Monday, December 5, 2022

The Tenerelli Files

The Sportsman Motel

 Back in 2019 I received a cache of documents from a relative of Filippo Tenerelli. I was asked to look at the material and see if it would sway my opinion as to whether or not Filippo was murdered.  I did not believe that Filippo was murdered even after reading the documents. I let the conversation drop because I did not want to argue the point with the Tenerelli family. I'm sure it must be very difficult for a family to come to terms with the idea that a member of their family took their own life, particularly a religious family that was taught that a person who commits suicide cannot be buried in consecrated ground. 

In 2007 Paul Dostie and his cadaver sniffing dog Buster led a team of other cadaver dogs and their handlers on a search of Barker Ranch for possible bodies buried by members of the Manson Family. White Rabbitt was the informant who claimed that bodies were buried at Barker. As we know, there were no bodies found even though the dogs did pick up the scent of remains.

This search seems to have kicked off a re-investigation of Tenerelli's death in 2008. Tom O'Neill appears to have been the catalyst for this investigation by virtue of having requested any and all documents and materials related to the initial investigation beginning in 2007. The documents had to be retrieved from storage so they gave it another look-see. In the end the Bishop Police Department did not believe that Tenerelli was murdered and that his death was the result of suicide.

The Tenerelli family was not informed of this re-investigation, not by the Bishop Police Department nor by Tom O'Neill. They learned of it eight years later. In 2016 the Tenerelli family member made a request to the Bishop Police Department for any and all documents and materials related to Tenerelli's death as well as any communications that Tom O'Neill had with the department. There is a complete list of everything requested by the Tenerelli family member at the beginning of the first pdf.

I dislike redacting anything from the documents I provide but, in this instance, I felt it prudent to redact the Tenerelli family member's name and address as well as Tom O'Neill's phone number and address. I did not redact his name, he's a public figure at this point whereas the Tenerelli family is not.

There are a couple of reports that are nearly impossible to read in the first two pdf's. One report begins on page 15 and continues to page 18. The second report is on pages 30 and 31. Copies of both of these reports were in the material I recently obtained and they are easier to read than what is in these pdf's so I'm attaching a seventh pdf with just those reports.

pdf pages 1-25







14 comments:

ColScott said...

Amazing work again DEB. Another testament to Tom O'Neill's INABILITY TO PROCESS information. The hours of law enforcement time wasted on a sad suicide. The pain cause to this family and so many families. Tom has no shame. And being in concert with Debra Tate, the most see centered player in the entire story says so so much. Wow

starviego said...

Thanks, Deb, once again.

excerps:

pg116
"Sept 29, 1969 -- Tenerelli know(s) DD(Danny DeCarlo/Springer through welding, biking, Culver City and Italian community connections?"

pg116
"Sept 29, '69 --PT(Phil Tenerelli) plan for trip with brother Frank falls apart after Fillipo and Frank have a fight."
handwritten note: " "Rocco" knows what fight was about. Possible criminal activity basis for fight."

pg129
"1969-Pre-Sept 29 DeCarlo seen in Death Valley with Tenerelli before death."

pg129
"[Tenerelli Family interviews-May 2007] H(e) was supposed to go to Las Vegas with his younger brother for the weekend but the brothers fought about something and Felippo went alone."

pg130
"NOTE[LASO Reports] He was seen by police with Manson Family member Danny DeCarlo."

pg130
"Wed Oct 1, 1969 Tenerelli, DD and others speak to Cop? .... Tenerelli FIRed with DD, possibly Oct 1 .... Cop thinks it was DD with Tenerelli, ID's DD from photo shown him."

pg134
"Debra Tate .... said she was told there was a drug link between Tenerelli and the Manson Family."

pg140
handwritten: "Couple of days prior, Manson Family found in Tenerelli's car, pulled over (CHP Report)"

pdf pages 1-6, pg2of6 Pick-ax & handle(described as 'Boss/Mattox' type), found at bottom of Crowley Pt., was purchased by Nancy Pitman on 9-9-69 in Tarzana, using stolen credit card.


Maybe it was a suicide, but damn, it sure sounds like Tenerelli and the Mansonoids knew each other, at least.

ColScott said...

Yes I knew Bobby Beausoleil for three years very well. Do you have a point?


Joel Pugh actually knew Sandy and several or the girl members. Do you have a point?

starviego said...

The point is that the closer we can place Tenerelli to the Mansonoids, the more likely it was murder, not suicide.

ColScott said...

that's not logical though that's just your hopes and dreams. Don't be White Rabbit

orwhut said...

Is White Rabbit still in the land of the living? It's been a while since I've seen any current information about him.

Gorodish said...

starviego typed:

pdf pages 1-6, pg2of6 Pick-ax & handle(described as 'Boss/Mattox' type), found at bottom of Crowley Pt., was purchased by Nancy Pitman on 9-9-69 in Tarzana, using stolen credit card.

Except it doesn't say "was purchased by Nancy Pitman", does it? It does say "Possibly matches the description of the one purchased by a female hippie suspect (Pitman) using the stolen credit card". Pickaxes are very common tools around desert areas.

pg116
"Sept 29, 1969 -- Tenerelli know(s) DD(Danny DeCarlo/Springer through welding, biking, Culver City and Italian community connections?"

pg130
"Wed Oct 1, 1969 Tenerelli, DD and others speak to Cop?


See those question marks at the end of both entries? The cop is asking rhetorically, not stating fact.

I seriously doubt DeCarlo was in the desert at that time. I believe he was there in late August/early September....but Sherry Cooper had fled Barker with Babs Hoyt in mid-September, so why would Danny go back there? All this stuff is conjecture by LE. The author of the report, CHP officer Hailey, states at the end: "I realize I am grasping way out there for straws....."

Doug said...

I was just going to comment on what a complete idiot White Rabbit is...

Doug said...

Totally.

Doug said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
starviego said...

Gorodish said...

Pickaxes are very common tools around desert areas.


But they are NOT a very common item that people headed to Vegas pack in their luggage.

Doug said...

Great work Deb! I did have a laugh when I saw our "old friends" Frank and Karen cc'd on one of the emails...the one where the author asks to be anonymous.

Love getting the opportunity to read over these documents.

Cheers

Bharris said...

Yeah maybe that would be true in any other case but when it comes to these people, this particular case and people- there's always just stuff that's completely fabricated and made up and people on the outside who insert themselves and lie about everything and everyone (like white rabbit) and are obsessed with anyone even remotely connected with the Manson Family in order to try to make their wild conspiracy theory work (like Tom O Niell)

Debra Tate "says" there's a "drug link".. Yeah ok, Debra has also lied about a million things.

After a million websites and posts have been made trying to connect every single murder in the world in the timeframe of 1967-69 to the Manson family, all of a sudden this guy and DD were best friends who knew each other from....welding?- no wait it's actually Culver City..no wait- it was actually through the The Italian community- yet NO ONE who actually knew either Filippo OR Danny DeCarlo seem to actually be able to place them together, say how they supposedly knew each other, explain a drug link and why that would've got the victim killed and what the Manson family has to do with that. But let me guess, there's probably a comment somewhere that brings up "the mob" and saying that Filippo, DeCarlo and Manson were all selling drugs together for the job and then THAT connects to the FBI and then THAT connects Manson to the CIA and blah blah blah whatever other dumb shit Tom O Niell makes up to try to make his conspiracy theory seem less like the ramblings of an idiot who needs to take a break from this stuff and seem like it's actually possible . people believe the biggest bullshit in this case..even when there's a plethora of proof contradicting whatever lie is made up and still will believe the conspiracy because it's more exciting. If the "Mansonoids" were involved in every murder, every case, every person, every crime that I've seen and heard over the years...itd be a wonder they were even able to find time to eat.

Its probably good there's still "questions" about this case and Manson, a lack of records, pictures, video and a whole cast of characters and bunch of liars because I think if people knew" the truth" and "real motive" they'd just completely fall apart because I would bet my life that it's in NO way as exciting as they want to believe and wish it was. Which is exactly why Manson never would directly answer questions because he knew people would lose interest in they knew it was just another boring run of the mill murder and there's no CIA connections, no vast conspiracy, no FBI protection, no undercover agents listening in a van outside the murder, no big violent multi million dollar drug ring that a guy who couldn't even speak English fluently was running with Manson etc.

starviego said...


Bharris said..
NO ONE who actually knew either Filippo OR Danny DeCarlo seem to actually be able to place them together, say how they supposedly knew each other...

Or maybe evidence that they DID know each was simply covered up, or was never investigated in the first place.