Disney Declassified: Tales of Real Life Disney Scandals, Sex, Accidents and Deaths (14 page)

Mel’s legal case bounced around the court system for several years. The Disneyland nurse testified in court that the park’s unwritten policy was to never call paramedics; as it may bring the wrong kind of attention to park, aka ruin the fantasy and Disney magic. Disney’s lawyers insisted their nurse did the right thing and had trauma surgeons testify that even under perfect conditions, Mel would only have a 50% chance of surviving his injuries. The best course would be to immediately take him to hospital for care. The family for Mel argued otherwise.

An ambulance with oxygen and appropriate equipment and training could have expedited the process, as hospital records indicated it took Disney nearly twenty-five minutes to just get him to the hospital after the decision was made to transport him.

Disney was adamant that they were not at fault. Jack Lindquist, at the time senior vice president of Walt Disney Productions, announced at a news conference, “We’re not going to settle out of court. We’re going to take this as far as we can.” Disney never did settle, but the case came to a conclusion in July of 1986 when a jury found Disney negligent in treating Mel in the situation. They were ordered to pay $600,000—and, oh yeah, in April of 1981, just a month after Mel’s stabbing, Disneyland did hire an ambulance to stay on-site.    

In August of 1983, twenty-six-year-old Joseph was working as a security guard at Disneyland. One evening when he was on patrol he said he saw a man attempting to break into a car. When he approached the man, the suspect pulled out a gun and shot him in the chest. Luckily, he was wearing a bulletproof vest that night, which stopped the bullet before it entered his body. Joseph radioed Disney security, who in turn called Anaheim police, and he was transported to the hospital.

After repeated questioning, Joseph didn’t waiver in his story; however things weren’t quite matching up for police. First, no one in the area heard a shot fired, and second, the spent shell casing that was found on-scene was for a gun found at his brother-in-law's house. The biggest “smoking gun” if you will, was there was absolutely no injury to Joseph, no bruising, abrasions, nothing, which is something obviously highly unusual for someone to take a direct hit from a .22 at close range.

Police suspected he actually shot the vest and his shirt at home prior to coming to work and then made up the story. Police arrested him on claims of filing a false police report. When Joseph's case went to trial in April of 1985, he was acquitted on charges. The jury told attorneys after the verdict that they didn't know if he faked the shooting or not but said there was enough evidence to show he could have been telling the truth.

If you think that last story was a bit crazy, get ready for this one. In February of 1990, eight-year-old Nayeli of Downey, California was taking a ride aboard the Disneyland Railroad with her parents. At just after 6:00
P
.
M
., the train pulled into the station near Videopolis with Nayeli sitting in the last row of the car. As the train stopped, she complained to her family that she had pain in her back. Her father notified the conductor, who then called for the park nurse. The nurse noticed the girl was bleeding and off she went to the hospital—this time in an ambulance. At the hospital, physicians discovered she had been shot in the back.

Nayeli was rushed into surgery where surgeons removed a medium caliber bullet from the lower right portion of her back. Over at Disneyland, the train was shut down and inspected. Sure enough, a bullet hole was found in the canvas roof near Nayeli’s seat.

After a few days in the hospital, she made a full recovery. Disney offered to help pay for any medical expenses the family incurred. As for the origins of the bullet, police were never able to exactly determine where it came from. They were certain the bullet originated outside of the park based on its trajectory. They determined it came from the north or northwest, in the area of Ball Road and West Street. The surrounding area has many homes, businesses and hotels/motels, so it could have come from virtually anybody.    

“This is a modern world. It’s an urban world and Disney is not responsible if a crime takes place.” That is the quote from Disney’s lawyers during a lawsuit involving a grandmother who was robbed at Disneyland’s parking lot. This grandmother was not just
any
grandmother; she was Billie Jean Matay, also known as Mouseketeer Billie from the first season of The Mickey Mouse Club.

In August of 1995, Billie, her daughter and grandkids enjoyed a free day at the park; one free trip a year was a perk from her days as a Mouseketeer. As Billie and the family were leaving the park and in their car, she claims a man put a gun to her neck and robbed her of over $1,600 in cash, credit cards, and jewelry.

After the crime she sought help from Disney security. Billie claims the security team was less than helpful, they illegally detained her in a back room at the park and badgered her. Anaheim PD was called and a police report was taken but the damage was already done. Billie was traumatized and so were her grandkids, aged five to eleven. While backstage, the children saw Mickey and pals out of costume wondering around the area with costumes on but no heads. The secret was out; the characters were just people and the kids were horrified, or so the lawsuit said.

Billie filed suit against Disney for negligence, false imprisonment, and emotional distress. In August of 1997, Disney tried to settle out of court ,but Billie wouldn’t consent, off to trial they went. After a week in the courtroom, Billie’s lawyers presented their case and handed it off to Disney’s legal eagles. They in turn asked the judge to dismiss the suit, as there was a lack of evidence. The judge did just that.

Oftentimes, in confrontational situations, a person or group of people needs to be controlled by non-lethal means. One of the great immobilizers in these scenarios is the utilization of pepper spray. Law enforcement uses it frequently. In the early to mid 1990s it wasn’t uncommon to see your everyday person wielding a little canister on their key ring. The next two stories are situations where pepper spray was used, one for its intended purposes and the other instance, well, it went a bit awry.

In February of 2012, fifty-three-year-old Glenn caused a major scene at Disney’s California Adventure. It appears as though Glenn may have had a bit too much to drink. He was slurring his words and showing some hostile erratic behavior judging from the video—it went viral on YouTube; a quick search can retrieve it. After a few obscenity-filled minutes and physically challenging and then assaulting some Disney cast members and guests, it was time for Glenn to go down, and down he went in a scuffle, and then a good dose of pepper spray to the face. Glenn was arrested for assault and battery.

Long before Glenn was sprayed at California Adventure, Marcello was in line with his family at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion in March of 1993. Apparently, Marcello didn’t take too kindly to a person cutting in front of him in line and a confrontation ensued. Feeling threatened and in need of some self-defense, he reached for his trusty pepper spray bottle and sprayed the alleged line jumper. It must have been a windy day in New Orleans Square, or he used the entire can, as eighty people in the queue felt the wrath of the spray as it spread through the area. Most guests who felt the effects of the spray were treated at Disneyland, but eight others were taken to the hospital.

The tales of dissidence and disturbing behavior Disney-style now continues in Florida at Walt Disney World. Regrettably, much like the subject of accidents, WDW has had its share of violent outburst and deaths. Even the artist formerly known as Mr. Whitney Houston got into a fracas in Florida while visiting Mickey; stay tuned for that one. 

In July of 1992, thirty-seven-year-old Allen got into a fight with his girlfriend, thirty-three-year-old Barbara. After the spat, Barbara decided it would be best if they split up, and Allen moves back to New York. This decision was devastating to Allen. After the break-up, he tried to take his own life by slitting his wrists. His actions frightened Barbara so much that she received a protective order against him. A few weeks went by and Allen wanted to talk with his ex. He was unsuccessful in his attempts from New York, so he decided to go back down to Florida in an effort to communicate with her. Allen headed over to EPCOT where Barbara worked as a security guard.

The park was closing, and he was told to head to the exit and leave the park. Instead he continued to linger around the area near the Journey into Imagination Pavilion. When security approached him again about leaving, he got hostile. He told them he wanted to speak with Barbara and wasn’t leaving. Allen then pulled a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun from his bag and fired four shots at guards. Luckily, the guards weren’t hit, but the situation escalated when he took two of them hostage in the bathroom at the pavilion. After ten minutes, he released the hostages to the sheriff's deputies that were now armed and surrounding the pavilion. After their release, Allen too made his way from the pavilion. He started walking out with his shotgun pointed at his chest. Deputies repeatedly shouted and encouraged him to put the gun down, his response was, “No, just shoot me, shoot me. You’re going to have to kill me.” Deputies continued to try to verbally disarm Allen, but it didn’t work. Allen put the shotgun to his head and pulled the trigger. Deputies tried first aid on him, and even then he was combative towards them. Allen was rushed to the hospital via helicopter where he was declared dead on arrival.

In a case of tourist-on-tourist crime in August of 1994, thirty-year-old Michael R. allegedly bumped into thirty-year-old Michael T.’s baby stroller, and some words were exchanged between the two men. After the heated confrontation, the two men went their separate ways. At the end of the evening they encountered each other again at the monorail station. Their previous argument resumed and this time, more family members were present. As the argument became more heated, Michael T. started to feel threatened by Michael R. and his family members, particularly one of his brothers. Michael T. pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed Michael R. three times, claiming self-defense. Michael R. was treated at the hospital and recovered from his wounds. Michael T. was arrested on aggravated battery charges, to which he pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to sixty days in Orange County Jail along with four years probation, in addition to paying $5,800 in restitution to Michael R.

The next story takes us out of the parks in Florida and into Disney’s planned community, Celebration. The town was created and developed by Disney in the 1990s. The neighborhood is adjacent to the Disney theme parks and utilizes some of the park's creativity to harken back to the days of white picket fences and small town feelings. For many residents of Celebration, the community is the closest thing to living in the past, when life was less complicated. It’s almost like owning a piece of a utopian community. 

However, utopian communities aren’t usually the settings for violent deaths; it doesn’t fit, and neither does losing your home to foreclosure. In 2010, Celebration was plagued with both of these issues. That year, one in twenty homes in the community went into foreclosure, as compared with one in forty-eight in the rest of the state. The planned community also was the scene for two violent deaths only days apart.

The tragic events started to unfold over Thanksgiving weekend 2010, when fifty-eight-year-old retired schoolteacher, Matteo, befriended a twenty-eight-year-old homeless man, David. David claimed he went to Matteo’s house in Celebration to earn money by washing his Corvette and doing work around his house. After he finished with the work, he went into Matteo’s home and fell asleep. During his nap, David claims Matteo sexually assaulted him in his sleep.

David awoke to Matteo touching him and became infuriated. He repeatedly struck Matteo in the back of the head with a hatchet. He smashed his face into the floor and then strangled him with a shoelace to ensure he was dead. The reason for such violence? Self-defense. He claims he was drugged and could have been raped. David claimed he was actually the victim, a victim of a sexual predator who took advantage of him, as he was merely looking for work.

However, over the next several days after killing Matteo, he ransacked his house and sold some of his possessions. He stole his laptop, Corvette, and rare coin collection, which he sold. David was arrested in early December of 2010 and charged with murder. A jury in January of 2013 convicted him of second-degree murder and he was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

 Just days after Matteo’s murder, Celebration had another violent situation play out in their community. On December 2, 2010, fifty-two-year-old Craig, a former American Airlines pilot, barricaded himself in his home at Celebration. Craig was in the midst of a divorce from his wife and a foreclosure on his home. A distraught man, he called his wife the day before and told her he was armed and going to kill himself. She immediately called authorities. The Osceola County sheriff’s deputies arrived at Craig’s house, but he wasn’t home. They waited two hours for him to return but left after not encountering him.

The next day, authorities arrived at the home again after learning Craig was back and barricaded himself with at least one firearm.  As the deputies approached his front door, he opened fire with several shots; luckily nobody was hit.

They didn’t return fire as they didn’t have a visual on him or who else might have been behind the door. They retreated and called in reinforcements. A short time later, the SWAT team arrived, along with a negotiator. The negotiator tried to coax Craig out of the house and to put down his weapon. Ultimately, they were unsuccessful. The situation escalated when they launched tear gas into his home to help defuse the situation. After gassing the house, they lost communication with him. Their next plan was for the SWAT team to storm the house. They deployed a robot into the home to survey the situation before they entered. Craig’s body was found; he had taken his own life.

Just a few miles away back over at Walt Disney World, this next story gives a new meaning to the Disney ride, Mad Tea Party. Two moms got spinning mad when waiting in line for the teacups. The accusations of cutting in line led to a fight, an arrest and supposed neurological issues. In May of 2007, fifty-one-year-old Victoria of Anniston, Alabama was in line with her eleven-year-old daughter, as was thirty-four-year-old Aimee with her children, six and seven, and two of her friend's children.