Thanks for posting these two great Austin music - scene true crime stories. Seems serendipitous, as I've been thinking of both of them recently a lot. Also stirred up a stray memory I had forgotten about. Back in 1985-86, when Lois and I were still living at Timbercreek on East 1st, I was really taken by the wealth of great Tex Mex joints on the street. There were at least a half dozen in a short stretch between Barton Springs & just past Oltorf. I used to love the burritos at Jovita's. I wrote up a rough treatment to pitch a story to Greg Curtis at Texas Monthly, with interviews with most of the proprietors, including Mayo at Jovita's. Not that he wasn't affable, but I did pick up a strange vibe from him. I was still writing crime novels in those days, not true crime as I gravitated toward later. The big busts of 2012 were not the first time I realized that I should've made the switch much sooner. So much rich material...
1960s into mid-1970s, there were three characters (husband and wife, and a partner) who laundered their smuggling (mostly pot) revenue through a massage parlor and a tat parlor. It all ended when they were found murdered in one of their stash houses. They were associates of drug cartel leader Fred Carrasco, who was killed -- along with others -- attempting an organized escape from the Huntsville “Walls” Unit. "The siege lasted 11 days and ended in a shoot out on the library steps as Carrasco, Dominguez, and Cuevas attempted to escape with hostages behind a makeshift shield. ... The attempted escape led to the longest prison siege in United States history."
Who was that 1980s Austin scenester/muso who abruptly fled the country to avoid drug charges? Turned out he'd been a major marijuana supplier -- dang, can't remember the name but I'd recognize it! Hispanic name. Played fusion norteno/jazz/pop, I want to say, and had a nickname he was widely known by. I don't believe he was ever caught or heard from again? People thought he'd vanished in Mexico or South America.
That's it! The name came back to me while in the car earlier today, and I came back here to update my comment. Already done! I believe he hosted a radio show as well. Then one day, poof, he's a fugitive.
In 2000, I was visiting Oaxaca, Mexico, and a guy came around to the outdoor cafe where I was sitting in the zocalo. He was a musician passing out flyers for a show that night. We started talking, and he asked me where I was from. I told him Austin, and he chuckled, noting that he knew the town well. The flyer did not have his name on it, just the band. I went to the gig (which was great), but I still didn't put two and two together until a few years later when I came back to Austin and realized that it was Dan Del Santo that I had seen that night.
Thanks for posting these two great Austin music - scene true crime stories. Seems serendipitous, as I've been thinking of both of them recently a lot. Also stirred up a stray memory I had forgotten about. Back in 1985-86, when Lois and I were still living at Timbercreek on East 1st, I was really taken by the wealth of great Tex Mex joints on the street. There were at least a half dozen in a short stretch between Barton Springs & just past Oltorf. I used to love the burritos at Jovita's. I wrote up a rough treatment to pitch a story to Greg Curtis at Texas Monthly, with interviews with most of the proprietors, including Mayo at Jovita's. Not that he wasn't affable, but I did pick up a strange vibe from him. I was still writing crime novels in those days, not true crime as I gravitated toward later. The big busts of 2012 were not the first time I realized that I should've made the switch much sooner. So much rich material...
Murder gets you 4 years but cocaine gets you 12 1/2. Something's wrong with that.
I don't want to know how my life would be without having seen Don Walser while eating enchiladas.
1960s into mid-1970s, there were three characters (husband and wife, and a partner) who laundered their smuggling (mostly pot) revenue through a massage parlor and a tat parlor. It all ended when they were found murdered in one of their stash houses. They were associates of drug cartel leader Fred Carrasco, who was killed -- along with others -- attempting an organized escape from the Huntsville “Walls” Unit. "The siege lasted 11 days and ended in a shoot out on the library steps as Carrasco, Dominguez, and Cuevas attempted to escape with hostages behind a makeshift shield. ... The attempted escape led to the longest prison siege in United States history."
https://www.itemonline.com/news/local_news/revisiting-history-12-held-hostage-in-attempted-prison-break/article_a6ce424b-0055-55e3-8e9b-ebbdcc4862d4.html
Great story. Jim Ramsey told me some old tales about the questionable funding of Austin’s entertainment boom but, Jovita’s still shocked. Cheers.
Who was that 1980s Austin scenester/muso who abruptly fled the country to avoid drug charges? Turned out he'd been a major marijuana supplier -- dang, can't remember the name but I'd recognize it! Hispanic name. Played fusion norteno/jazz/pop, I want to say, and had a nickname he was widely known by. I don't believe he was ever caught or heard from again? People thought he'd vanished in Mexico or South America.
Dan Del Santo.
That's it! The name came back to me while in the car earlier today, and I came back here to update my comment. Already done! I believe he hosted a radio show as well. Then one day, poof, he's a fugitive.
In 2000, I was visiting Oaxaca, Mexico, and a guy came around to the outdoor cafe where I was sitting in the zocalo. He was a musician passing out flyers for a show that night. We started talking, and he asked me where I was from. I told him Austin, and he chuckled, noting that he knew the town well. The flyer did not have his name on it, just the band. I went to the gig (which was great), but I still didn't put two and two together until a few years later when I came back to Austin and realized that it was Dan Del Santo that I had seen that night.
That is very cool! I'm glad he made a new life for himself.