GENE LEBELL
He’s known as a brilliant, avuncular Judoka, with a hint of pro wrestling tinged eccentricity, whose students include Bruce Lee and Ronda Rousey. He also reportedly schooled Steven Seagal to point of drawer dookieing, but that’s another story. LeBell’s bout with boxer Milo Savage is regarded by many as the first televised mixed rules bout. That, combined with his reffing the Ali vs. Inoki mixed rules contest, leads some to call him the Father of Mixed Martial Arts.
But Gene LeBell was once charged with murder. The circumstances rival those of The Kennedy Assassination for bizarre twists.
The short story is that Gene LeBell drove pornographer Jack Ginsburgs to the home of Robert Hall, a private detective with ties to intelligence service, disgraced Nixon administration financier Robert Vesco, and a team of doctors and dentists supplying illegal drugs to rock stars.
And Hall ended up shot in the head.
LeBell was acquitted of a murder charge but convicted as an accessory for driving Ginsburgs to and from the murder scene. LeBell’s conviction was later overturned by the state Court of Appeals.
ONLY IN AMERICA
Don King is known as sometime comically flamboyant boxing promoter, who waves the flag and shouts “Only in America.” But King has killed not one, but two men.
He began his professional career running an illegal bookmaking operation in Cleveland, Ohio. When Hillary Brown attempted to rob one of his gambling houses, King shot him dead, in the back. 13 years later in 1966, one of his employees, Sam Garrett, owed him $600. Don King stomped him to death.
Garrett’s last words were “Don, I’ll get you the money.”
King was convicted of nonnegligent manslaughter for the latter killing, and served four years.
King has promoted many of the most greatest boxers of their generation, including Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Julio César Chávez, Ricardo Mayorga, Andrew Golota, Bernard Hopkins, Félix Trinidad, Roy Jones, Jr. and Marco Antonio Barrera. Nearly all sued him, with most suits being settled.
“[Don King is] a wretched, slimy, reptilian motherf***er,” said Mike Tyson. “This is supposed to be my ‘black brother’, right? He’s just a bad man, a real bad man. He would kill his own mother for a dollar. He’s ruthless, he’s deplorable, he’s greedy … and he doesn’t know how to love anybody.”
Only in America
RON NYQVIST
Ron Nyqvist was a international class kickboxer, and with friend Bas Boon founded Golden Glory, one of the great camps and management agencies in combat sports. Talent includes Marloes Coenen, Semmy Schilt, Sergei Kharitonov, Gokhan Saki, Errol Zimmerman, Jon Olav Einemo, and Nieky Holzken.
Nyqvist was allegedly a major narcotics dealer at one point in his life, and as can happen in that line of work, his car blew up, very nearly with himself and his girlfriend inside it. He had reason to believe the attempted assassination was the work of twin brothers Rob and Eric Driesen.
So Nyqvist personally shot the twins dead in 1991, and was sentenced to 20 years. His partner Bas Boon made no secret of the pair’s control of Golden Glory, and stood by him throughout his incarceration.
Nyqvist was eventually released, and shortly afterwards took his own life, early last year.
JAMES MITOSE
James Masayoshi Mitose was a Japanese American martial artist who brought the art of Kenpo to the United States starting in the early 1940s. Countless Kenpo teachers trace their lineage to him.
Born in Hawai’i in 1916, he moved to Japan in 1920, and studied Kenpo. He returned to Hawai’i in 1935, began teaching in 1936, and opened up a school in 1941.
In 1953 he moved to Southern California, and only taught privately there after.
In 1974 Mitose was arrested in Los Angeles and convicted of murder and extortion, stemming from a conflict over a loan and a murder committed by Terry Lee.
According to trial transcripts, James Mitose denied inciting Lee to commit murder but took responsibility as his martial arts instructor. Lee claimed Mitose had suggested on numerous occasions that Lee commit murder. Lee also testified that Mitose and his wife Dorothy, had given Lee a rope, a knife, a screwdriver and an air pistol in order to carry out his actions. Mr. Frank Namimatsu was killed by Lee on March 20, 1974. The official cause of death was strangulation by rope. Namimatsu also suffered a completely collapsed eye, had been stabbed multiple times with a screwdriver and had a shoe imprint on his chest matching the shoes Lee was wearing.
The alleged circumstances behind the murder are truly bizarre.
As a result of Lee’s testimony, Mitose was sentenced to life in prison. He served the majority of his sentence at Folsom State Prison but when his health deteriorated, he was transferred to San Quentin State Prison and died there of complications from diabetes on March 26, 1981.
The actual murderer, Lee was given three years for testifying against his teacher/employer.
Source: Wiki
