| What
he does and why? In addition to being one of the biggest purveyors
of ecstasy in Southern California, Damon Maldonado is also a nightclub owner
and restaurateur, who owns a club in West-Hollywood called Out, an upscale
restaurant in Beverly Hills that he doesn’t spend much time at, and
a downtown L.A. nightclub that features live music. Damon came to the U.S.
in 1980 from Cuba, along with more than 100,000 other “refugees.”
Tall for his age, Damon was parking cars for a living at only 15, and started
stealing them soon after. A natural charmer, Damon had caught the eye of
Griselda Castro, otherwise known as the "La Colombiana", and before
long, he was in the cocaine business, and he did very well. Before long
he was opening up his first nightclub in New York at twenty-one. After things
had gotten hot in New York, and La Colombiana’s empire had crumbled,
Damon relocated to Los Angeles at 35 and opened up gay club that made money.
Soon after, he opened a few other clubs and ended up meeting Rafi, and before
you knew it, Damon was in the ecstasy business. |
| What
are his goals? Damon Maldonado deals with a lot of moneyed people
from the fashion industry, as he has a sincere interest in fashion, and
dreams of having his own designer label someday. He’s sponsored a
few local designers with production and finance, but nothing that’s
taken off as of yet. Although he can be scary and ruthless at times, Damon
Maldonado knows how to network and is a genius when it comes to showing
other people a good time. He knows how to put on a good face in front of
others. But not only does he dream of having his own designer label, but
he's become enamored with the hotel business after an extended vacation
in Japan. |
