Post #499511 by abstractiki on Wed, Dec 16, 2009 9:27 PM

Ok back at it, the trail went cold and with no where else to turn I called a PI friend of mine. I asked him to see what he could dig up on Elves Marengo and Pete Massei.

He sent back a letter telling me that Marengo had passed away on 12/20/01 and Massei on 11/01/2000. It also had Marengo's last known address and a phone number for Massei.

Today I went to the address for Marengo and talked a lady living there. She confirmed that Marengo had lived there in the past and that she had bought the home from the Marengo's but didn't have any other info i was looking for.

I tried the house next door and talked to an older couple who had lived there since 1967. They remembered Marengo and the Reef. They even rembered Tahiti Iti's and they liked both places. They said Marengo was a nice man and that he had died in a boating accident. They gave me the phone number for his son Mori and I called him up a short time later.

Mori remembered the Reef as a small child but didn't have any pictures or other info. He said he has a younger brother but didn't think he had any info either.

Next I called the phone number for Massei and it turned out to be his nephewes number. He said that he had heard of the place and thought that his uncle was only involved in it for a few years before opening another restaurant in Lodi. He said his father and uncle had passed away several years ago and didnt have any other information other than that.

I only have one lead left at the moment. The older couple that lived next door to Marengo told me the name of a lady that worked as a waitress at the Reef. Ill see if i can track her down.