Nightclub stories: Unsolved murders at Bocaccio's in Broward County

 

By Jane Feehan

A popular club with live entertainment and flashy customers, Bocaccio’s was similar to many late-night venues in the Fort Lauderdale area during the 1970s.

Bocaccio’s in Oakland Park was developed by Morton Brown who opened its doors in February 1975 after several delays. It featured live music, dancing and prime rib dinners in an atmosphere described as “gaudy.” Membership cards—costing nothing—were distributed with the purpose of controlling who came into the late-night supper club. It was, after all, the early days of cocaine-fueled entertainment and business deals.

Evidently membership cards did not keep all out.

Less than a year after opening, four staffers, including a manager, 27 years old, bookkeeper, 35 and two maids, 27 and 31 were found missing in the morning of Dec. 2.  Also missing: about $5,000 in cash as well as some non-negotiable securities. Desk drawers had been ransacked.

The case of the missing staffers commanded headlines across the nation as possible kidnappings until Dec. 8 when their bullet-ridden bodies were discovered by three brothers hunting in west Sunrise fields. The bodies lay not far off a highway in this Broward County town.

Several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, were involved. The case also included an informant, suspects in jail for armed robbery, a Las Vegas trip, a cocktail waitress thought to have landed a job at the club to see what police knew, cocaine stories and even the efforts of Dutch psychic Peter Hurkos. All proved to be file fodder for dead-end leads. It was thought the case would be solved quickly.  It remains unsolved and mostly forgotten to this day.

Did any leads focus on construction delays?

Morty Brown sold the club soon after the murders but continued with other nightclub endeavors. Bocaccio’s, located at 1421 East Oakland Park Boulevard sat down the street from the Players Club. The “gaudy” Bocaccio’s address was later occupied by a roster of clubs, including Studio 51, Angelo’s Alley, The Front Page, and much later, Lip’s.

If you have any information on the Bocaccio's case, call the Broward Sheriff's Office at 954-493-TIPS or 954-493-8477.

 

 Tags: Fort Lauderdale crime, Fort Lauderdale area nightclubs, Fort Lauderdale in the 1970s, Bocaccio's. Oakland Park nightclubs

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 6, 1974

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 20,1975

Fort Lauderdale News, March 25, 1975

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 2, 1975

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 8, 1975

Fort Lauderdale News, April 18, 1976

Fort Lauderdale News, April 9, 1978

Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 1, 1978

Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 10, 1986

Fort Lauderdale News, May 24, 1987

Flash and grab at the Yellow Rolls Royce - A 1970s Fort Lauderdale story

By Jane Feehan

Long-time Fort Lauderdale residents may remember the robbery at the Yellow Rolls Royce Restaurant in 1976. It was bold, but not quite as big as it could have been. High-profile Miami News reporter Milt Sosin briefly covered the story as did The Associated Press, which sent it across the country. There was something about the place, its flashy patrons—and stylish thieves—that captured headlines. It was the stuff of TV and silver screen scripts.

Long gone, the upscale eatery was located on Northeast 20 Avenue, close to Sunrise Boulevard and the Middle River fork of New River. Between 30 and 40 patrons were enjoying a night out in late March, high season in South Florida, when  a man with a handgun came through the rear entrance to hold staff at bay. A few moments later, a well-dressed couple entered the front door, with the male partner brandishing a gun. After commanding attention and calm, he instructed his young female accomplice to begin passing a bag around. In went wallets and jewelry but not before many took off rings and other glitter to drop into coffee, food and mouths. Personal searches were not conducted, diminishing the thieves’ take.

The dynamic duo warned diners not to follow them; they took off with about $15,000 in cash and jewels, a substantial haul from such a small gathering. As soon as they left, rings and other baubles were spat out or removed from food.  (One may speculate about how much cash  robbers would have gotten away with six or seven years later, when cocaine cowboys were walking around with paper bags of cash before laundering it at jewelry stores and through real estate transactions.)

According to owner Terrence Scott Moser, robbers missed more than they took. He described his customers as the “quiet elite of Fort Lauderdale,” among them women wearing “diamonds by the yard.” Many of them managed to hide the glitter simply by buttoning up their blouses.

Days after the heist, police were still seeking clues to the bold robbery … and the nation was reading about it. The story soon dropped off the radar, as did the Yellow Rolls Royce and Terrence Scott Moser. Any of you remember additional stories about it?

Sources:

Miami News, March 29, 1976

Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 31, 1976

 Tags: Film researcher, Fort Lauderdale in the 1970s, Fort Lauderdale history