‘Welcome To Chippendales’ Nick De Noia Was Shot In A NYC Hotel Room
Hulu is dropping a juicy new drama mini series, Welcome to Chippendales, which documents the events surrounding the rise of a Los Angeles-based, all male strip club, Chippendales, in the 1980s. The show, which is based on a true story, follows Somen “Steve” Banerjee, an immigrant from Mumbai, India, who founded the club, and who eventually got into some trouble (read: he committed several crimes) as his business got off the ground.
Before things took a turn, Steve hired a man named Nick de Noia to produce and choreograph the show. Nick even helping the company expand into its first New York location. But as Nick got even more successful, Steve became jealous. They eventually ended their partnership. And it wasn’t too long before Nick was mysteriously murdered.
Ahead, learn about who Nick de Noia was, how he was involved with Chippendales, and how he was killed.
Who was Nick De Noia?
He was a director, screenwriter, choreographer, and two-time Emmy Award winner for Unicorn Tales, a series of eight musical short films for children. For about a year, he was married to Jennifer O'Neill, an actress, model, and activist.
How was Nick de Noia involved with Chippendales?
When Chippendales really started to take off, Steve hired Nick as a producer and choreographer to help come up with some new routines and boost Steve's efforts for country-wide expansion, per ABC 7 Chicago. They worked really well together at first, opening a Chippendales club in New York and allowing the company to tour in other cities, but things soon devolved.
Steve and Nick began to disagree about the future direction of the company. Steve cared more about the performers' attractiveness, while Nick was more focused on the show’s production, per ABC 7 NY.
The two ended their partnership in the late 1980s, striking a deal on the back of a napkin which gave Steve control over the Chippendales business, while Nick got the rights to the Chippendales tour and fifty percent of its profits, per the outlet.
What happened to Nick de Noia?
Nick was shot in the face inside his office on April 7, 1987, The Los Angeles Times reports. For years, the killer's identity remained a mystery. However, later, more clues emerged after Steve moved to purchase Nick's touring rights back from the de Noia family for $1 million.
In 1991, an unknown informant identifying themselves as “Strawberry” called the FBI in Las Vegas and said that Augustin Ralph Angel “Ray” Colon had hired him to kill employees of Adonis, a rival dance group founded by former Chippendales dancers over in England per ABC 7 Chicago. Authorities found 46 grams of cyanide (enough to kill over 200 people) in Ray’s house, so they arrested him and he was charged with conspiracy and murder for hire.
Ray eventually decided to help the FBI after spending seven months in jail. He admitted that Steve was the one who organized Nick's murder and the attempted ones of the Adonis Dancers.
Who killed Nick De Noia?
Allegedly, Steve wanted to have Nick killed after his success with the Chippendales tour. So Steve reached out to Ray, who in turn hired Gilberto Rivera Lopez as an accomplice. Gilberto Rivera Lopez was the one who shot Nick, but Ray was also at the site of the murder at the Chippendales office in New York.
The FBI had Ray released from jail, saying he needed a treatment for a terminal issue with his kidneys, per ABC 7 Chicago. Ray then tried to get Steve to admit to his crimes on tape multiple times. But he wasn’t successful until he posed as a runaway fugitive overseas and met with Steve in Zurich, Switzerland. Steve admitted to organizing Nick's murder in a hotel room, where the FBI was able to record him from the room next door, according to the outlet. Steve was later arrested in September 1993.
Where is Nick de Noia’s killer now?
Gilberto Rivera Lopez was convicted of second-degree murder and got a jail sentence of 25 years to life, according to ABC 7 Chicago, but it's not clear where he is in 2022.
Steve, on the other hand, pled guilty to racketeering in July 1994 and hung himself in his jail cell before his sentencing in October of the same year, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Ray also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and murder for hire and originally got a sentence of 15 years. But his sentence was reduced to just two and a half for his work in helping the FBI. He was released in June 1996. Not many people know where he is today, according to the outlet.
Welcome to Chippendales drops on Hulu on Nov. 22.
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