Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of death and suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
Late talent manager Lou Pearlman’s friend and employee Frankie Vazquez Jr’s death is one of many subjects in Netflix’s Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam documentary. The three-part limited series premiered on the streaming service on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. It looks into the financial crimes of the disgraced manager and features exclusive interviews with several artists he managed back in the day. These include Backstreet Boys singers AJ McLean and Howie Dorough, *NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick, and O-Town’s Erik-Michael Estrada, among other artists.
The since-deceased Lou Pearlman was the brains behind several popular boy bands and girl groups in the 1990s and early 2000s. He managed the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and O-Town and maintained a larger influence on the bands until his crime surfaced. Pearlman, ultimately exposed as a conman, had been defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Artists filed lawsuits against him, and his crimes caught up with him, landing him in prison in 2008.
Netflix’s Dirty Pop explores one such angle surrounding Lou Pearlman’s friend Frankie Vazquez Jr’s death. Reportedly, Frankie died by suicide in 2006, and Pearlman’s friends hold him responsible for their colleague’s death.
Dirty Pop: Who was Lou Pearlman’s friend Frankie Vazquez Jr & how did he die?
According to WFXG, Lou Pearlman’s friends claim they hold him responsible for Frankie Vazquez Jr’s death. Frankie was Pearlman’s friend and the Vice President of Operations in his company, Trans Continental Airlines. Tampa Bay Times reported that Frankie Vazquez died by suicide in November 2006, and his cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning. Frankie reportedly sat in his Porsche in his closed garage.
Pearlman’s childhood friend, Marc Piacenza, appeared in Netflix’s Dirty Pop documentary, claiming he holds the fraudster “responsible.” Piacenza said, “Yes, I hold Lou responsible for Frankie’s death.” He further noted that Pearlman “Didn’t close the garage door” for Frankie Vazquez and “Didn’t write the note. But he might as well have.”
HuffPost stated that people close to Lou Pearlman and Frankie Vazquez Jr believe the latter became a victim of Pearlman’s Ponzi schemes. Frankie’s mother had allegedly invested her life savings in Pearlman’s businesses, which she suspects was the reason for his struggles.
According to The Cinemaholic, Frankie Vazquez Jr’s death from carbon monoxide poisoning occurred on November 12, 2006. He died by suicide in the garage of his home in Orlando, Florida, home. One of his neighbors called authorities after seeing smoke coming out of his garage. First responders then found Vazquez in his running white 1987 Porsche.
Netflix’s Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam documentary on the crimes of Lou Pearlman in now streaming on the platform.
