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Day 22: A motorcycle gang leader-turned-lawyer convicted of a triple murder
November 23rd, 2009, 2:00 am · 9 Comments · posted by Larry Welborn
1980: Tom Maniscalco was a motorcycle gang leader before he became an attorney, and then he attempted to merge the two lives together.
Eventually, his first life as a founder of the Hessians Motorcycle gang caught up with his second life as a suit-wearing litigator.
He was arrested in 1984 and charged with orchestrating the murders of Richard “Rabbit” Rizzone, Rena Arlene Miley and Thomas Bernard Monahan on May 31, 1980, in Westminster. But his odyssey through the Orange County justice system was just beginning.
Ten years later, after two jury trials, he was convicted and sentenced to 46 years to life. His first trial lasted a year, and ended in a hung jury. His second trial lasted a record 17 months, including about a month for deliberations before Maniscalco was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder.
The motive: Maniscalco suspected Rizzone of skimming profits from a drug and counterfeiting scheme. Miley, the daughter of a police officer, and Monahan were killed because they were witnesses.
Maniscalco spent more than 10 years in jail from arrest to sentencing. The case produced more than 100,000 pages of documents from police reports to trial transcripts.
Seven lawyers represented Maniscalco during the case, and four prosecutors were assigned at one time or another, until Deputy DA Rick King (now a Superior Court judge) won the convictions in 1994.
Picture above: Tom Maniscalco, center, Register File Photo
Pictured above: Tom Maniscalco trial mannequins used as exhibits for bullet injuries. Register File Photo
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9 Comments
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Couldn’t they had put a wig on the chick? And arms? And for Gods sake cover her up!
Same more background would have made for a better story. Very interesting that he went from being a biker gang leader who committed mass murder to becoming a lawyer.
This is the type of person you support by using drugs…..I hope you’re proud.
Reverend! (to that!)!!
I knew Tom back in the 60s, and later he did some legal work for me.
He was a good guy! He was railroaded, because of the M/C he founded.
I knew Rabbit too, he was a horses South end going North. Tom Monahan was a “Hangman” didn’t really know him but we had met a few times.
Tom a good guy? Nor hardly…. he wasn’t a good guy when they killed that young gal…
Hog did you read my post? Try again and attempt to deceipher the message. Tell me did you know him personally? I did and do not believe that he was capable of this crime.
nice one scoop– king called today here at North— we had a few laughs about some of the old ones…..great series
I have known Tom & Rabbit (Seth) aka richard rizzone since 1960, we grew up together back in New York, when I move to California, I lived with Rabbit for about one year, during that time I got to see quite a bit of both of my boyhood friends and I will tell you this, Rabbit had enough of his own money and if he was broke, Tom would have given him anything he wanted, That was how their friendship always was. Tom was convicted of a crime that someone else commited, I think we all know that.