Joe Hunt Billionaire Boy Club
Joe Hunt Billionaire Boy Club
The Billionaire Boys Club was the popular nickname for BBC, an investment and social club organized by Joseph Gamsky, also known as "Joe Hunt", in southern California in 1983. The club recruited the sons of wealthy families from the Harvard School for Boys (now Harvard-Westlake School) in the Los Angeles area with the promise of quick success in business life.
Crime
The organization was run initially as a Ponzi scheme, and money contributed by investors was spent on supporting lavish lifestyles for young members of the club. When funds ran short in 1984, Hunt and other club members turned to murder, and at least two people were killed as Hunt tried to raise more money.
When authorities began investigating the murders, Dean Karny, the club's second-in-command and Hunt's best friend, turned state's evidence in return for immunity from prosecution. Hunt and club security director Jim Pittman were charged with murdering Ron Levin, a con artist who had allegedly swindled the BBC out of over $4 million. Hunt, Pittman, club member Arben Dosti, and Reza Eslaminia were charged with murdering Hedayat Eslaminia, Reza's father, allegedly to acquire his fortune which was reputed to be $35 million.
In 1987, Hunt was found guilty of the 1984 murder of Ron Levin and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Pittman had two trials, and both ended in hung juries. He later pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.
Dosti and Reza Eslaminia were later convicted of murdering Hedayat Eslaminia and sentenced to life without parole. Hunt acted as his own attorney during his trial for the Eslaminia murder and contended that star witness Karny had himself killed Eslaminia. The result was a hung jury, 8-4 in favor of Hunt's acquittal. Joe Hunt is the only person in California's legal history to represent himself in a capital case and not receive the death penalty. The convictions of Dosti and Reza Eslaminia were later overturned. Hunt remains behind bars for the Levin murder but maintains his innocence.
Alleged Ron Levin sightings
Several witnesses testified that they saw Ron Levin in 1986 and 1987 in Greece, Beverly Hills, and Los Angeles. On the basis of the witnesses' statements, Hunt sought to have his murder conviction overturned and get a new trial. His appeal was denied on July 12, 1996
In popular culture
In 1987 NBC aired a miniseries based on the story of the Billionaire Boys Club, starring Judd Nelson as Joe Hunt, Brian McNamara as Dean Karny, and Ron Silver as Ron Levin. This movie inspired Lyle and Erik Menendez to murder their own parents for money a few years later.
Hunt was the basis for Philip Swann, a character in the Law & Order Season 4 episode "American Dream," which was subsequently adapted into the Law & Order: UK episode, "Unsafe". The Billionaire Boys Club is also the topic of two books: The Billionaire Boys Club by Sue Horton and The Price of Experience by Randall Sullivan. The murders are also the subject of the song "Things to Do Today" by Chicago band Big Black.
References
- ^ Herald-Journal (Associated Press story), "Levin Sightings Cast Doubt on Boys Club Murder, May 2, 1996" PDF at Google Books
- ^ Los Angeles Times, "Billionaire Boys Club Leader Denied New Trial" July 13, 1996
Books
- Horton, Sue. The Billionaire Boys Club . New York: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1990.
- Sullivan, Randall. The Price of Experience: Money, Power, Image, and Murder in Los Angeles . New York: Atlantic Montly Press, 1996.
External links
- Joe Hunt's personal website: Blue Dharma Press
- Joe Hunt's blog
- Billionaire Boys Club at the Internet Movie Database
- review of the book 'The Billionaire Boys Club' by Sue Horton
-
"Joe Hunt: White Collar Psychopath"
Billionaire Boys Club DVD, Sale $10-$20 , HISTORY ...
Judd Nelson stars as Joe Hunt, unscrupulous financial whiz-kid-turned-murderer, in this resonant 1987 miniseries. The ripped-from-the-headlines miniseries that aired on NBC while ...
Billionaire Boys Club - Wikipedia, the free ...
The Billionaire Boys Club was the popular nickname for BBC, an investment and social club organized by Joseph Gamsky, also known as "Joe Hunt", in southern California in 1983.
Billionaire Boys Club DVD Rental, Rent Billionaire Boys ...
Rent Billionaire Boys Club and unlimited movies and TV ... as real-life financial wunderkind Joe Hunt, a money-loving schemer who amassed a burgeoning tribe of "Billionaire Boys ...
Amazon.com: The Billionaire Boys Club (9780312922320 ...
The Billionaire Boy's Club (BBC), an investment group, was in reality a cult-like group led by Joe Hunt, a charismatic sociopath who preached the Paradox Philosophy, a ...
Kellermann's Kollectionn of Billionaire Boys Club (Joe ...
Kellermann's Kollectionn of: BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB (JOE HUNT) TRIAL BOOKS Last Updated 08/27/97
Joe Hunt: White Collar Psychopath -- from the Crime ...
Joe Hunt was a con-man who formed The Billionaire Boys Club and convincedits members to help him committ two murders
Articles about Joe Hunt - Los Angeles Times
Murder and kidnaping charges were dropped Friday against Joe Hunt, the leader of the Billionaire Boys Club who represented himself in a trial that ended in a deadlock and who drew ...
Billionaire Boys Club DVD Rental, Rent Billionaire Boys ...
Synopsis of Billionaire Boys Club. Billionaire Boys Club is the two-part TV adaptation of a book ... Judd Nelson - Joe Hunt; Joseph Medalis - First Detective; Ben Piazza - Mr. Cody
Appellate Panel Gives ‘Billionaire Boys Club ...
Metropolitan News-Enterprise . Friday, June 6, 2003 . Page 1 . Appellate Panel Gives ‘Billionaire Boys Club’ Leader Joe Hunt New Chance at Overturning Conviction
Billionaire Boys Club (1987) (TV)
View company contact information for Billionaire Boys Club on IMDbPro. ... As with their crime, central figure Joe Hunt was convicted of killing the father of ...
