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Club Kid Michael Alig to be released from prison

Trey Barrineau
USA TODAY
Michael Alig, right, who pled guilty in the death of  a fellow "club kid," will be released from prison on May 5.

Michael Alig, the notorious king of New York City's Club Kids in the late 1980s who's been locked up for first-degree manslaughter since 1997, gets out of prison on May 5.

The Hollywood Reporter and Black Book report that Alig, 47, will be freed on May 5. The New York State Department of Corrections website shows that Alig has a conditional release date of May 5 from the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, N.Y.

Alig is imprisoned for the drug-related killing and dismemberment of Andre "Angel" Melendez in 1996. Alig and an accomplice, Robert Riggs, pleaded guilty to the crime and were sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison.

Macaulay Culkin starred as Alig in the 2003 film Party Monster. It details the real-life story of the Club Kids, who grabbed national headlines two decades ago for their outrageous Manhattan dance parties that showcased sex, rampant drug use and over-the-top costumes. The movie also portrays the chaotic events leading up to Melendez's killing. Wilson Cruz (My So-Called Life) played Melendez in the film.

Here's a vintage Phil Donahue Show segment about the Club Kids from 1993:

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