Sam John Passarella was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1945. Sam's family moved to Lawrence County, Tennessee, while he was still a young teenager, and the boy who was now known as "Fat Sam" found what amounted to local fame performing with his band at civic events and sock hops.
After high school, Sam moved to Nashville looking for work as a backup musician or even as the leader of his own band. For whatever reason, fame eluded Fat Sam who alternated his time between Nashville and Lawrenceburg.
By the 1980s, Sam had fallen in with the wrong crowd. The year 1982 proved eventful for Fat Sam, but for all the wrong reasons. Along with James Howard Turner and Earl Carroll, Sam purchased some bogus silver from a Nashville businessman, Monte Hudson. From court documents:
"When they learned that the silver was not genuine, they abducted Mr. Hudson and his wife at gunpoint from the parking lot of a Nashville motel. Mr. Turner forced Mrs. Hudson into his car, and Messrs. Passarella and Carroll took Mr. Hudson away in another car. Mr. Turner released Mrs. Hudson the next day. Mr. Turner and Mr. Passarella were indicted for two counts of kidnapping and their trials were severed. Mr. Carroll accepted a sentence of two years for kidnapping in exchange for his testimony against Mr. Passarella, who was convicted and received a sentence of seventy years imprisonment. Prior to Mr. Turner's trial, Mr. Hudson's corpse was discovered, and the facts indicated that he was killed by Mr. Passarella."
"Sam John Passarella was no angel. The Brooklyn, NY, native arrived in Nashville in the 1960s to make it big in the music industry. Instead he made it big in crime.
Passarella, 69, spent 30 odd years in a Tennessee prison on charges related to drugs, forgery, kidnapping, and murder. During his stay, the Los Angeles Times reported on his gardening accomplishments. He was released in 2013 and removed to Lawrenceburg where he had family, joining the local music scene. Last October, his band played the Oktoberfest in Loretto.
On May 19th, a relative found Sam John Passarella murdered near his home on the Florence Road. Police are saying little but are asking for the public’s help. Someone knows something; in the mean time Passarella’s family is grieving a man they spent too little time with."
"On February 5th, 2016 Detectives with the Lawrenceburg Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agents arrested a subject responsible for the Murder of Sam John Passarella that occurred in Lawrenceburg, TN on May 19, 2015.
Detectives have worked extensively during the joint investigation and have discovered evidence linking Crystal Gregoire (35) of Lawrenceburg to the crime.
On February 5, 2016 a special session of the Lawrence County Grand Jury met and reviewed evidence in the case before handing down Indictments against Gregoire for 1st Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault, Tampering with Evidence and Theft. Gregoire is being held in the Giles County Jail."
Gregoire's trial was in April 2017, more than a year after her arrest. From Lawrenceburg Now:
"After hearing testimony throughout the week, jurors returned a guilty verdict against thirty-seven-year-old Crystal Gregoire in the death of Sam John Passarella, age 69.
Passarella’s badly beaten body was found inside of his Crockett Senior Housing apartment on Old Florence Road on May 19, 2015. He was lying across his bed with a bread knife in his right hand and had sustained numerous blows to the face, head, neck and torso from a claw hammer before being stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife.
Gregoire was indicted on murder, aggravated assault and theft charges on February 5, 2016 after the hammer, knives, Passarella's empty prescription bottles, and other evidence was found buried behind the home where she had resided at the time of his death.
By the 1980s, Sam had fallen in with the wrong crowd. The year 1982 proved eventful for Fat Sam, but for all the wrong reasons. Along with James Howard Turner and Earl Carroll, Sam purchased some bogus silver from a Nashville businessman, Monte Hudson. From court documents:
"When they learned that the silver was not genuine, they abducted Mr. Hudson and his wife at gunpoint from the parking lot of a Nashville motel. Mr. Turner forced Mrs. Hudson into his car, and Messrs. Passarella and Carroll took Mr. Hudson away in another car. Mr. Turner released Mrs. Hudson the next day. Mr. Turner and Mr. Passarella were indicted for two counts of kidnapping and their trials were severed. Mr. Carroll accepted a sentence of two years for kidnapping in exchange for his testimony against Mr. Passarella, who was convicted and received a sentence of seventy years imprisonment. Prior to Mr. Turner's trial, Mr. Hudson's corpse was discovered, and the facts indicated that he was killed by Mr. Passarella."
Fat Sam was incarcerated in the Tennessee State Prison system for almost four decades before he was paroled. From a 2015 Pen-N-Sword article:
Third from Right in Band Libido
Passarella in Trilby with Band Survivor
By the time Sam Passarella was released from prison, he may have been older and wiser, but he still loved his music. He often played with his band Survivor at local benefits and other functions. He moved into a subsidized apartment complex for those over 65 and made new friends...one new friend too many.
The last gig Sam mentioned on social media was at Nana's Pizzeria in Loretto in mid-April 2015. Four weeks later he was found dead in his apartment. While police may have initially thought Sam John Passarella was killed by some of his old Nashville crowd or a friend of Monte Hudson, one by one the suspects were eliminated.
The last gig Sam mentioned on social media was at Nana's Pizzeria in Loretto in mid-April 2015. Four weeks later he was found dead in his apartment. While police may have initially thought Sam John Passarella was killed by some of his old Nashville crowd or a friend of Monte Hudson, one by one the suspects were eliminated.
After almost a year, an arrest was finally made. From a Lawrence County press release:
"On February 5th, 2016 Detectives with the Lawrenceburg Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agents arrested a subject responsible for the Murder of Sam John Passarella that occurred in Lawrenceburg, TN on May 19, 2015.
On February 5, 2016 a special session of the Lawrence County Grand Jury met and reviewed evidence in the case before handing down Indictments against Gregoire for 1st Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault, Tampering with Evidence and Theft. Gregoire is being held in the Giles County Jail."
Gregoire's trial was in April 2017, more than a year after her arrest. From Lawrenceburg Now:
"After hearing testimony throughout the week, jurors returned a guilty verdict against thirty-seven-year-old Crystal Gregoire in the death of Sam John Passarella, age 69.
Passarella’s badly beaten body was found inside of his Crockett Senior Housing apartment on Old Florence Road on May 19, 2015. He was lying across his bed with a bread knife in his right hand and had sustained numerous blows to the face, head, neck and torso from a claw hammer before being stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife.
Gregoire was indicted on murder, aggravated assault and theft charges on February 5, 2016 after the hammer, knives, Passarella's empty prescription bottles, and other evidence was found buried behind the home where she had resided at the time of his death.
Gregoire entered a plea of guilty on the count of aggravated assault. During deliberations jurors found her not guilty on one count of theft, not guilty on one count of felony murder, and guilty as charged on one count of first degree murder.
The first degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence. Attorneys are working on an agreement that will allow a three year sentence on the aggravated assault count to run concurrently with that life sentence."
Sam John Passarella...he never really had a chance to live.
The first degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence. Attorneys are working on an agreement that will allow a three year sentence on the aggravated assault count to run concurrently with that life sentence."
