Daniel Lugo And Adrian Doorbal Pain And Gain Murders

Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal were sentenced to death by the State of Florida for a double murder

According to court documents Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal would kidnap and murder Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton in 1995

The case was made into a movie called Pain and Gain starring Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg

Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

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Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal Case

Abduction, Extortion, and Attempted Murder of Marc Schiller 1

In the early 1990s, Marc Schiller was a wealthy Miami businessman who owned an accounting firm, Dadima Corporation.   His business interests expanded into providing services that were reimbursed by Medicare.   Schiller hired Jorge Delgado 2 to assist him with his business pursuits, and the two became close friends.   Delgado often visited Schiller’s home for both business and social reasons.   Eventually, Schiller sold the Medicare-related portion of his business to Delgado, which retained the name “Dadima Corporation” after the sale.3  Schiller selected a new name of “D.J. & Associates” for his accounting business.   For a period of time after he sold the Medicare portion to Delgado, Schiller performed consulting work for Delgado and Dadima Corporation.4

Delgado exercised at Sun Gym in the Miami area, where Lugo was employed.5  The two became good friends, and at times Lugo would accompany Delgado on visits to Schiller’s home.   Delgado also came to know Lugo’s codefendants, Noel Doorbal and John Mese. Schiller believed Lugo to be an unsavory character, and expressed his concern to Delgado.

By 1994, a rift had developed between Schiller and Delgado.   Schiller had been questioning Delgado’s accounting practices with regard to Dadima Corporation, and was also concerned with transactions involving some bank accounts.   During a meeting with a banker at a local restaurant, the conflict expanded as Delgado refused to respond to questions and became angry with Schiller.   Thereafter, Schiller advised Delgado that he was severing all business ties and, on the advice of Lugo, Delgado hired John Mese to be his replacement accountant.6

In the September-October 1994 time frame, Lugo advised Delgado of his belief that Schiller had been cheating Delgado with regard to the billing operations that Schiller had been performing for Delgado and the Medicare business.   Delgado testified that Lugo showed him documentation which purported to prove that Schiller had been cheating Delgado.   Lugo asserted to Delgado that Schiller had also been cheating Lugo. Schiller flatly denied accusations of cheating Delgado in the billing operation when Delgado confronted Schiller with the claim.

Lugo and his cohorts subsequently generated a plot to kidnap Schiller, with the goal of forcing him to sign over assets equivalent in value to that which Delgado and Lugo believed to be owed to them.7  Delgado asked Lugo to do whatever he could to recover the value Schiller owed to both of them, but Delgado expressed that he did not want to be involved in any of the scheming. However, Delgado nevertheless became deeply involved in a plan to kidnap Schiller.   He informed Lugo, Doorbal, and two men recruited by Lugo from Sun Gym (Stevenson Pierre and Carl Weekes) of details concerning Schiller’s home,8 family, cars, and personal habits.   The group agreed to secretly observe Schiller to learn his daily routine to implement the plan.   Testimony at trial established that Lugo was the unquestioned mastermind of the plan to abduct and extort money from Schiller.   Stevenson Pierre observed Lugo’s role to be that of a general in a military operation.   The group eventually purchased or otherwise procured handcuffs, walkie-talkies, and a stun gun (among other items) to aid in the abduction plan.

After several failed attempts at locating and capturing Schiller, on November 15, 1994, the group finally succeeded in abducting him from the parking lot of the delicatessen restaurant he owned in the Miami area.   Doorbal and Weekes grabbed Schiller, and Weekes subdued Schiller, shocking him with a stun gun.   Another cohort, Sanchez, assisted Doorbal and Weekes in forcing Schiller into a waiting van.   Inside the van, Schiller was handcuffed and duct tape was placed over his eyes.   A gun was placed at Schiller’s head, and his wallet and jewelry removed as the van proceeded to a warehouse that Delgado had rented.   He also received additional shocks with the stun gun and he was kicked.   Lugo arrived at the warehouse shortly after Doorbal and the others arrived with Schiller.

Schiller’s captors demanded a list of his assets which Schiller initially refused to provide.   The refusal resulted in his being slapped, shocked with the stun gun, and beaten with a firearm.   Weekes questioned Schiller about his assets, based on information provided by Lugo and Delgado.   Schiller testified that after he again refused to provide the requested information, he was told that he was going to engage in a game of Russian Roulette.   A gun was placed to his head, the cylinder was turned, and the trigger was pulled twice but no bullets fired.9  Schiller’s captors proceeded to read a highly accurate list of his assets to him, demanding that he corroborate what they already knew and that he add to the list assets of which they were not aware.   The captors also apprised Schiller that they knew the alarm code for entry into his home.   Because his assailants possessed such detailed knowledge of his assets and his home, Schiller surmised that Delgado must have been involved in the plot.   Schiller also came to recognize Lugo’s voice, despite Lugo’s efforts to disguise the identity.   Schiller testified that Lugo’s speech often had a very recognizable lisp-like trait.

The captors further threatened that if Schiller did not cooperate, his wife and children would also be abducted and his wife raped in his presence.   Schiller was eventually compelled to agree to cooperate but only if his wife and children were allowed to leave the country unharmed.   In the ensuing days, Schiller began signing over his assets, including a quitclaim deed for his home, various documents granting access to his checking,10 savings, and IRA accounts, and authorization for changing the beneficiary of his million-dollar insurance policies.11

During Schiller’s captivity, Lugo and Doorbal entered Schiller’s home and removed many furnishings and other items.   Lugo, Delgado, and Weekes also began charging thousands of dollars to Schiller’s credit cards.   Money in Schiller’s safe in his home was divided among Doorbal, Weekes, and Pierre.   Three weeks into Schiller’s captivity, Doorbal and Delgado convinced Lugo that Schiller must be killed, because he had likely surmised the identities of some, if not all, of his captors.   A plan was then developed to kill Schiller but to give the appearance that Schiller’s death resulted from the operation of his automobile under the influence of alcohol.

In the fourth week, Schiller was forced to consume large amounts of alcohol to make him intoxicated.   Lugo drove Schiller’s Toyota 4-Runner into a utility pole on a Miami-area street to create the impression that Schiller had been involved in an accident resulting from driving while intoxicated.   Doorbal and Weekes accompanied Lugo, and Schiller was placed in the front seat of the 4-Runner after it had been driven into the pole.   Lugo and Doorbal then poured gasoline on the vehicle and set it ablaze.   Lugo, Doorbal, and Weekes had planned to exit the scene in another vehicle that Weekes had driven to the scene, but they noticed that Schiller had somehow managed to exit his burning vehicle and was staggering in the roadway.   Schiller had not been securely bound in the seat of the vehicle.   At the urging of Lugo and Doorbal, Weekes used his vehicle to strike and run over Schiller.   The three left the scene of these events believing they had killed Schiller.   Lugo later instructed Stevenson Pierre to drive by the scene to determine if there was any police activity.

Miraculously, Schiller survived this attempt to take his life.   He remembered awakening in a Miami hospital having a broken pelvis, ruptured bladder, bruises and burns, and temporary paralysis.   Lugo and the others eventually learned that Schiller had survived, so they visited the hospital where they thought Schiller was recuperating, with a plan to suffocate him while he lay in his hospital bed.   Unknown to Lugo and the others, based upon a well-founded fear for his safety, Schiller had already arranged to be airlifted to a New York hospital to complete his recuperation.   Lugo, Doorbal, and some of the other captors proceeded to empty Schiller’s home of the remaining furnishings and valuables.   A black leather couch and computer equipment were among the articles pilfered.

Schiller’s testimony at trial included not only a description of the events surrounding his abduction and captivity, but also testimony as to the assets that had been extorted from him and his attempts to recover those assets.   He also stated that while he signed an agreement with Lugo and his cohorts, indicating that the events surrounding his “abduction” were actually the result of a failed business deal, he had always intended to report the incident to the police.12  He thought that signing the agreement was an expeditious way to recover much of the value of the assets that had been extorted from him.   Schiller further testified that he never willingly gave any of his assets to Lugo, Doorbal, Mese, Torres, or anyone associated with them.   He noted that the quitclaim deed to the home that he and his wife owned was forged, because on the date indicated for his wife’s purported signature, she was actually in South America.

Schiller identified several items of property that belonged to him or his wife and which police found in Lugo’s possession.   Among the items were computer equipment, furniture, and keys to a BMW automobile.   He also stated that drafts on his checking account, which were payable to John Mese or to entities related to Sun Gym, must have been those signed by him when he was blindfolded during his captivity because he never willingly signed the drafts.13  A forensic accountant confirmed that after an extensive review of records pertaining to corporations and accounts controlled by Lugo, Doorbal,14 or Mese, it was clear that money and assets formerly in Schiller’s control had been laundered.15

Abduction, Attempted Extortion, and Murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton 16

Frank Griga was also a wealthy Miami-area businessman, who accumulated much of his fortune from “900” lines in the phone industry.   He and his girlfriend, Krisztina Furton, were both of Hungarian heritage.   Lugo’s codefendant, Noel Doorbal, learned of Griga through Doorbal’s girlfriend at the time.   Doorbal was quickly enthralled when shown a picture of a yellow Lamborghini owned by Griga and when he learned of Griga’s enormous wealth.   Doorbal determined that Griga would be a prime target for kidnaping and extortion, and soon convinced Lugo to join his idea.   Delgado was aware that Lugo and Doorbal intended to kidnap and extort a rich “Hungarian couple.”   Lugo was a full participant in the plot and he told his girlfriend, Sabina Petrescu, that he intended to kidnap a Hungarian who drove a yellow Lamborghini or Ferrari.   Lugo also related to Petrescu that he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and that Doorbal was a killer who assisted him in his CIA missions.   Petrescu testified that Lugo and Doorbal had at their disposal a suitcase with handcuffs and syringes 17 to use in the kidnaping.

Through an intermediary, Lugo and Doorbal arranged a business meeting with Griga to discuss Griga’s interest in investing in phone lines in India.   The Indian investment scheme was totally bogus and designed as a scheme for Lugo and Doorbal to ingratiate themselves with Griga and to gain his confidence.   At the first meeting, Griga indicated his lack of interest but Lugo and Doorbal persisted.

In May 1995, Lugo and Doorbal gathered the suitcase containing handcuffs and syringes and made another visit to Griga’s home, under the guise of presenting a computer to him as a gift.18  Lugo and Doorbal each had a concealed firearm during this visit, as they intended to execute the abduction plan at this time.   This first attempt was aborted after only a fifteen-minute stay.   Doorbal was irate that Lugo did not follow through with the abduction, but he was placated with the news that Lugo had arranged another meeting with Griga for later that day.

When Lugo and Doorbal returned to Griga’s home on May 24, 1995, they had concocted the scheme of inviting Griga and Furton to dinner, with the further goal of luring them to Doorbal’s apartment, where the abduction and extortion would begin.19  Between 10 and 10:30 p.m.,20 Judi Bartusz, a friend of Griga’s, saw Lugo and Doorbal leave Griga’s home in a gold Mercedes, while Griga and Furton left in the Lamborghini.21

On May 25, Delgado met Lugo and Doorbal at Doorbal’s apartment.   Lugo informed him that Griga was already dead:  Doorbal had killed Griga after the two became involved in a scuffle in and around the downstairs computer room in Doorbal’s apartment.22  Griga’s body had been placed in a bathtub in Doorbal’s apartment.23  Lugo related that when Furton had heard the scuffling between Doorbal and Griga, she rose from her seat in the living room and began to scream when she realized that Griga had been seriously injured.   Lugo restrained her and subdued her with an injection of Rompun.   Lugo expressed his anger toward Doorbal for having killed Griga before the extortion plan had been completed.

Lugo and Doorbal subsequently turned their focus toward Furton.   They suspected that she must know the code to enter Griga’s home.   Knowledge of the code would allow Lugo and Doorbal to enter Griga’s home with the hope of gaining access to valuables and, most importantly, bank account information for access to much of his wealth.   Doorbal carried Furton down the stairs from the second floor of the apartment.   Furton was barely clad, wearing only the red leather jacket that she had worn when she left Griga’s home the night before, and a hood covered her head.   Not long after Doorbal placed Furton near the bottom of the stairs, although handcuffed, she began screaming for Griga.   At Lugo’s direction, Doorbal injected Furton with more horse tranquilizer, causing her to scream again.   Lugo and Doorbal then questioned Furton about the security code for Griga’s home.   Eventually, Furton refused to answer more questions.   Doorbal injected her yet again with additional horse tranquilizer.   Delgado testified that at this point, corrections officer John Raimondo arrived to “take care of the problem.”   Lugo informed Delgado that Raimondo had been solicited to kill Furton and to dispose of her body along with Griga’s, but Raimondo did neither.   He left Doorbal’s apartment, referring to Lugo and Doorbal as “amateurs.”

Armed with what he believed to be the access code for Griga’s home security, Lugo took Petrescu to attempt entry while Doorbal and Delgado stayed behind.   After failing to gain access to Griga’s home, Lugo called Doorbal on his cellular phone.   As the two talked, Petrescu heard Doorbal say, “The bitch is cold,” which she believed was Doorbal’s indication that Furton was dead.24  Lugo returned to Doorbal’s apartment, carrying some mail he had taken from Griga’s mailbox.   Lugo instructed Delgado that he should return home, but bring a truck to Doorbal’s apartment the next morning.

When Delgado arrived with the truck on the morning of May 26, he noticed that Griga’s body had been placed on a black leather couch that had been removed from the home of Marc Schiller.25  Furton’s body was placed in a transfer box.   The couch and the transfer box were loaded onto the truck.   Neither body had been dismembered at this point.

Lugo, Doorbal, and Delgado proceeded with the bodies to a Hialeah warehouse.   Delgado noticed a yellow Lamborghini stored there.26  He served as a lookout while Lugo and Doorbal went to purchase items including a chain saw, hatchet, knives, buckets, flint (for igniting a fire), fire extinguisher, and a mask respirator.27  When they returned, Lugo and Doorbal began dismembering the bodies of Griga and Furton.   They used both the chain saw and the hatchet.28

Doorbal received a message on his pager and had to leave the warehouse, so Delgado drove him to his apartment.   When Delgado returned to the warehouse, Lugo was attempting to burn the heads, hands, and feet in a drum.   This attempt was largely unsuccessful and resulted in such a large amount of smoke that the fire extinguisher was used to smother the fire.   Lugo and Delgado next went to Doorbal’s apartment to remove everything, including the blood-stained carpeting, from the area where Doorbal and Griga had struggled.   The items removed also included computer equipment stained with Griga’s blood.   The items were placed in the storage area of Lugo’s apartment.29

By May 27, 1995, Lugo had traveled to the Bahamas in an attempt to access money that Griga had deposited in bank accounts there.   His efforts were unsuccessful and he returned to Miami.   On May 28, 1995, Lugo, Doorbal, and Mario Gray disposed of the torsos and limbs of Griga and Furton.   Lugo subsequently fled on a second trip to the Bahamas, where he was captured in early June 1995.   He was apprehended in part due to information supplied to the police by his girlfriend, Sabina Petrescu.

At trial, the State presented more than ninety witnesses.   Lugo presented no witnesses or evidence on his behalf during the guilt-innocence phase.   The trial judge denied Lugo’s motions for judgment of acquittal.   The jury convicted Lugo of all thirty-nine criminal counts with which he was charged,30 and he was adjudicated guilty on all thirty-nine counts.   Lugo’s motion for new trial or, in the alternative, for arrest of judgment, was denied.

The State presented only victim impact evidence in the penalty phase.   Lugo presented two witnesses on his behalf in the penalty phase:  his mother, Carmen Lugo, and Santiago Gervacio, a long-time friend.   Lugo’s mother presented testimony concerning two isolated incidents in which Lugo had been mistreated by his father when he was a child as punishment for misbehavior.   One incident involved corporal punishment with a clothes hanger.   The other occurred when Lugo’s father poured a bowl of spaghetti over Lugo’s head when he refused to eat.   Lugo’s mother testified that on the whole, however, Lugo was raised in a loving home, that both she and his father loved him, and that he displayed love toward them both.   Santiago Gervacio testified that Lugo was a passive person whom he had never seen commit a violent act.   He also stated that Lugo showed great love toward his deceased sister’s four children, and even adopted them.   Gervacio added that Lugo showed love toward his parents.

The jury voted, eleven to one, to recommend that Lugo receive the death penalty for the murders of both Griga and Furton.   The circuit judge accepted the jury’s recommendation of death for each of the murders, sentenced Lugo to death for each of those offenses, and adjudicated him guilty on all thirty-nine counts of which he was convicted.   The court ordered that all sentences were to run consecutively.   In his sentencing order, the trial judge found five aggravating factors applicable to both murders:  prior violent felonies (including the contemporaneous murder of the other victim, and the armed kidnaping, armed robbery, and attempted murder of Schiller);  commission during the course of a kidnaping, for the purpose of avoiding arrest and for pecuniary gain;  and cold, calculated, and premeditated (CCP).  Additionally, the trial judge found that the heinous, atrocious, or cruel (HAC) aggravator applied to the Furton murder.   The trial judge gave great weight to each of these aggravators.   He also found no applicable statutory mitigators but five nonstatutory mitigators existed, each of which was given little weight or very little weight.31

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-supreme-court/1379043.html