`Dangerous darling' stuns Miami

NEW YORK - Until last month, Chris Paciello confidently reigned over a South Beach nightclub regime catering to the see-and-be-seen set.

Madonna, Donald Trump, Jennifer Lopez - all hung out at Paciello's Florida clubs, lounging in black leather booths, sipping Dom Perignon and schmoozing with the beefy, dark-haired owner.

But authorities claim the true picture of Paciello can be found seven years ago in the more mundane setting of Staten Island. It was there that housewife Judith Shemtov was shot in the head - part of what prosecutors say is a violent past that has caught up to Paciello.

On Dec. 1, the Brooklyn native surrendered in Miami on federal murder and robbery charges after he was named in a New York indictment accusing him of being a former member of the "Beach Avenue Crew."

The goon squad, authorities say, provided muscle for the Bonanno crime family, killing a half-dozen people. They claim Paciello, 28, whose legal name is Christian Ludwigsen, was known as "the Binger" for his violent crime binges.

The case could put Paciello in jail for life and destroy his multimillion-dollar enterprises. Friends of the man whom the Miami weekly New Times called South Beach's "dangerous darling" have been stunned by the sudden fall after his mercurial rise.

Gerry Kelly, an ex-Paciello employee and now a competing Miami Beach nightclub owner, was incredulous when told by authorities that his former boss once discussed having him "whacked."

"This is definitely a `Jekyll and Hyde' situation," said Kelly, who recalled Paciello as a kind man. "I never, ever even heard him raise his voice. I thought he was my friend. . . . It's scary as hell."

The South Beach glitterati have rallied behind Paciello, putting up personal property to secure a $15 million bail bond earlier this month. They say their friend is a legitimate entrepreneur who succeeded because of his shy charm.

Paciello's attorney, Roy Black, says his client from Brooklyn's tough Bensonhurst neighborhood is a "young man who's turned his life around." He notes that Paciello - despite growing up among criminals and being arrested several times - never was convicted of a felony.

"Unfortunately, the way our society works is when someone becomes successful . . . they become a target," Black said.

Paciello himself has said of the mob rumors: "It doesn't make me a gangster because I hung out on the corner with people while I was growing up." He says he uses his mother's maiden name, Paciello, because his parents broke up - not to escape his past.

But prosecutors call the portrait a sham, saying Paciello's move to Florida meant only a switch in allegiance to the Colombo crime family. They accuse him of settling scores with assaults and death threats and suspect he also laundered mob money through his clubs.

"It's a character trait of Mr. Ludwigsen to resort to violent activity," said James Walden, an assistant U.S. attorney in Brooklyn.

Authorities allege Paciello first gravitated to the mob on Staten Island in the late 1980s. They say former accomplices have named Paciello as the mastermind of a $300,000 bank robbery by an armed gang in 1992.

On Feb. 18, 1993, the crew struck again, this time ringing the doorbell at the Staten Island home of Shemtov, 46, intending to rob $200,000 supposedly stashed there. A gunman killed her, the robbers fled empty handed, and Paciello allegedly drove the getaway car.

Paciello then re-invented himself in South Beach, opening a club called Risk in 1994. It was destroyed by a fire that authorities suspect was set, providing the insurance money to start his trendy dance spot Liquid.

Teaming with Ingrid Casares - daughter of a rich Cuban family and a close friend of Madonna - Paciello also opened the celebrity hangout Bar Room and a restaurant, Joia. As his profile rose, so did stories linking him romantically to the likes of Niki Taylor and Daisy Fuentes.

But authorities say Paciello had another acquaintance - an undercover agent posing as a corrupt narcotics officer whose secret recordings of phone calls provide evidence that Paciello is a career thug.

"We got to get him beat up," Paciello allegedly said of Kelly. "I got to get him whacked." Later, he warned that he would have to "come out of retirement. I've become a big (sissy) down here. A big sucker."

Defense attorneys complain the recorded conversations were taken out of context and deny their client has mob ties.

"It's unfair to suggest that Chris Ludwigsen was plotting to kill anybody, because that's nonsense," attorney Howard Srebnick said.

Paciello is expected to be released from a Brooklyn jail this month but will remain under house arrest at a relative's home in New York.

Meanwhile, the party goes on at his South Beach night spots. Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow were spotted dancing on the tabletops of his Bar Room at 4 a.m. New Year's Day.