The Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire

Covington Kentucky Across The River From Cincinnati

The Club Ran From 1937 To 1977

May 28, 1977

The Next Day

They Brought In Semi Trucks To Transport Bodies

Just A Few Walls Were Left

165 Dead And 200 Injured

That's All That's Left After Thirty Years

A Very Spooky Place Loaded With Artifacts

The Place Was Built As A Mafia Gambling Joint

The Beverly Hills Supper Club was built in 1937 by Pete Schmidt, who fronted for the Cleveland mob.

The Real Owners

The owners were M. B. Dalitz, Samuel Tucker, Louis Rothkopf, Morris Kleinman, all midwest gangsters. Senator Roth's committee investigated the payroll records.

The Las Vegas Of The Midwest

This complex sat on 78 acres, it was a casino and entertainment. All the Vegas acts played here.

New Owners

In 1969 a mystery man pays $400,000 to buy it from the Cleveland's Jewish mobsters. He in turn put the deed in the Abraham Schilling family's name.

The 1975 Beverly Hills Club

From 1970 to 1977 the Abe Schiller turn the club into the most famous nightclub in the Midwest. They packed in 3,000 a night. It was surrounded by Indianapolis. Columbus, Louisville, Charleston, etc.

Fire Starts At The Worst Time

The club is packed on a Saturday night, when a raging inferno traps hundreds. Most died from smoke inhalation.

The Screams

The people that escaped could hear the screams of the people being burned alive.

There Were 165 Bodies

They had to use a local guard armory as a morgue.

The Mysterious Electricians

The Day of the fire two men posing as electricians spent the morning in the electrical area where the fire started.

He Saw The Men

David Brock, 48, was a busboy who was preparing the Zebra Room for a small wedding party that night. About 10:30 a.m., he came across two men working in the electrical room, and ceiling. They had no name tags and said they were working on the air conditioning, he said.

"They were agitated I kept coming in," Brock said. "They would tell me to go away and come back."

Others Saw The Same Thing

Six others saw these mysterious workers, but all received threats.The only one talking is Shirley Baker Turner, who was a 21-year-old banquet waitress at the club.

After the fire, she claims she was a mother of two receiving death threats to keep quiet about what she saw at the club.

Most Suspect Moe Dalitz's Gang

Most arson occurs in the middle of the night, but this was done on Memorial day, the busiest day of the year.  The Jewish mobsters like Dalitz had a especially vengeful streak. It was rumored that Schilling wouldn't sell, or there was a disagreement, but whatever there was a message sent.

The Site Was Bulldozed

After the fire the community just bulldozed everything into the club's giant basement. Today people are finding old casino equipment, artifacts, and the bones of unaccounted employees.

Place Is A Shrine

This is a magnificent piece of property, but no one will touch it. It is a cross between a memorial and a haunted gravesite.

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