Death on the River Read online

On January 9, 1999, Vince remarried—this time to Suzanne Carson. Suzanne had grown up in the same Wappingers Falls neighborhood as Vince, but since she was two years younger—a big difference to little kids—their paths had never crossed.

  Suzanne was in college when they wed, changing her major to nursing soon after and earning her R.N. The couple began their life together on Drum Court in Wappingers Falls. During the warm-weather months, they frequently went kayaking. They often thought about attempting a crossing of the Hudson River, but Vince believed it was too dangerous.

  On July 6, 2001, Vinny’s father, now living in New Jersey, passed away at the young age of 62. In February 2004, Vinny and Suzanne moved a small distance north when they purchased a home in the Fox Hill Condominiums complex in the Town of Poughkeepsie. The name Poughkeepsie often generated confusion to those unfamiliar with the area because there are two of them and both hug the Hudson River. The geographically smaller City of Poughkeepsie had a population of nearly thirty-three thousand. Wrapping around the City on three sides is the Town of Poughkeepsie, with over forty-three thousand residents, and home to Vassar College, one of the Seven Sisters of the Ivy League.

  In February 2009, Vince and Suzanne moved to Pleasant Valley, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie, after purchasing a gorgeous home with an in-ground pool, a sunroom, a lovely kitchen with granite countertops, and four bedrooms.

  But Vince’s indulgences and generosity to friends were beginning to cripple him financially. He often treated friends to drinks at a bar and gave away his own money and property to those in need. His 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee and his 2006 Stingray boat were repossessed, and his credit card debt neared eighty thousand dollars. Vince filed for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy on November 29, 2010. Again, it was as if he were following his parents’ path. His mother was in the middle of Chapter 7 proceedings, having begun her ordeal two years earlier. Her finances were complicated by a judgement against her for unpaid New York State real estate and personal property taxes in excess of five thousand dollars. Vince’s situation was wrapped up more quickly than his mother’s, and his file was closed in February 2012.

  His troubles were not over, however. In a mutual decision, Sue and Vince both moved in and out of the house a couple of times, one living in an apartment while the other stayed in the home they owned. Suzanne filed for divorce in November 2012. The couple wanted different things out of life and, as his mother reflected, “Vinny was very stubborn.” Suzanne bought out his share of the marital home and their marriage was dissolved on March 20, 2013.

  After he left his house for the last time, Vinny moved in with a platonic friend, Amanda Bopp. “He was the most genuine, soulful, funniest best friend I’ll ever have,” she remembered.

  One October, Amanda flew out to California to see a friend and attend a Halloween party. On the way back, Vince planned to meet her in Las Vegas. However, Vince’s plans were disrupted by Hurricane Sandy. Because of its second landfall in the Northeast, his flight was canceled. He was distressed at the prospect of Amanda being out in Las Vegas all alone—he did not think it was a safe place for a single woman. He booked three different substitute flights, determined to get out there at all costs. His gamble paid off. He arrived in “Sin City” to accompany Amanda. As everyone said, Vince never left anyone hanging.

  The caring and concern he demonstrated with others was a guiding principle of Vince’s life. He never missed a family celebration on the holidays or other important occasions. He cultivated a particularly close relationship with his only nephew, Michael Rice. When Michael was young, he and Vince played sports together. As adults, Vince was like a big brother to his nephew. They’d go out to Mahoney’s Irish Pub and other venues together. For his family and friends, Vince was a constant.

  * * *

  While Vince was working through the red tape of his legal dilemmas, he found respite in running. The Walkway Over the Hudson was one of his favorite routes once it opened to the public on October 3, 2009, part of the four-hundred-year anniversary commemorations of Henry Hudson’s exploration of the river that defined the area.

  Formerly the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, the bridge had been hailed as the eighth wonder of the world in 1888 when the 1.25-mile span was first completed. But after it caught fire in 1974 and was subsequently abandoned by railroad traffic, it became a derelict eyesore. Estimates to demolish the structure soared past $40 million. However, someone had a better idea—for $5 or $6 million, the bridge could be resurrected as a walking path.

  Fundraisers for the Walkway foundation kicked off the effort. Engineers, divers, and construction workers followed through on the plans. The effort took nineteen years, but the end result was a majestic midair pathway floating twenty-one stories above the beautiful and powerful river. Vince loved every foot of it.

  He also ran competitively. In the Dutchess County Classic five-kilometer marathon in Freedom Plains in September 2012, he finished with a time of 25:46:90, placing him in the top half of all racers.

  Throughout all the chaos in Vince’s life, Sean Von Clauss remained his friend and an active part of his social circle. Vinny often announced his arrival at a party with a robust shout of, “Crazy Clauss is in the house!”

  But their relationship was deeper than their party patter made it seem. They were both there for each other when it counted. Sean said, “Vinny was an amazing person: always the life of the party and yet could stop people from doing stupid things. He made me a better person.”

  One evening, their elementary school gang met up at Billy Joe’s Ribs in Newburgh. After a great night of laughter, catching up, and reminiscing on the good old days, Vince stopped Sean in the parking lot. “Hey, crazy Clauss, come here.”

  Vince then brought up the taboo subject of Sean’s estrangement from his daughter. Sean had previously been married to a woman six years older than him who came from an affluent family. As a musician, Sean was on the road for performances more than he was at home. He fell into the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle of hard partying and late nights. His wife finally had enough. She gave Sean an ultimatum: give up playing music or give up your family.

  Sean said he thought that it was an idle threat, until the day he came home from a tour and his key wouldn’t work in the door. She’d changed all the locks. His ex-wife gained full custody in a divorce and, according to Sean, it was impossible for him to have visitation. He told Vinny the last time he’d seen his daughter, she was three years old.

  Vince knew the history and also knew that Sean didn’t like to talk about it. However, he felt that it was about time to do so. “I’m proud of you, man,” Vince told him. “You’ve come a long way from your rock-star, long-hair, sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll days. I’m so happy you’re clean and sober and are back playing music. You have a natural talent and an amazing voice. But, my brother, you need to get your daughter back in your life. I know it’s a sore subject and you refuse to talk about it, but you have to complete your journey and get her back in your life.”

  Big, bad Sean, with tears rolling down his face, wrapped his friend in a bear hug and said, “I love ya, brother.” Sean wasn’t just moved in the moment. Vince inspired him to reengage with his daughter, and together they began to rebuild their relationship.

  * * *

  Sean had met Angelika through his career as a musician. He was performing at a St. Columba Catholic School get-together in early 2013 when Angelika and Vince first saw each other. Sean introduced the two, but Vince was in the purgatory of divorce proceedings at the time and nothing more came of their encounter.

  His marriage to Suzanne officially ended on March 20, 2013, and all that was past history by September 22 of that year, when Vince showed up at Mahoney’s Irish Pub to drink beer and hang with friends as they watched the much-anticipated New York Jets–Buffalo Bills football game. Mike Colvin was there, too. His former radio partner, Mark Cooper, had recently passed away at the age of 49. He left behind Thomas, his now-10-year-old son.


  That afternoon, Mike was DJing a fundraiser to raise money for the boy’s education. Angelika was there taking photographs of the event. This time, Vinny could focus on the women around him and he was smitten by the tiny energetic, cheerful woman with the cute accent. The instant attraction was mutual

  Although Vince was eleven years older than Angelika, they had a lot of the same interests. They both loved kayaking and were always ready to participate in outdoor sports and athletic activities. Both were fond of gourmet cooking and wine. They also found common ground in their romantic pasts, with two marriages and two divorces apiece. Before parting ways that evening, the two made plans for their first date.

  CHAPTER NINE

  To many people, Angelika and Vince seemed to have fallen deeply in love. Sean Von Clauss was one of them. He said that they would slow dance whenever he performed “Shama Lama Ding Dong” at his shows. “They were always in love—singing, dancing, holding. They were always together.” Vince, he said, “was thrilled that he found his soul mate.” Friend Meghan Avezzano told the Poughkeepsie Journal that she thought they were “the perfect couple. I never saw any fighting. He always had his arm around her. They were lovey-dovey.”

  When they met, Vince was living in a friend’s apartment and Angelika had a flat with mold problems. Soon Vince found a tan brick condo on Cherry Hill Drive in the town of Poughkeepsie. Though the relationship was steady, his friends were surprised when, in early October, Angelika moved in with him. A month after she moved in, Vince added her as the primary beneficiary on his three insurance policies—one life insurance policy through his employer with Zurich American Insurance and the life and accidental death policies he’d purchased on his own because of the riskiness of some of his work. Putting her name on the policies seemed to be a radical move so early on in their relationship. To Vince, however, it was logical. Angelika needed health coverage. To be able to provide it through his job, he had to establish that she was his domestic partner. One of the prerequisites for that was adding her as a beneficiary to his life insurance.

  After his fourteen-year-long marriage to Suzanne ended, Vince had vowed to everyone who would listen that he was going to be a single man for a long time. The rapid advancement of his romance with Angelika was a shocker.

  By then, Angelika was working at a sports bar, Grand Centro Grill. When she wasn’t working, she’d accompany Vince to his weekly billiards and volleyball tournaments. Although she enjoyed going out and meeting his friends, Angelika said she was happiest during their time alone together.

  Vince’s intentions were serious enough that he wanted his sister and her husband, Kevin, to meet Angelika. He invited them to dinner at Grand Centro Grill. Because his sister had teased him about his proclivity to date women in their twenties, he told her, “I’m dating a girl and you’ll be happy because she’s thirty-four.”

  Vince also exhibited the seriousness of his commitment by learning Angelika’s native language. He studied Russian books and dictionaries and asked her about words and grammar. Every weekend morning, over morning coffee, he devoted time to developing his language skills. The two even had Russian nicknames for each other. Angelika called him yozhik, meaning “hedgehog,” for the texture of his hair. He called her svinka or “piggy”.

  In December 2013, the couple went on a ten-day cruise from New York City down to the Bahamas. They went ashore at Cape Canaveral and took an excursion to Sea World in Orlando, Florida. In the Bahamas, they disembarked at Nassau and visited a private island. The tropical days of play and revelry and the moonlit nights staring out to sea together cemented their commitment to the relationship.

  But Vince, like many men, was not happy about his girlfriend working in a bar. Sean Von Clauss and Vince talked to her about quitting her bartending job and studying to get her real estate license. Angelika liked the idea and decided to quit. Now that she wasn’t working, she had time to do volunteer gardening at the grounds on Bannerman Island, as well as more time to help out with the menagerie at the Shepherd’s View Animal Sanctuary in Cold Spring, a shelter for cats, dogs, birds, bunnies, goats, sheep, and more.

  Angelika’s friends noticed a difference in her now that she was in a serious relationship with Vince. “Angelika would date a guy for weeks or months at a time, spending a lot of time in bars listening to music. After she fell for Vince, she grew more domesticated, content to spend her time at home,” said her friend Joel Goss.

  Vince continued to surprise his friends when he brought up having children with Angelika. “At the age of thirty-four, Angelika is worried that her biological clock is running out. And I’m not getting any younger,” he said. Anyone who knew Vince also knew that this meant marriage. His Catholic upbringing wouldn’t allow him to upset his mother by having a child out of wedlock.

  For Valentine’s Day 2014, Vince took Angelika out to dinner at the romantic Shadows on the Hudson. Perched on a forty-foot cliff, the restaurant had a breathtaking view of the lights on the Mid-Hudson Bridge to the north and a never-ending view of the river to the south. After dessert, Vince took Angelika for a stroll on the balcony. It was a cold night, but in every other way it was perfect. The sky was clear, the moonlight sparkled on the water, and Vince made the ultimate romantic gesture. He got down on one knee with a ring in one raised hand. “Will you marry me?”

  She looked down at his hopeful face and hers lit up with a smile. “Yes. Yes,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. She wanted to hold the ceremony in Latvia on a Baltic Sea beach. She planned to wear a simple dress and go barefoot.

  The speed of the engagement was the third surprise for Vincent’s friends. Vince’s mom, Mary Ann, had a positive first impression of Angelika. On Mother’s Day 2014, Angelika shared a photograph of her future mother-in-law seated in a chair with Vince’s arms wrapped around her. The caption read: “Happy Mother’s Day.” Vince commented repeating Angelika’s greeting and added: “Your son loves you very, very much.”

  But others in Vince’s orbit were not so sure about Angelika. When they looked at her track record of jumping to one man after another, they began to doubt her love for Vince. They worried that Vince was so smitten with this beautiful younger woman that he could not think clearly. They were afraid that his desire to make up for lost time made him turn a blind eye to Angelika’s previous interactions with men.

  Friend Sheri Parte told 48 Hours that she didn’t like the violent side that erupted when Angelika was drunk. “She would smack him across the face,” she said, while Vince just looked at her without displaying any signs of anger. “Then she’d do it again.” Mary Ann confirmed Sheri’s story, adding that Angelika once gave him a black eye.

  Vince wasn’t as bothered by her past—his was littered with failed relationships, too. There was one thing about his new love, though, that Vince did not like—she was a smoker. He persuaded her to switch over to a vaporizer.

  However, it soon became clear that Vince was aware of the trouble brewing in the relationship. Right before Vince traveled with his fiancé to Latvia to meet her family, he sent an email to his sister, Laura, saying: “I hope she doesn’t bump me off in Europe.” He followed that statement with a funny-face emoji, but the message unsettled Laura. The emotional environment of his and Angelika’s relationship was frequently stormy, and Laura knew that truth often lay buried beneath the surface of humor. She was aware of the heat of their fights and, more than once, Vince had told her that he was thinking of kicking Angelika out of his apartment. When the disagreements were resolved and pushed under the rug, nothing ever happened. Laura worried until her brother had safely returned to this country.

  In Latvia, Vince walked into Angelika’s parent’s home for the first time and wrapped her mother in a big hug, saying, “Hi, Mom.” While this reaction seemed to contradict Vince’s communications with his sister, it served to demonstrate his conflicted thoughts about the situation. According to some of her friends, Angelika and Vince were supposed to get married on that trip, but it didn�
�t happen. Many would later wonder if this could have planted a seed of resentment toward Vince in Angelika’s heart.

  Angelika had maintained her friendship with Sorluna de Butterfly after her breakup with Mike Colvin, and Sorluna met Vince for the first time at River Station Restaurant in Poughkeepsie in February 2015. She could sense that all was not well in their relationship. Vinny seemed uncomfortable and Angelika seemed distracted and distressed.

  Nonetheless, in March the couple vacationed in Manhattan. On Facebook, Vince promised that their next trip would be to visit the Grand Canyon. That was a promise Vince would never be able to keep.

  In early April, Vince texted an old friend, Amanda Hoysradt, about his doubts that the relationship with Angelika was going to last. This was most likely the day that Vince delivered the ultimatum to Angelika: “If you don’t get a job by the end of the month, you’re out of here. And the wedding is off.”

  The next day, however, he texted Amanda with a change of heart: “Oh, well, she must be really afraid of losing me because she wants me to stay home and we’re gonna make up.”

  On April 18, Vince and Angelika went to Shadows on the Hudson with a group of friends. Sheri Parte was working the bar that night, but her boyfriend, Monty, joined the party. Outside on the deck by the water, Vince said, “I want to go kayaking tomorrow.”

  “Are you crazy?” Monty asked him. “Look behind you.” Monty pointed to the choppy Hudson. “You can’t go out in that water. It’s too cold. Don’t even think about it.”

  Angelika had been unusually quiet that evening, barely talking to anyone. Later, when things at Shadows were breaking up, some of their friends wanted to continue the party at a strip club. According to Angelika, Vince wanted to go, too, and have her pick out a girl there for a threesome.

  A fight erupted between the couple when Angelika resisted, insisting she was not interested: “If that’s what you want to do, fine. But you’re going to have to take a cab, because you are too drunk to drive and I’m taking the car to go home.”