Did Johnny Depp Make Former Business Partner Disappear?

Did Johnny Depp Make Former Business Partner Disappear?

Johnny Depp is in the news again, but this time the drama stems from a 14-year-old murder mystery in which Depp may or may not have been involved. Even now, after 14 years of fruitless investigation, there is still no proof as to whether Depp was involved in the disappearance and murder of his former business partner, Anthony Fox. The few facts that are known would seem to implicate Johnny in a scheme and murder plot taken from films such as Black Mass or Donnie Brasco.

Back in the 90s, Anthony Fox owned a nightclub, The Central, conveniently located on Sunset Strip in Hollywood. He partnered with Depp and renamed the club The Viper Room, with plans to promote it as the hippest new spot in town. But as sometimes happens, The Viper Room shortly went downhill, turning into a den of drug dealers and addicts. It was just outside of The Viper Room on Halloween 1993 that River Phoenix, Depp's long-time friend, died from a drug overdose. He had just injected heroin into his arm before leaving the club. Ironically, the death of Phoenix sent Depp spiraling out of control on a drug- and alcohol-fueled binge.

Meanwhile, his former partner was busy filing a lawsuit against him. Fox's lawsuit alleged that Depp arranged to embezzle millions of dollars from The Viper Room and a 2003 preliminary hearing had the judge in hearty agreement with Fox. According to the judge: "Depp … breached his fiduciary duties. The facts establish persistent and pervasive fraud and mismanagement and abuse of authority."

Then Fox, who was scheduled to testify against Depp, as well as four others, suddenly disappeared. Fox's pickup truck and .38-caliber revolver were also missing, suggesting foul play. After 19 days, Fox's truck was found abandoned January 6, 2002, but his body was never recovered. Shortly thereafter, Depp settled out of court in a quiet arrangement with Fox's daughter, Amanda.

"I believe if Tony hadn't filed the suit, he would be here today," says music producer and longtime acquaintance Donna Lynn. "The timing is so suspicious. Tony was about to win that lawsuit, but before he got his day in court, he vanished. There are many questions – and no answers."

The investigation is still ongoing, as far as Anthony Fox’s disappearance, but the entire saga seems reminiscent of any number of mobster movies. Many involved in the case may be asking themselves what Johnny Depp might have done to avoid prison and the loss of a promising Hollywood career.

But there's another side to this story. There's really no evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, linking Depp to the fate of his former Viper Room business partner. Also, as indicated earlier, Depp wasn't the only person implicated in the original fraud charges. Fox was set to testify against four other people, so, while he may have been the victim of foul play, it doesn't necessarily follow that Depp had anything to do with his disappearance.

A representative of Ventura Police Department’' Major Crimes Division insists this is still an open endangered missing person's case, but it seems unlikely that anything new will be discovered after 15 years. If Depp is guilty of Anthony Fox's presumed death, it seems very possible that, in this instance, Johnny got away with murder.