NBC10’s new show “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders,” sheds light on the infamous Menendez brothers murder trial that captured the nation more than 25 years ago. NBC10’s Drew Smith speaks to a local man who was friends with Jose Menendez, who was murdered along with his wife by their two sons in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
Fred Vito's days on the Hazleton High School swim team don’t seem that far away to the retired Pennsylvania State Police trooper, who still remembers a dear, and infamous, friend: Jose Menendez.
Jose first rose to fame as a Hollywood entertainment executive, but he died in infamy alongside his wife, Kitty. The couple was gunned down by their children, Lyle and Erik, inside their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
The subsequent legal battle was the stuff of Hollywood legend.
It took two trials and seven years for the young men to be convicted. Their first trial included sordid allegations of sexual molestation, psychological torment and a supporting cast of extremely memorable characters, including an L.A. therapist whose angry ex-mistress taped Lyle and Erik confessing during a therapy session.
NBC10 sat down with Fred in his Carbon County home to pour through old high school yearbooks and learn more about Jose.
"He had a nice way about him," Fred said. "He was very competitive, to say the least. He was one of the best [swimmers]."
Jose was born in Cuba to wealthy parents, who sent their son to live with a cousin in Hazleton when Fidel Castro came to power. Jose didn’t have a hard time making friends in Hazleton, Fred said. He was popular, athletic and handsome. His accent only made him that much more intriguing.
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"It was interesting talking to someone who was actually born and raised in another country," Fred said.
The retired state trooper still visits the same diner where he, Jose and their friends would hang out after swim practice. He was sitting in one of those seats in 1989 when he picked up the newspaper and saw his old pal on the front page.
"I just couldn’t believe it. I was asking myself, ‘Is this real? Did this really happen?” Fred said.
“He goes out to California and winds up murdered by his own sons. It’s really hard to comprehend.”
Prosecutors argued Lyle and Erik killed their parents because they had been written out of Jose’s will. But the brothers’ legal team painted a very different picture. The boys had endured years of sexual molestation at the hands of both Jose and Kitty, according to the defense team. They were psychologically tormented into excelling in school and sports. When they didn’t, they were verbally harangued and physically attacked.
The sordid details captivated a national audience but troubled Fred. He never believed the rumors.
"It was very disturbing when they started with the allegations of abuse. I knew it wasn’t true. No possibility whatsoever," he said.
To this day, Fred can’t help but think of his old friend when he visits Hazleton. He still has his senior yearbook and in it, he and Jose stand near each other in the swim team photo.
Next to his class picture, Jose joked about being the "mightiest merman" and a "casual Cuban casanova" with aspirations of joining the United States Foreign Service.
In a handwritten note to his friend, Jose told Fred his hoped the two would meet again someday.
"I wish we had done that," Fred said.
In 1996, Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of killing their parents. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
