Murder at Rocky Point Park:: Tragedy in Rhode Island's Summer Paradise

by Kelly Sullivan Pezza

  Then came the hurricane and, with it, stark reality for those now faced with the seemingly never-ending task of putting Rocky Point back together. But Ferla took on the job, cleaning the mess, repairing the damage and rebuilding the dinner hall. This time, the hall was constructed directly across from where it had stood before, farther away from the water and made of steel and cement to withstand heavy winds. At a cost of over a quarter of a million dollars, the new structure was over three hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide and able to seat almost four thousand guests. Situated on a solid ledge foundation, its floor was raised twenty feet higher than that of the previous hall, to protect it from potential tidal waves. It was alleged that the new building could safely withstand winds up to two hundred miles per hour.

  Efforts to return the park to its former status were in full force. Engagements were sought, exhibitions planned and events staged with gusto. In the summer of 1955, a call went out for all Rhode Island female co-eds between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four to enter the state’s annual College Queen Beauty Contest. Information was available at Rocky Point’s administration building, and the pageant would be held there at the park on August 25. The winner would go on to the national competition to be held at Ashbury Park, New Jersey, on September 9 and take a chance at winning $5,000 in prizes and scholarships, including an all-expenses-paid tour of Europe.

  Time went on with the future unknown. In June 1959, the park’s fortuneteller, Madam Tina, discovered that some thieving patron had stolen her crystal ball. The newspapers of the time joked that she probably didn’t foresee the event.

  The Shore Dinner Hall opened for business at noon, serving its famous chowder, clam cakes, watermelon and more until eight o’clock at night. The hall was carefully overseen by a host of waiters. In 1961, the all-you-can-eat chowder and clam cakes cost $1.10 for adults and $0.55 cents for children under the age of twelve.

  Advertisements announcing “one hundred acres of fun” reached their intended audience. Rocky Point devotees returned to their beloved park, bringing new generations of thrill-seekers with them. The dimming light occasionally hinted at a new spark.

  There were, however, bumps in the road. The park found its bingo license revoked in June 1961, when the Rhode Island Board of Public Safety decided to crack down on those who refused to follow the laws concerning a $700 limit on prizes. Rocky Point had been featuring games sponsored by a variety of different organizations, and it was discovered the park had given out twice the prize limit allowed. Park authorities argued that there was no way the games would maintain their popularity on a prize limit of $700. The Palladium, which could hold five thousand patrons, maintained its own license for holding bingo. Because the rules were followed within that building, their games, which were held three times a week, were allowed to go on.

  Many organizations continued to use the park as the site for reunions, celebrations and recreation. One day that September, the grounds were reserved exclusively for the Palestine Temple Shriners, an ancient Arabic order.

  With the addition of the Windjammer in 1966, famous bands and vocalists came to put on performances that drew an even greater number of visitors to Rocky Point. Band leader and violinist Guy Lombardo, bestselling female artist of the decade Patti Page and Frankie Lane of “Mule Train” fame were just a few of the big stars who traveled to Rhode Island to appear on the Rocky Point stage.

  Still, the unexpected continued to occur. The park’s Labor Day tradition was ruined that year when, at the beginning of August, vandals came into the park and torched the pile of debris that had been saved up for a bonfire.

  Moving further into the twentieth century, the seaside resort had succeeded in regaining its reputation as the most tantalizing and titillating recreation destination in New England. The dinner hall, now the largest in the world, began filling to its capacity once more as visitors enjoyed the traditional fare along with baked sausage, broiled lobster and Indian pudding. So popular were the clam cakes and chowder that visitors begged in earnest for the recipe, which was kept a strict secret. John Balbina was among the new cooks at the park who worked hard at serving up edible perfection.

  However, not everyone to visit Rocky Point gained the experience of a perfect outing. The gigantic swimming pool, which had been a major attraction since its construction in the 1930s, glistened with clear, cool salt water that was filtered in from the sea, and it was regularly crowded with folks of all ages, dipping in to cool off or projecting themselves from the diving boards that stood high above the pool. A terrible accident occurred in July 1967 when twenty-four-year-old Dale Kitchings of New York City was drowned on a Sunday afternoon after diving from one of the boards. He had been a member of the Play and Save Social Club, which had traveled to the park aboard seven busses to enjoy the day.

  History continued to be made when famed classical composer Ron Nelson vacationed at the park that summer. He had been commissioned by Frank Bencriscutto to write a musical piece for an upcoming tour of Russia. Inspired by his seaside surroundings, Nelson composed a piece that he titled “Rocky Point Holiday.”

  In March 1969, Ferla sold Rocky Point to Budco Associates of New York. Later that year, New York resident Alvin H. Cohen purchased the park for $1.2 million, a far cry from the $1,200 sea captain William Winslow had paid for the property back in the previous century when it was merely a picturesque plot of land.

  Cohen ended an annual tradition in 1970 that brought sadness to some but respect and gratitude from the chief of the Division of Air Pollution. The chief had previously criticized the annual bonfire that took place on the grounds each Fourth of July. Cohen understood the concern and said he was more than willing to help contribute to cleaner air by ceasing the bonfires at Rocky Point. There would be just one more, he explained, as debris for the event had been stacked up for months, and there was nowhere to dispose of the fifteen-foot-tall pile that covered three-fourths of an acre of parkland.

  The large number of rides and amusements that now filled the resort included the new forty-five-foot-high flume, which carried passengers over a half mile of track; the castle of terror; bumper cars; a mini golf course; kiddy land; and a petting zoo. Over one hundred attractions and rides were available for enjoyment, and $3.00 got one a ticket to ride all day from noon to closing. The saltwater pool opened daily at ten o’clock in the morning, and the all-you-can-eat shore dinners were available for just $1.50 for adults and $0.80 for children. Entrance to the park was $0.50 per person.

  The number of deaths at Rocky Point, unfortunately, continued to rise. In September of that year, an accident occurred that killed a navy Seabee. Thirty-two-year-old Edwin Walker was with the Twenty-first Naval Construction Regiment and living in Davisville, Rhode Island. After serving two terms in Vietnam, he was working part time as a maintenance man at the park. While repairing a cable guard pulley on the Skyliner, he stood on the large wheel that pulled the cable. Somehow, the ride started up, and he was pulled between the wheel and the base of the ride.

  Rocky Point Park was a playground for adults and children alike. Vintage postcard, courtesy Jules Antiques & General Store.

  The park’s boathouses and bathhouses dotted the shore along with the Ladies’ Reception Room, the public water fountain, the flying horses, the bowling alley and the icehouse big enough to hold one thousand tons of ice. The resort continued to grow and prosper. Its life had been threatened and nearly ended on numerous occasions. But it had always been saved, resuscitated and returned to the people, bigger and better than it had been before. Eventually, Rocky Point gained its place in history as the second-oldest American amusement park in existence. A new mascot, in the form of a pirate, began to appear on the grounds. “Captain Rocky” entertained children and invited them to join his fan club. This dramatically costumed role was played for many years by Francis Szklany of Westerly.

  In May 1977, Ronald Reagan arrived at Rocky Point on a political mission, speaking to a crowd of over four hundred
people at a $100-per-plate fundraiser, and in August, visitors to the park enjoyed a nail-biting performance by Rietta Wallenda, whose family of aerialists was well known as the Flying Wallendas. Balancing on a tightrope 50 feet in the air without a net, the sixteen-year-old girl performed with three other family members at the park. Her famous grandfather Karl had been killed during a circus performance just a few months earlier in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when a strong gust of wind interfered with his balance; he fell 120 feet to his death.

  In 1963, two family members had been killed and three others seriously injured during a performance at a Detroit fair. While showing off their famous seven-member pyramid, the high wire snapped and the pyramid collapsed, sending them all falling to the ground. Karl’s forty-three-year-old sister-in-law was one of the two who were killed, and Rietta’s uncle Mario was permanently paralyzed from the waist down with no chance of ever walking again. Later that same year, Yetta Wallenda, who was in her forties, fell to her death while performing at a circus in Omaha, Nebraska. Another family member also fell from the high wire and was killed during a circus performance in Wheeling, West Virginia.

  On Thanksgiving Day 1980, a fire destroyed a row of game and concession stands located in the midway. The following year, two park employees were arrested on federal charges and served indictments handed down by a grand jury that charged them with setting the fire and thereby damaging property—which affected interstate commerce by the use of an explosive—as well as conspiracy. Police and fire investigators believed that the stands had been saturated with a flammable liquid before being set on fire. The two men pleaded innocent to the charges. Later, a trial resulted in one of the maintenance men being convicted of arson.

  A 1980s map of Rocky Point Park, providing a guided tour of the grounds. Author’s collection.

  The year 1982 saw the construction of a new roller coaster, the Corkscrew, purchased for the park at a cost of $2 million. The ride was designed by Arrow Dynamics and provided a dramatic sixty-four-foot drop to those brave enough to climb aboard.

  The arrival of the Cyclone, another new roller coaster designed by Arrow, came in 1983. The ride contained three vertical drops and two corkscrew loops, reaching speeds of over fifty miles per hour.

  The Freefall, which was not for the faint of heart, was erected on the grounds in 1988, allowing riders the stomach-dropping sensation of quickly descending from a height of twelve and a half stories at fifty-five miles per hour. The ride had initially stood at another amusement park but lost its attraction when four teenagers were injured while riding it, even after new safety features were installed. This would be the last ride ever introduced at Rocky Point Park.

  That same decade, it was decided that the Olympic-sized saltwater pool was simply too costly for the owners to keep in operation. The popular attraction that had been the scene of so much laughter and summertime fun was closed down and filled in.

  By 1993, quite a bit had changed. The park was under new ownership and, like most things in life, didn’t operate on pennies and dimes anymore. Admission to the grounds, no longer free of charge, required a payment of $2.95 per person. Admission with a ride-all-day ticket was priced at $13.95 for adults and children standing over four and a half feet tall. Those falling under that height paid just $8.95 cents.

  The park opened at eleven o’clock in the morning, with the twenty-one rides and ten kiddy rides opening for business at noontime. Little did anyone know that the life support that had always managed to pull the park out of whatever dying state it fell into wouldn’t be there to save it the next time disaster presented itself.

  14

  A FINAL END

  In 2001, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island heard the case of Acropolis Enterprises Incorporated versus C.R. Amusements (also known as Rocky Point Amusement Park), James Callahan, Henry Vara, Rita Dimento and Francis Dimento. As the result of a dispute between shareholders, Acropolis had filed a complaint concerning determination of the extent, amount and priority of its lien against the debtor’s assets, which secured a loan of $8,339,518.

  During the 1980s, Rocky Point Park had been owned by Captain Rocky Incorporated, Rocky Point Amusements, Kiddy Park Incorporated and other entities. Their operations were financed by the Bank of New England. When the bank began to experience financial difficulties, it called in its note. Captain Rocky and its affiliates needed to quickly secure other financing and, in September 1991, began a lending relationship with Fairway Capital Corporation. Fairway loaned Captain Rocky $5,395,000 at 15.5 percent interest per year, to be made in payments over the course of twenty years but with a balloon payment due in five years. Under the agreement, Captain Rocky was required to pay interest of approximately $900,000 per year. To be able to do that, the park would have to escrow $50,000 per week during its open season. This obligation was personally guaranteed by Callahan, Vara and the Dimentos.

  In 1994, the defendants defaulted on the loan, and Moneta Capital Corporation was placed into receivership. The loan was assigned to Participation Services Corporation, created by Arnold Kilberg to service the loan. Threatened with foreclosure, Captain Rocky and its associates filed for bankruptcy. Callahan, Vara and the Dimentos owned 100 percent of the shares of Captain Rocky. Captain Rocky also owned 100 percent of the shares of the affiliated companies. Callahan reported that the goal was to emerge free of personal guarantees on the Fairway loan, retain some equity interest in the park and eliminate personal liability on unpaid sales and payroll tax obligations.

  The following year, attempts to secure food and game concessionaries for the park were unsuccessful. At that time, an agreement was made between Captain Rocky, Moneta Capital and Kilberg, who was the investment advisor for both Moneta and Fairway. Under the agreement, a reorganization plan was put into place that declared that Moneta would acquire the Fairway loan and that all unpaid interest, legal fees and late charges due under the original loan would be capitalized and added to the Moneta loan. In addition, the Moneta loan would be fully due in five years, and a new limited liability company would be created in which to transfer all Rocky Point assets—free of all liens except the Moneta mortgage—prior liens of record and the property tax lien. It was also agreed that Moneta would own 51 percent of the common membership interest of the new company, with Callahan, Vara and the Dimentos owning 49 percent.

  Moneta was to receive a $1.5 million nonvoting-preferred-membership interest in the new company, and while Callahan, Vara and the Dimentos’ personal guarantees would be released, they would remain jointly and severally liable to the new company for any payroll and sales tax liabilities paid by the new company on behalf of the former company.

  In October of that year, the reorganization plan was accepted by the bankruptcy court in Worcester, and all the assets of Rocky Point were transferred to C.R. Amusements, which was to begin locating food, game and ride concessionaries who were willing to pay at least 20 percent of their gross revenues to C.R. Amusements.

  Callahan, who had failed in this effort before, led the search. He, Vara and the Dimetos would later claim that Kilberg and Moneta made the task difficult by refusing to cooperate and by refusing to give them consent for certain concessionaires to be contracted. They stated that they believed Moneta never really intended to see the park in operation but secretly planned to eventually develop a large residential waterfront community on the property. Moneta’s scheme, they charged, was to financially cripple C.R. Amusements so that it would be forced to default on its loan, allowing Moneta to acquire the property at foreclosure. It would then be able to develop the property and retain all financial gains for itself. Moneta’s actions, as a 51 percent shareholder of C.R. Amusements, they claimed, was a breach of fiduciary duty.

  When Callahan’s efforts to secure concessionaries failed, C.R. Amusements was left with very little money from operations. In the winter of 1996, it was decided to sell the park’s rides and equipment the following spring. Callahan, Vara and the Dimentos al
leged that they had no involvement in the decision to sell the rides and that the sale was a unilateral, preplanned move by Moneta to dispose of the rides rather than operate the park so that it could develop the land instead. They further charged that Moneta insisted that, from the proceeds of the sale, $1.5 million would be paid to redeem its nonvoting preferred membership interest, five years earlier than agreed on.

  The operating agreement, however, stated that Moneta had the authority to sell the rides with or without the consent of the other shareholders. It also stated that the business affairs of the company would be managed exclusively by Moneta’s board of managers and that it would direct and control company business to the best of its ability. In addition, the agreement stated that Moneta had complete and full authority, power and discretion to make any and all decisions and to do any and all things that the board of managers deemed necessary to accomplish the business objectives.

  A letter of agreement, dated January 2, 1996, was produced in which both parties had agreed to a liquidation of C.R. Amusement’s assets and a payment of $1.5 million to Moneta from the proceeds of the sale. On January 30, 1996, C.R. Amusements contracted with Norton Auctioneers to schedule an auction at the park. All rides and equipment were to be sold on April 16 and 17 of that year.

  Auction day was a day of despair not only for the park owners but also for all Rhode Islanders. For ten dollars, a color brochure of everything on the auction block could be had. Every ride, amusement, table and chair was sold before the deserted park’s gates were locked. With the wind slicing the air and cold rain spitting down from the clouds, it was with great sadness that the crowd watched decades’ worth of memories be cleared away. The Freefall, which had provided thousands with the scare of a lifetime, fetched $500,000 and found a new home in Ohio. The log flume was actually resold later in the day to the second-highest bidder and shipped to the Philippines. The Cyclone went to Canada. The famous Corkscrew found itself a new owner in Seattle, Washington, for the hefty price of $805,000. Immovable structures such as game stands and ride shelters were later razed or left to simply collapse.