Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton at left Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton's body parts are dumped from a steel drum that the gang buried in the Everglades





Summary of Offense:

Daniel Lugo was convicted for, among other charges, the attempted murder of Marc Schiller as well as the murders of Frank Griga and Krisztina 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 May 24, 1995, 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 May 25, 1995, 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.

Lugo was sentenced to death in Miami-Dade County on July 17, 1998.

Doorbal was also sentenced to death. For more on Doorbal, see: http://www.cncpunishment.com/forums/...hlight=doorbal