Author: William

The tragic Lana Turner love affair that ended up in murder.

On March 26, 1958,  Lana Turner returned to the Hotel Bel Air from the 30th Academy Awards. Nominated for “Peyton Place,” she lost the Best Actress Oscar to Joanne Woodward for her performance in “The Three Faces of Eve.” 

But as Casey Sherman writes in “A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime” (Sourcebooks), the drama was just beginning. 

After putting her daughter Cheryl to bed, Turner walked into her own room. “The room was dark, but she could see the figure of a man sitting on a chair by her bed. Lana’s heart sank,” writes Sherman. “She flicked on the light switch, and there he was, Johnny Stompanato,” Turner’s temperamental boyfriend. 

California gangster Johnny Stompanato (l) with mafia chief Mickey Cohen; the duo intended to extort Lana Turner, but Stompanato ended up falling in love with her. Courtesy Associated Press/

A fight ensued. Stompanato slapped Turner, punched her in the face and then produced a knife. “No one will ever want to look at that pretty face again!” he raged.

All the while, young Cheryl cowered in her room.

Sherman chronicles a crime that shocked show business and laid bare the abusive relationship between one of Hollywood’s brightest stars and a liar, a crook and a conman.

Born in Woodstock,Ill., in 1925, Stompanato was a former Marine turned gangster and worked for Mickey Cohen, head of the notorious Los Angeles-based Cohen crime family. 

In 1957, the pair hatched a plan to blackmail Turner, who was known for her taste in the wrong kind of men. “The two gangsters reverse engineered the classic honey trap scheme, using Stompanato as bait to lure Lana into bed,” Sherman writes. 

“But that was not enough. They would need to stage a threesome of some kind while Cohen’s men surreptitiously filmed the sex act. They would then use that fear, hanging it over the actress’s head while siphoning off loads of cash from her bank account.”

Turner and Stompanato in happier times with Turner’s daughter Cheryl Crane. Courtesy Associated Press/

Using the alias “John Steele,” Stompanato bombarded Turner with calls, flowers and gifts. Later he charmed Cheryl by letting her ride his horse and new Thunderbird convertible. “Call me John,” he told her.

What Cohen hadn’t counted on was his right-hand man falling in love with Turner. “The game had changed. He was no longer interested in blackmail or sex movies.”

But over the course of a torrid year, Stompanato made Turner’s life a misery.

He abused her psychologically and routinely assaulted her. He also drugged her and took nude photographs of her while she slept.

It was only when her friend, actor Mickey Rooney, showed her an old copy of Confidential magazine, revealing “John Steele” was actually the gangster Johnny Stompanato that Turner tried to end the relationship.

But Stompanato wouldn’t accept it.

Turner’s Beverly Hills mansion — AKA, the scene of the crime. photo by Casey Sherman

In 1957, for example, he became convinced Turner was having an affair with up-and-coming Scottish actor Sean Connery, whom she was working with in England on “Another Time, Another Place.” 

Although Turner tried to dissuade him, Stompanato used a fake passport to fly across the Atlantic to confront her and in a row, tried to strangle her. 

Two weeks later, Stompanato turned up on the movie set and threatened Connery with a gun. “Stompanato pulled the revolver out of his pocket and aimed it at the actor’s chest. Lana let out a bloodcurdling scream,” writes Sherman.

Connery didn’t cower. 

Instead, he grabbed Stompanato’s wrist, twisting it behind his back. As he dropped the firearm, Connery punched him hard in the face, knocking him over, his nose gushing with blood. 

Turner takes the stand in her daughter’s trial in 1958. Bettmann Archive

Although banned from the studio, Stompanato showed up again days later, threatening to kill Turner. But thanks to a tip-off about Stompanato’s fake passport, police officers were there to escort him to the airport and on to a plane back to Los Angeles.

Still she couldn’t avoid him.

When filming ended Turner traveled to Copenhagen to make a connecting flight to Acapulco, Mexico where she intended to recuperate alone.

But waiting at the foot of the aircraft’s stairs, carrying a single yellow rose, was Stompanato. “Lana,” he said. “You know in your blood I’m never gonna let you go.”

Later, in Mexico, she awoke one night to find Stompanato at the foot of her bed, pointing a gun at her. “If you aren’t going to be with me, you’re not gonna be with anyone else,” he whispered. 

Turner’s daughter Cheryl Crane is led from a Los Angeles jail to Juvenile Hall in April 1958. Bettmann Archive

For her own safety, Turner resorted to playing the part of doting girlfriend. “She put her body on autopilot while her brain worked out some way to get rid of him forever,” writes Sherman.

The affair ended on April 4, 1958, a few weeks after Oscar night.

That evening, Stompanato turned up at Turner’s Beverly Hills home and threatened to kill her. 

When Turner tried to hide in her bedroom, Stompanato barged in. 

Turner and Cheryl descend from an airplane in 1946. Bettmann Archive

It was then that Cheryl Turner intervened, plunging an 8-inch butcher’s knife into the gangster’s stomach. “With one thrust, the blade penetrated his abdomen, slicing into one of his kidneys, striking a vertebra, and puncturing his aorta,” writes Sherman.

“Seconds later, Johnny Stompanato, gangster, conman, and abuser, was dead.”

When the case went to trial, Cheryl Turner was acquitted of murder, the jury ruling it was a “justifiable homicide” committed purely to save her mother’s life.

Stompanato was buried at LA’s Oakland Cemetery. Soon after, it was revealed his entire estate was worth just $274, which included $50 in cash.

As one newspaper headline eulogized: “He Lived Big and Died Little.” 

This article was originally posted here

Legal Troubles Mount for CEO Roberto Divkovic Amid Investor Fraud Allegations

Roberto Divkovic, the CEO of IMP 1991 Plus DOO Beograd, is facing mounting legal challenges as allegations of investor fraud surface. Accused of misleading investors with false promises, Divkovic’s actions have sparked outrage and led to a series of investigations. The heart of the controversy lies in simple yet devastating deceit: promises made to investors that were never intended to be kept.

Divkovic, an Austrian national, has been implicated in a scandal that has attracted attention from various news outlets, including BA-CA and NZWeek, JonBrion.com, and EricLeads.com. These reports collectively paint a picture of a businessman whose failure to achieve success through legitimate means seemingly led him to exploit the trust of his investors. The allegations suggest that Divkovic promised lucrative returns on investments in what was portrayed as a solid gold trading venture. However, the reality, as investors painfully discovered, was far from the rosy picture painted by Divkovic.

The simplicity of the scheme—making promises that were never fulfilled—belies the profound impact of Divkovic’s actions. Investors, lured by the prospect of substantial profits, now find themselves facing significant financial losses. The breach of trust is profound, with many expressing disbelief and anger at being deceived by someone they believed to be a reputable business leader.

Legal authorities have initiated proceedings against Divkovic, scrutinizing his every move and statement to investors. The focus is on the clear discrepancy between what was promised and what was actually delivered. As the legal net tightens, the case against Divkovic appears to hinge on the straightforward yet serious accusations of deceit and broken promises.

The unfolding scandal involving Roberto Divkovic has reverberated across the investment landscape, casting a shadow over the once-trusted name of IMP 1991 Plus DOO Beograd. Divkovic, now entangled in legal proceedings, is at the center of a storm of allegations accusing him of defrauding investors through false assurances. This situation has not only jeopardized his career but also inflicted considerable financial damage on those who invested in his promises.

For Divkovic, the path forward is laden with legal battles as he confronts the fallout from his alleged misdeeds. The investors, bearing the brunt of the betrayal, are seeking justice and financial recovery, turning to the courts as their avenue for recourse.

This article was originally posted here

Italian mobsters who commit violent crimes in groups more likely to re-offend: study

You don’t have to be a wise guy to come to these conclusions. 

A new research paper found that Italian mobsters who previously committed violent crimes in groups were more likely to re-offend. 

Researchers at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Transcrime in Italy broke omerta by analyzing data of 9,819 Italians convicted of organized crime.

The paper’s authors focused on violent crimes committed between 1964 and 2016. 

Mafioso who engaged in group violence were 14.2% more likely to bust heads again, compared to just 4.9% for made men who roughed up people solo, the researchers found. 

Being a part of an organized criminal syndicate or street gang “may favor a persistent, dynamic diffusion or responsibility” that drives people to commit violent acts together in the future, according to the study.

A new study found Italian mobsters who previously committed violent crimes in groups were more likely to reoffend.  ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Researchers analyzed data of 9,819 Italians convicted of organized crime. ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Mafioso who engaged in group violence were 14.2% more likely to bust heads again. Savoy Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

“They may know it’s morally wrong but it’s easier to justify when everyone is doing the same – and we see an impact of these rationalizations on future offending behavior too,” said study author Cecilia Meneghini, who compared the dynamics of how violence spreads throughout the Mafia to “a contagion.”

“It’s easy to be a tough guy when you’ve got a group of guys [around you] — they’re like hyenas, they only got balls when there’s a group,” former Gambino associate John Alite told The Post.

“It only takes one guy’s bad decision and the other guys jump in with him,” he said, adding, “Without each other, they are impotent.” 

This article was originally posted here