The general manager of a historic San Francisco nudist bar was shot to death outside his Santa Rosa home last week, and the identity of his killer remains unknown, at least for now, according to multiple media outlets.
Police say Mark Calcagni, 60, was found unconscious in the bike lane on Brookwood Avenue near Birdsfoot Road at about 6:25 a.m. on Oct. 3, KTLA’s sister station Crohn’s reported.
Santa Rosa Police Department officials said the Condor Club manager was shot several times, and the motive behind the killing was unknown.
This club, which opened in 1964 and describes itself as the birthplace of topless entertainment in the country, is no stranger to scandal and tragedy. The incident is known for the death of another employee at the piano in 1983 during a sexual interlude, the Los Angeles Times reported.
While club bouncer Jimmy Ferrozzo and his girlfriend Teresa Hill, an exotic dancer, were having intercourse on the piano, which during performances descended from the cable-connected ceiling, the pair accidentally hit the ignition switch, causing the piano to rise and fatally crush the bouncer against the ceiling.
Dancer Carol Duda, whose nightly performances began on the piano, is credited with making topless dancing popular. She gained international fame in the 1960s and 1970s for her work. she He died In 2015 at the age of 78.
Just one year after the Condor Club opened, police raided the establishment on the grounds of indecent exposure, arresting the club’s then-owners Gino Del Prete and Pete Mattioli, who were accused of “running a disorderly house,” according to the British Daily Mail. The times. They were later acquitted in a case that established that topless bars did not violate California’s obscenity laws.
The Condor club acknowledged their recent tragedy in a statement on Wednesday, saying the “tragic passing of our beloved general manager Mark Calcagni” has left them in shock and grief.
“Mark’s memory — his warmth, generosity and commitment to the community — will live on,” the statement continued. “On behalf of everyone at the Condor Club, we send our deepest condolences and stand in solidarity with those who are mourning this extraordinary loss.”
In 2022, under Calcagni’s direction, the Condor Club became the first adult entertainment venue in San Francisco to be designated as a legacy business by the city.
“He was a really great man,” said Wolfgang Welch, who runs the nearby Vanity nightclub.Geographical Dictionary.“He always praised keeping community and family as strong and close-knit as possible; he was always willing to take his shirt off to give it to someone else.”
As of Oct. 8, investigators have not been able to locate the suspect or weapon in the fatal shooting, and anyone with information or residents with security camera footage are urged to contact police, a Santa Rose Police Department spokesperson said.