image.

But the show delighted female customers who soon lined up to get in. And then all of a sudden, every actor in L.A., every dancer was like, wait, I want to audition for Chip and Dale's. So it was kind of reputable after a short amount of time. And people were like, this isn't just some stupid thing. It's like a great part-time job. You don't have to be a waiter. You can have women screaming for you. Imagine doing this in the 80s. They probably were all doing so many drugs before they went on. So much coke. Holy shit. The cocaine was probably...

Yeah. No kidding. Flying around. And there is a woman who's involved, too, in, like, the origin story and success. One of the former associate producers, her name is Candice Mayeron. We will hear her name. Okay. Candice.

So she's for the girlies. She says it was the first time ever something was completely geared to the ladies. We built an environment for women just to let it all hang out. We needed it. We needed it. We need it today. We need it right now. We do. Bring them in. Bring in the tip and nails. However, it wasn't all bachelorette parties and games, Claire. It never is. It never is. Little Steve really had some darkness and competitive qualities.

Was Steve... If we don't know, we don't know. But would he identify as a straight man? I don't know. If I were to...

analyzed based on everything i feel like he was like maybe in the closet yeah um is what i think but i'm not i'm not sure about his love life or right extracurricular activities i understand um so i said he was very competitive is that a libra quality to be competitive no because usually libras like really avoid conflict oh yeah that's right i mean tom schwartz is so much libra that's why he is the way he is you are so right yeah um

Well, Steve was not like that. So in 1979, he quietly sent someone to burn down Moody's Disco, a rival nightclub. Oh, my God. And then once again in 1984, he tried to do the same at the Red Onion restaurant and bar that he felt was like...

coming in on his business. Oh my God. Do you know that if he was like, do it while there are no patrons there, he's like, fuck it. Um, I don't think it killed anybody. I think he like did it overnight or something. Oh my God. It,

Honestly, just like be a better business person then. Well, it's like also Red Onion Restaurant and Bar. Like what is the crossover with Chippendales? He's like, I honestly just hate that place. So take it out. He's like, I don't like their lobster. Yeah. Burn it to the ground. Burn it to the ground. So he doesn't get caught. No one like connects. It's called arson. Yeah. No one connects him to it. But Steve is like, you know what? We're doing so well in L.A. Chippendales is taking off. Where else should we go?

So they're like, let's go to New York City, baby. That's such a good. I would guess Miami. Well, they also opened up initially in Dallas and Denver. Dallas? All the church ladies are like, amen. I mean, I think they're like, there's a market there. Talk about a missing space. No kidding. Talk about some sexual frustration. Literally. We love some pent up sexual energy. And then three touring troops started around the US and Europe, which is crazy. They're back to New York. This is where shit starts to really hit the fan. Okay.

So Chip and Dill's is blowing up just like immediately in the 80s. They are a cultural phenomenon that spawned sexy calendars, appearances on Phil Donahue, and even SNL spoofs. So immediately people are like – It's a thing. It's in the culture. It's in the culture. I bet everyone was like in the 80s like so tan. So tan.

So tan. And so jacked. Were there tanning beds in the 80s? I think so. Okay. I'm like, when did that start? I think that's like when it was probably like really getting down to it. And if not, then they were just like oiling up and going directly in the sun with the reflectors. Doing the reflector. I think my mom said she remembers doing the reflectors. Oh, yeah. I'm not sure.

I mean, we've all put a little tanning oil on our bodies at some point. We have. We have. I didn't know that was a thing when I was in, you know, early high school. The banana boat spray on. I was allowed to like once a year. I mean, I always was like SPF five. Yeah, exactly. It's like, what's the point of that? Oh, now I regret it all. I know. I know. Kids, wear your sunscreen. SPF. That's what spray tans are for. Exactly. Exactly. So we're in New York. Steve is like, business is booming. And he starts working with this New York based producer and choreographer. Oh, yeah.

Nick DeNoia to expand the Chip and Dale's business. So Nick is like, he's the man. Like if Steve is like the, Steve's like the boss and Nick is like the cool new guy who's involved. Everyone's looking at him. He was attractive. Someone describes him as like one of their first times that they came to Chip and Dale's.

And he asked one of the waiters, who is this genius behind all of this? He pointed to a very attractive silver-haired man standing in the back of the room. It was Nick DeNoia. So... Steve's like, okay. So Steve's like, well, I'm an immigrant. I'm trying to like... I mean, well. Well. Done. Done. Done. So there's already this rivalry because...

Nick is charismatic. Also, all the Chippendale dancers feel like a kinship towards him. They go to him with problems and he's part of the community and Steve is like an outcast because he's weird and no one likes him. Steve's like the money and then what's his name? Nick. It's like the face and the heart. Exactly. I was also wondering, I was like, who's the choreographer for all this? Nick. Nick is the one who really just got it going with just perfecting these. Because the dancing was...

Yeah. It's not like they're just up there, like, shaking their little asses. No, they're not just up there shaking that thing. But they are, like, moving it. It's like it's raining men and they're doing, like, umbrellas. Also, like, the talent that it takes to, like, never let it slip because they're sometimes –

what appears to be fully nude, but they never show. It's crazy. You're just like, what is this magic that I'm seeing and not seeing? Yeah. And you like, really, you're like, wow, they have to not have like anything on, but they definitely have like a sock or something. They must have like something. God, it is art. It is art. It's crazy. So thank you, Nick, for doing that. So they're butting heads and

According to Red Scott, a Chip and Deals dancer, he says that Nick and Steve used to go toe-to-toe and just scream and curse at each other. Oh, my God. Steve envied Nick's creativity and charisma. He also resented that people had started referring to Nick, and not Steve, as Mr. Chip and Deals. And though he and Nick had made a deal on a napkin. Oh, sweetheart. Before DocuSign. Yeah, no kidding. That gave Nick 50% of the profits. 50%.

50? Wow. Which is a lot. From the Chippendales tours, Steve began to suspect that Nick was short-charging him. Short-changing him. Huh. Wasn't Steve the one handling the money? Yeah, but I don't think he's that bright. Which is crazy. You're not that pretty and you're not that bright. Like, truly. Wow. Yeah. Yeah.

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Rammies, I'm going to let you in on a little secret, and I'm going to say something that you probably have never heard a soon-to-be bride say, and that is that I love wedding planning. I have had such an amazing, fun, light experience doing it with my fiance, and that is a huge thanks to Zola. So with Zola, you can plan your entire wedding in one convenient place. You've

You guys, they have everything. So from like the day you get engaged, you can start planning on Zola. You can find the venue there. You can create your save the dates. You can make your registry. You can make your wedding website. Even to the final stages of tasting your cake, Zola has everything.

everything you need to make this process super easy and fun. And this should just be a pleasurable experience that you get to share with someone you love. And I'm really appreciative that Zola has just let us do that. There's even a five-star app that helps you plan on the go on your couch. So if you and your future husband or wife are watching a movie, having a glass of wine, plan your wedding from

the couch. Do it wherever you want because this is all about you. So here's what you're going to do. You're going to start planning at Zola.com. That's Z-O-L-A.com. You can thank me later. So Steve has another episode. And this time on April 7th, 1987, a gunman walked into Nick's 15th floor New York office and shot him in the left cheek. Face cheek, face cheek.

Nick died, and many of the Chippendales suspected that they knew who was behind the hit. Steve, like, come on. I mean, it's out of control. Like, he just killed, like, and it's like one of his friends. No kidding. Like, someone that you do owe a lot of credit to. Exactly. So...

Oh my God, just like take him out. That's crazy. Yeah, truly. So all the dancers were like, we know, like all of them knew who did it. They were like, it had to be Steve. That's terrifying. One of the dancers told Candace, our woman in charge, I'm going to kill that motherfucker Steve Bandry that they overheard, um,

Oh, that one of the dancers said, I'm going to kill that motherfucker, Steve Bandry. And so Candace was like, oh, you guys think everyone thinks that he did it? And all the dancers were like, yeah, do you? And she was like, you know what? There's no doubt in my mind that he did it. So Candace also was like, we all know his temper, his mental instability. We think he did it too. Yeah.

Was there, like, any police investigation? Well, I mean, there had to be, obviously, foul play, like, that someone was murdered. Yeah. So, Candace is talking to the cops, and she's like, wait a second. Like, I think I was on the phone with him right before it happened. She said, I was on the phone with Nick talking about contracts, talking about the roadshow, and suddenly he goes, I gotta go. Click. Click.

Hangs up on me. The timing is quite right. I have to think that in that moment he saw somebody walk into the office with a gun in his hand. So she truly thinks she had like she talked to him his last moment. That's awful. I know. Oh, that's awful. I know. So indeed, Steve had orchestrated Nick's murder. The FBI eventually pieced together that Steve had hired a hitman. This is a case for the FBI. This is a case for the FBI. Okay. Chris Jenner named Ray Collin.

To kill Nick. Colin, in return, enlisted the services of Gilberto Rivera Lopez. So it was like a hitman hired a hitman. So now Steve is like even further removed from it. Smart. Did he plan that or did the hitman plan that? I'm like, how does a hitman work? What's hitman culture? Let us know, hitman. I guess...

Yeah, because I'm like, if someone pays you and then you're like, I don't want to do it, and then you pay them. So maybe he just decided to. I mean, once again, I don't think Steve is that smart to even fully remove himself. Yeah.

Show. Nothing was linked to Steve. He remained free. And he even bought back the Chippendales touring rights from Nick's family. Oh, that's so gross. I know. That's like disgusting. It's like grosser than killing him. No. That part, I was just like, you're a terrible person. You're so slimy. Oh my God. I'm just kidding. Murdering him is the worst. But let's all say it together.

Trash, trash, trash, not for us. Yeah, we don't like him. No, obviously. So Steve's like, I just need to ruthlessly protect this franchise that I built. I should have never even involved Nick. So he's like, in his head, he's saying like, it's fine. Okay. So we have a chip missing in Steve's head. A Chip and Dale's missing. Ah, clever. Got him. In 1991...

Steve hired Colin again. Oh, God. For who? This time, Steve wanted him to go to England and kill a number of former Chippendales employees who had left Chippendales for a rival troop called Adonis. Oh, my God. Oh, he's... Oh, you're so angry. Oh.

So angry and so dramatic. Like, sorry that they are going to have another job opportunity. Just hire some more hot men. Also, like, you are flourishing. Like, this isn't like... Yes. No one has taken anything from you. It's a successful, lucrative business. You are the founder. Like, calm down. Yeah. Calm down. So, just like with the murder of Nick...

Once again, this Ray Collin guy enlisted a hitman to get it done. Another guy. Some guy known as Strawberry is really what he refers to. Okay. I'm like, what would your hitman name be? Hmm. The Lonesome Cowboy. Ooh, that's good. It's back to your roots. What would yours be? It'd be like, it's kind of a long one for me, but. I'm like, how do you keep it? I'll see for short. Short and sweet. Cha-Cha Cherry. Cha-Cha Cherry 278.

My close friend's original AIM. It's perfect. It's perfect. It's perfect, Claire. So Strawberry gets cold feet. Okay. And decides to reach out to the FBI. So he explained to the agents that Ray had given him cyanide, a list of names, and instructions to go to England. And he was like, now I'm too scared. Oh, my God. He's like, this is crazy. So FBI Special Agent Scott Grigliola. Okay. Okay.

Got it. Gorillia, who started investigating the Chippendale murders, was like, any agent, whether you're straight out of the academy or whether you're a 25-year-old agent, this is the kind of case you want to get involved in. He's like, hot men. Yeah. He was like, I'm having a great time. He said, not only do we have this conspiracy to kill people over in London, but we had a murder that actually occurred in New York in 1987. We have two arsons that now we have to investigate because this man is not trustworthy. Oh, gosh.

And this conspiracy extended from the mid-70s all the way up to 91. So people were just like, Steve Bandry needs to get –

Yes. Yeah. So people are like knowing that he's doing shady shit. Yes. Which is just always the crazy thing when we talk about like these like murderers and people like they're you just need to like get evidence before anything. And like there's just no real evidence yet. Like, well, I'm sure also the FBI, though, was like this is a dream case because the hitman man literally just came to us and told us who hired him. This is like, thank you so much. It's like so much easier than a lot of. That's very true.

So the FBI searched Ray Collins' house and, indeed, found enough cyanide to kill 230 people. Cyanide's just poison, right? Yeah, I think cyanide is what they drank at Jonestown in the Kool-Aid. I think it was laced with cyanide, which it's also an awful, awful death. Like your body just slowly starts shutting down. No, it's not at all. Like you are just...

being tortured to kill 200 people. That's too much cyanide. That's too much cyanide. Oh, my God. And then Ray Cullen, who was arrested and was stewed in jail for seven months, finally agreed to help authorities solve the Chippendales murder. So Ray's like, all right, I'm also in trouble. Might as well just like... Well, can he get some immunity from it? Exactly. So over the next few months, the FBI tried to use Ray to get Steve to confess on tape.

But Steve proved very difficult, actually, in this to pin down, which, like, he kind of seems dumb, but he's kind of smart in this. Smarter than you think. Because, like, you know, it's like you're mostly like the FBI would, like, wire you. Or what's it called? Yeah, wire. Wire. Yeah. So they're like, go to IHOP. Okay.

Okay. Which I'm like, it does always happen in IHOP, I feel. Something else happened in IHOP, I feel like, on RAM. But I can't think of it. But shit goes down on IHOP. There's darkness to an IHOP. I've also only had IHOP twice in my life, and it did not sit well with me. Oh, well, that's probably not surprising. But I would go for some pancakes right now. Pancakes do sound good. They sound so good. So Ray and Steve, they're like, okay, go. Go to IHOP on June 23rd in 1992. Okay.

And Steve refused to say anything out loud. He was like, I'm not going to risk this. Yeah. So when Ray would ask him questions, Steve only wrote down his answers on Post-it notes. Then he tore up the notes and threw them in the toilet, flushing them down the drain. So he was like, you're not going to catch me. Oh, my God. That's crazy. Crazy. He probably is like, I can't –

Everyone's wired now. Exactly. Imagine us in this situation. We'd be like, okay, so first I like burned a couple places down. Like no discretion at all. Just like yelling it in a public place. Literally. Yeah, seriously. Steve even demanded that Ray strip down. Oh. Oh. Oh. So he can do a little dance. Exactly. To prove that he didn't have a wire tap. Ray did. I'm like, something happened in the hot bathroom, I think. That's my conspiracy theory. Yeah.

It's like, give me a little kiss. Just a little one. Wow. Ray did, but he managed to conceal it in the flap of his underwear. So he was wiretapped. So he like hit it, but he still wouldn't say anything. So authorities got nowhere in their investigation. Wow. They really hit it. They really hit it. I'm like, yeah. That's some strong elastic. Maybe the way when he was taken off, he like...

Good for him. Folded it or something. I don't know. We'll never really know what happened in the IHOP bathroom. Yeah. No, we never will. But some things are best left unsaid. So the FBI is like, well, we need to try again.

They had Ray convince Steve that he was a fugitive on the run. Who's Ray again? Ray is the original hitman who then hired like that other guy and then hired Strawberry. So he was always like the OG. Okay. Sorry. No, you're good. There's so many names here. So they were like...

Ray, why don't you say that you're a fugitive on the run? Okay. And then Steve is going to be like, I need to help you. You guys will come together. Whatever idea. But Steve actually bought the story. And he agreed to meet Ray in Zurich, Switzerland. This time with agents listening through a wall. Steve was more forthcoming. We can hear Steve confess to his complicity in hiring Ray for the murder of Nick.

They talk about the attempted murders of Reed Scott and other dancers. We were able to get all the evidence they needed. So they literally were just like listening through a wall. And then Steve's like, I'm going to say everything. We're in Switzerland. That's great. Do they have to record that? I wonder. Cause like then could it just be hearsay? Yeah.

Yeah, they probably have to... But I don't know, actually. Also, to go all the way to Switzerland, that's crazy. And I think, like, that's why they were like, okay, if it's in another country, like, and he thinks that you're, you know, like... He's like, they wouldn't go to these lengths. Exactly. To try and catch me. Exactly.

So in September 1993, the FBI arrested Steve. He was charged with hiring a hitman to kill the former dancers with Nick DeNoia's murder and with violating the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act through murder, murder for hire, solicitation to commit murder, and arson. So they finally traced everything back to the original fires and everything. And he faced 26 years in prison.

26 years? How old was he at this point? He was, let's see, this was 1994 and he was born in 1946. So he's probably like in his 40s. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Wow. That was the quickest we've ever done that. Wow, guys. Are we? Oh my God. We should have said we were making a math podcast. Math and science. Instead of health and wellness. Like we're going to challenge yourself and make this a math and science podcast. Also, once again, so sorry we did that. Yeah. We had to. We had to.

Felt like a fever dream. Yeah. So the day... Let's see. Oh, so in a shocking twist, like immediately in September 1993, Steve actually hung himself in the prison cell, having allegedly said that he'd leave the country or kill himself rather than going to prison. Oh, God. Steve. That's, I mean, awful. I know. It's...

I mean, you really did fuck everything up for yourselves. Yes. You could have just been this rich guy that had the legacy of Chippendales that was harmless and- It's so crazy, the darkness behind it, but also not surprising at all. I know. I mean, he was a really weird dude. Does he look weird? Not really. I mean, he looks a little like a loner. Okay. Wow. And that he was. And that he was. Yes.

And shockingly, he was only worth $4 to $5 million when he died. In the 90s? Yeah, in the 90s. Which, like, I mean, that's not a little amount of money, but I kind of just, like, assumed that he was, like... But I guess they'd only been really doing it for, like, a decade at that point. Yeah, and it hadn't, like, gone as big as it is now. Mm-hmm. Wow. But, yeah. Um...

But Chippendales is still around today. Sure is, guys. The company produces Broadway-style burlesque shows worldwide and licensed its intellectual property for select customer products ranging from apparel to accessories to slot machines to

The Chippendales perform at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas now. They have almost... Yeah, it is the Rio. Yeah, I remember walking in there and being like, man, I'm glad we're staying at the Cosmo and not the Rio. We do love the Cosmo. Yeah, the Rio is like... It's a little tough. It's a different vibe there. Yeah. They have almost 200,000 followers on Instagram. And tickets to go see Chippendales is about $90 a person. Oh, is it that much? Mm-hmm. I remember that I think we paid like...

80 maybe? It is worth every penny. It is just such a good time. It is such a good time. We just had so much fun. We did. We were cracking up. Yes, yes. You literally... You're just like your stomach hurts from laughing and then you're also just like, wow. It's so fun. And that's the Chippendales Murders, kids. Oh my gosh. That's crazy. That's crazy. I know. I wonder we're all like who owns Chippendales now and like where it went to. I don't know who owns it now actually. Wow. Yeah.

And then like from Chippendales also, I feel like it's inspired Magic Mike, which is a whole other thing. Oh, of course. I haven't seen those movies. I've only seen the first one.

Tell me about it. We watched this. What's the one with Salma Hayek? That's the third one, right? Yeah, but that one's like awful, right? I think it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life. There's no nudity in it, right? There's no nudity. The script is so bad. Nothing makes sense. Nothing is like, what are we doing? What are we doing? And with Salma Hayek and Channing Tatum, you'd think there'd be more. It was so bad. Take it off. I was shook. Have you seen the second one?

I did see the second one. I also like, it's nothing like the first one. I need to watch the first one again. But is Matt Bomer in the first one? Matt Bomer is in the first one. Alex Pettifer plays the kid and he was always a hot thing to me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember seeing that in college and being like,

I think I need to explore, you know what I mean? I know exactly what you mean. You're just like, I got to get out there. I got to get out there and get laid. This is what the world has to offer. Like, truly. Yeah. Is Matthew McConaughey in the second one? Or in the first one? In the first one, yeah. In the second one, I think a few of them are in it, but it's just different. It's not as good as the first one. Hey, when it hits. When it hits, it hits. Wow. Well done, Tessa. It's such a fun...

Not to say light because there was murder. But it feels like you can sort of make fun of it because it's so crazy. And RIP to the people who did, in fact, not make it to all the end. So they made a show about this on Hulu. I was going to say there should be a movie or a show or something. I think there's a... Oh, this right here on Bustle says Steve Bandry's wife, Irene. Oh, so he was married to a woman. Sold the Chip and Dale's brand prior to her death. Okay, so...

Interesting. My God, that's crazy that he was married to someone the whole time and like... Yeah, I mean, shocking. So this is what he looked like. Guys, we'll post all of these, but that's the guy who played him in the Hulu show. Oh. Also Nicolette Petz, or what's her name, who's married to... Oh, David Beckham's son? Nicola Petz? His daughter-in-law? Yeah. Yeah.

She played the Playboy Bunny who died, who was murdered. The show didn't do very well. That's a shame. I know because I was like, this is an interesting idea, but sometimes you just can't get it right. Yeah, that's true. But yeah, kids, that's it for today. Well done, Tess. Thank you. That was so fun. I love those just crazy pop culture ones. Yeah. To be honest, guys, I was going to do something very different, and I'm just really trying right now to listen to what is giving me –

positive energy and what I'm enjoying. And if I'm just sitting there like, how am I going to like talk about this or I don't want to, then I'm just not going to, I'm not going to do it. No, it's not fun for any of us. No. But that was a great time. I did have, I did have fun researching it. And I'm so excited for our guests coming up in April.

Obviously, if you also love this episode, please share it on your socials. It's huge for us. And tag us at writingstressmostly on Instagram and TikTok. Yes, and thank you to Spotify Studios for having us. As always, we love being here. We love you, Spotify. Happy April Fool's Day. Happy April Fool's. Talk to you later. Bye-bye. Bye. Bye.