Dana Giacchetto, Former ‘Stockbroker to the Stars,’ Found Dead at 53

Dana Giacchetto, a former money manager to Hollywood A-list stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck in the 1990s who later pled guilty to securities fraud, was found dead Sunday in his Manhattan apartment. He was 53.

Giacchetto, who was known as “stockbroker to the stars” and was equally famous for his reported penchant for partying into the late hours of the night, was reportedly found by his roommate following a night on the town that, according to the New York Daily News, included “scuffling with security guards” outside the DL nightclub on Delancey Street.

“There was yelling and screaming because they would not let him come back inside,” one witness said, according to the paper.

“He was yelling at security. He tried getting into a fight with them and they had to ‘deal’ with him,” another source told the Daily News.

At 37, Giacchetto had become a trusted money manager among the Hollywood elite, including to Cameron Diaz and Tobey McGuire.

In 2000, Giacchetto was charged with stealing nearly $10 million from big-name clients, including actors Ben Stiller and Matt Damon.

Prosecutors said the former money man embezzled significant sums to fund his investment firm, the Cassandra Group, and bankroll his plush lifestyle.

In 2001, Giacchetto pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

“I have no excuses!” he said during his sentencing, according to the Daily News. “I lived in a world of fantasy, but I am not this one-dimensional mendacious con.”

In February 2014, Giacchetto was charged with two counts of financial fraud in a Manhattan court. He was released on a $150,000 bond.

Giacchetto had overdosed on drugs a week before his death, according to the New York Post. 

“He had been been abusing pills and alcohol. He’d had different stints in the hospital recently,” the Post reported.

Giacchetto reportedly attended the premiere party for the movie Legends of Freestyle. The film’s director, Steve Stanulis, confirmed to the paper that Giacchetto had attended the premiere.

“I am devastated, he was a dear friend,” Stanulis told the Post‘s Page Six.

Giachetto’s roommate reportedly found him lying in bed and foaming at the mouth on Sunday morning. Paramedics could not revive him.

 

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson