Chris Paciello

Chris Paciello (born Christian Ludwigsen, September 7, 1971, Brooklyn, New York) is a former Cosa Nostra associate, member of The Untouchables car-theft ring, and government informant who was convicted of murder. During the 1990s, and again in 2012, he became a prominent night club owner in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Florida.

Biography

Background

Paciello was born Christian Ludwigsen in 1971 in Borough Park, Brooklyn and spent his childhood there. His father was a heroin addict and a small time criminal who was arrested for burglary, auto theft, and drug charges in the 1980s. By age 15, Paciello was himself stealing car radios, and then cars.

When he was 16, his mother left the family and Paciello moved to Staten Island. Three years later, Paciello left home and changed his last name from Ludwigsen to Paciello, which is his mother's maiden name. His elder brother, George Ludwigsen, was convicted of bank robberies in Hallandale, Florida and Gulfport, Mississippi in the 1990s.