Alex Lifeson: Mean Drunk

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Rush Guitarist Arrested in Florida
Fri Jan 2, 3:06 PM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters to My Yahoo!

MIAMI (Reuters) - The lead guitarist for the Canadian rock band Rush pushed a sheriff's deputy down a staircase during a New Year's Eve scuffle with police at a hotel in Florida, authorities said on Friday.

Alex Zivojinovich, who uses the stage name Alex Lifeson, was arrested on six charges including aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and disorderly intoxication.

Police said they had to use a stun gun to subdue Zivojinovich, 50, and his son Justin, at a New Year's party at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Naples.

Justin Zivojinovich, 33, and his wife, Michelle, 30, were also arrested. All three are Canadian citizens.

The trouble started shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve when Justin Zivojinovich got onto the hotel's stage, interfering with the house band with the intent of singing his wife a song, according to reports filed by the Collier County Sheriff's Office.

Father and son struggled with sheriff's deputies who were called by hotel security to handle the disturbance and the elder Zivojinovich pushed a deputy down the stairs in a hotel stairwell as she grappled with him, the reports say.

"He was screaming obscenities and extremely violent," one report said of the Rush guitarist.

Officers used a Taser stun gun to subdue Alex Zivojinovich before and after he spat in the face of a deputy, the reports said.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Apparently there are tons of conflicting reports on how this one actually went down, and the police reports are beginning to look not-so-trustworthy. The guy was fucking covered in blood in the photo that was front page on The Star today, I don't see a shirt being turned red like that out of self-defence. And he's typically a real mild-mannered guy, not one of the most flamboyant rock stars. We'll have to see what happens.
TC wrote:as soon as baseball stops being homosexual, i will.

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A follow-up:
Rush guitarist released after New Year's arrest
By JOHN HENDERSON
January 3, 2004

The lead guitarist for the rock group Rush was released from the Collier County Jail on Friday after posting bond following his New Year's Eve arrest at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples.

"This gives new meaning to dinner at the Ritz," Alex Zivojinovich said as he walked out of the jail in the same black suit he was wearing at the New Year's Eve bash at the posh hotel.

His white shirt was covered in dried blood. He had black eyes and a swollen nose, which he said was broken in the altercation with deputies.

Zivojinovich, a founding member of Rush, is known on stage as Alex Lifeson.

Before being whisked away Friday by Naples defense attorney Jerry Berry, who came to the jail to pick him up, Zivojinovich had a few words to say about the scuffle.

Asked whether he felt the arrest was fair, Zivojinovich replied: "Absolutely not. That is a matter of opinion. They didn't like the way we were dancing, apparently."

He is facing six charges, including four felonies, the most serious of which could result in 30 years in prison if convicted.

Zivojinovich hasn't entered a plea yet. This will occur at his arraignment, which has been scheduled for 8:45 a.m. Jan. 26. That's when he also would get an initial trial date.

Also arrested in the fracas were Zivojinovich's 33-year-old son, Justin, and Justin's 30-year-old wife, Michelle. They are facing much lighter charges than the Rush rocker.

Arrest reports paint a picture of an intoxicated, unruly, violent father and son who used profane language and refused to comply with deputies' orders. Deputies also state in their reports that they were forced to use stun guns to subdue the father and his son to make the arrests.

And they accuse Alex Zivojinovich of pushing a female deputy down a stairwell and causing her injury, as well as spitting his blood in another deputy's face.

The reports said the altercation between Alex Zivojinovich and deputies began after Justin Zivojinovich got up on the Ritz house band's stage after being warned not to do so. The reports state Justin became verbally abusive after being asked to leave the stage.

The reports said that's when his 50-year-old father came to the defense of his son and became verbally abusive with Ritz Security Supervisor Frank Barner.

During an interview with the Daily News on Thursday night, Justin Zivojinovich, who was visiting his father on vacation from Canada, gave a different account. He agreed that the trouble began after he got up on the stage.

"I was singing Happy New Year's. That's all I was doing, singing to the whole crowd. That's all I said, 'Happy New Year,' " Justin Zivojinovich said. "Everyone was enjoying themselves. That's when someone apparently started yelling for one of the security guards. There was no violence on our part."

He said the same can't be said for the deputies, who broke his father's nose. He said that as Alex Zivojinovich was spitting out blood from the injuries, deputies assaulted him again. He also said his father didn't push the female deputy down the stairs as stated in arrest reports. Instead, Justin Zivojinovic said, the deputy tumbled down the stairs as she pushed him down the stairwell.

Unlike Justin and his wife, who were released from jail on New Year's Day, Alex Zivojinovich stayed behind bars until Friday afternoon.

Collier County Sheriff's spokeswoman Sheri Mausen said he wasn't released earlier because Alex Zivojinovich is facing much more serious charges than the other two, and he had to wait for a judge to set the bond. It was set Friday morning at $14,500.

The arrest of one of the founders of the band known for a string of hits in the 1980s has garnered national attention.

And it is a particularly shocking event to many Rush fans, who don't view him as a violent or unruly person like some other rock stars, based on comments found in chat rooms on various fan Web pages.

One Rush admirer waited for hours at the Collier County Jail Friday to show his support.

Lance Moore, a music instructor who was in Naples visiting family from Maryland, drew a makeshift sign that stated: "Free Alex!"

He waited with reporters in the jail lobby for hours until the guitarist was released.

"I'm giving my support to Alex Lifeson. For 20 years I have been following the guy. I believe he is a sweet man. ... Maybe he just found himself in a bad situation. I don't think it would be the type of thing he would instigate, but I don't know," Moore said.

Rush has been an icon on the Canadian music scene and abroad for almost 30 years, releasing 22 albums with more than 35 million copies sold worldwide. A 30th anniversary tour is planned this year, with stops in North America and Europe.

Band accomplishments include eight Juno Awards and three Grammy nominations, as well as being inducted into the Juno Awards Hall of Fame in 1994. They received the Order of Canada in 1997 and in 1999 they got a Star on the Canadian Walk of Fame.

Some of the band's most popular hits include "Tom Sawyer," "Limelight" and "Spirit of the Radio."

Alex Zivojinovich was inducted into the Practicing Musician Hall of Fame in 1991, and in 1988 he won the Practicing Musician Best Rock Talent.

His Yugoslavian parents immigrated to Canada. His only formal training was during Rush's early days on the Toronto club circuit.

He has a home in Naples, where he is a seasonal resident.

Zivojinovich said as he was leaving the jail Friday that he bought a home here because he became charmed with this area, but his view of it is souring now.

"This is one of the most beautiful places in the country, let alone Florida," he said. "But I'm not so sure now."

The Toronto Sun contributed to this report.

Copyright 2004, Naples Daily News. All Rights Reserved.

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Indeed this is getting more "he said, she said" every minute... I'd love to say "damned cops" because I've never had a remotely good police experience myself :P
TC wrote:as soon as baseball stops being homosexual, i will.

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I feel pretty fucking bad for Alex and his family...sorry, a tubby 50 year old guitarist is not going to beat the shit out of a pack of cops, although cops will certainly trump up 'assaulting an officer' charges to suit their needs. Sounds like they got more assaulting in on him than the other way around, even if he was being a drunken lout on New Year's Eve.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Alexhead wrote:even if he was being a drunken lout on New Year's Eve.
waitaminute....people drink on new year's eve?!?!? ;)

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Kanuck wrote:The cops gave him a real good beating, probably because he's a Canadian rock star. :P
yeah, i remember that one time they kicked alanis all over the damn place. heh heh, that was cool, heheheheheheheheheheheheh. ;) :P

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The latest on the Lifeson saga:

Official statement from the sheriff's office:
Position Statement - Arrest of Alex Zivojinovich (Dated: 1/8/2004)

Article: Position Statement of Sheriff Don Hunter
Re: Arrest of Alex Zivojinovich (a/k/a Lifeson)

I am writing this as an Agency update on the arrest of Alex, Justin, and Michelle Zivojinovich on New Year’s Eve. The arrest of these individuals gained national publicity because of Alex Zivojinovich’s (a/k/a Alex Lifeson) involvement in the music industry. Some of Alex Zivojinovich’s “fans” have spoken out on his behalf and in doing so have attacked this Agency, the individual Deputies, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel as well as the community in which we live and serve. None of the fans appear to have been present as witnesses.

Premature emotional conclusive statements by the public, this Agency or the media are ill advised and frequently wrong. This Agency is a nationally and state accredited law enforcement agency with proven policy and procedure in place (which is periodically exercised) to review this incident and provide a fair and just outcome. This event will receive the same proper and timely review as all others and is neither our first nor will it be our last, as we review many cases each year. I am personally reviewing reports of the incident, directing investigative follow-up and have conducted an extensive back brief with the active duty Deputies who were on scene.

This incident began as a routine disturbance call from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel of Naples, at 280 Vanderbilt Beach Rd. The Sheriff’s Office received a call from Ritz-Carlton Security Staff requesting assistance in the removal of a subject (Justin Zivojinovich) alleged to be causing a disturbance. Hotel staff asked that deputies remove Justin Zivojinovich from the hotel property due to his refusal to leave voluntarily. Hotel staff issued a trespass warning disallowing Mr. Zivojinovich from re-entering the hotel property. Deputies attempted to remove Mr. Zivojinovich from the premises; however, Mr. Zivojinovich is alleged to have refused Deputy direction to leave. Mr. Zivojinovich then allegedly inspired his immediate partygoers to protest his ejection from hotel property and the situation quickly became confrontational. Many people began to challenge Deputies on scene. During the course of the involuntary removal of Justin Zivojinovich, he actively resisted Deputies and they then placed him under arrest. Justin Zivojinovich’s father, Alex, is alleged to have intervened during the physical arrest procedures, battered Deputies and ripped one of the Deputy’s radios from his uniform, thereby disrupting the Deputy’s ability to communicate with other Deputies as well as with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center. Alex Zivojinovich is also alleged by Deputies and independent witnesses to have grabbed one Deputy by the front of her uniform and to have thrown her down a flight of stairs backwards, seriously injuring her. Alex Zivojinovich was injured when a Deputy had to forcefully end Mr. Zivojinovich’s continuing aggression towards Deputies to prevent injury to Deputies on scene. Deputies also reported that Alex Zivojinovich turned around and purposefully spat blood onto a Deputy - an additional alleged violation of State law.

A full review of this incident with attendant evidence collection, further witness statements and investigative interviews is underway. The Sheriff’s Office will not make further specific comment on this case other than periodic updates of case status.
Latest newspaper article:
Naples Daily News

Alex Zivojinovich

More details emerge about night of Rush guitarist's arrest
By JOHN HENDERSON, jfhenderson@naplesnews.com and CHRIS W. COLBY, cwcolby@naplesnews.com
January 12, 2004

Two international recording artists from very different eras were in the ballroom of the posh Ritz-Carlton Naples New Year's Eve's bash: One rang in the new year in a jail cell; the other was left wondering what happened.

Freddy Cole, the 71-year-old younger brother of the late, legendary performer Nat King Cole, was hired to play the $650-a-couple, black-tie event, where a dispute began between the lead guitarist for the rock group, Rush, and Collier County Sheriff's deputies.

Cole has been nominated for a Grammy Award and has played Carnegie Hall. He is known for his deep-voiced jazz love songs. He's an entertainer who performs "at a crossroads between cabaret, jazz and blues," according to Ben Ratliff of the New York Times.

Cole said he had no idea that the man in a white suit who jumped onto the stage where he was performing was the son of the lead guitarist for the internationally known Canadian rock band, Rush.

The son's action started a chain of events that resulted in a clash between deputies and Alex Zivojinovich, known on stage in Rush as Alex Lifeson, as well as his son, Justin.

Cole said over his decades of performing, he has seen his share of people walk up on stage and act crazy, and he usually tries to ignore them, just as he did that night.

"The less you say, the better," the 71-year-old said. "I have learned over the years not to lend credence to people acting crazy, and to continue doing what I'm doing."

Likewise, Cole said he tried to tune out Justin Zivojinovich's remarks after he grabbed the microphone.

"He said something like, 'How about a nice round of applause for this Count Basie.' I wouldn't even look up. He knew damn well my name ain't Count Basie."

He said he clearly remembers Justin Zivojinovich being extremely intoxicated.

"You could see the way he was stumbling all over the dance floor," he said.

Cole recalled another person in a dark suit getting onstage with Justin Zivojinovich before the microphone was turned off.

Alex Zivojinovich was wearing a dark suit that night, but Cole said he did not know whether the Rush guitarist was the other person who went up onstage. Cole said he has never even heard of the group, Rush, let alone seen the guitarist's face.

"I thought they were talking about Rush Limbaugh," Cole said.

Tina Osceola, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, said some other witnesses remember another person wearing a dark suit going onstage, but investigators do not believe it was the Rush guitarist. She said it might have been hotel security or an employee.

Cole said he doubts that many of the guests who attended the event were aware of the scuffle that ensued outside the hotel ballroom.

However, he said, some of guests didn't take kindly to the dance moves of the Zivojinovich party.

"I know when they came up and started dancing all over the dance floor, several people left. ... They were doing some gyrations, I guess having a good time," he said.

He said he first learned of the brawl between deputies and the rock star and his son when he was having a drink after his performance.

"I said, 'Where (did it happen)?' It was so hush-hush. I didn't know anything about it. I don't think the guests did either. When you work in places that serve alcohol, anything is subject to happen. I wouldn't think it would happen at the Ritz-Carlton."

The arrest of Zivojinovich has garnered international media attention, with Rush fans throughout the country now questioning whether this was a case of police brutality.

Zivojinovich left the Collier County jail on Jan. 2 with dried blood spattered over the front of his white shirt, a swollen nose that he said was broken, and dark circles under his eyes.

Arrest reports allege that the Rush guitarist intervened when deputies were escorting his son off the property after he refused to leave the stage where Cole's band was performing.

They state that Justin Zivojinovich told hotel security supervisor Frank Barner, "(Expletive) off, I'm going to sing my wife a (expletive) song."

Barner said Friday he could not comment.

The sheriff's department accuses Alex Zivojinovich of throwing a female deputy down a flight of stairs backward, causing her injuries, and of spitting blood in another deputy's face. Deputies said they had to use stun guns to subdue the singer and his son.

This week, Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter put out a statement defending the sheriff's department. He stated that he is personally reviewing reports of the incident and talking to deputies who were on the scene.

"Some of Alex Zivojinovich's 'fans' have spoken out on his behalf, and in doing so, have attacked this agency, the individual deputies, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, as well as the community in which we live and serve," Hunter said in the prepared statement that is posted on the agency's web page. "None of the fans appear to have been present as witnesses.

"Premature, emotional, conclusive statements by the public, this agency, or the media are ill advised and frequently wrong. This agency is a nationally and state-accredited law enforcement agency with proven policy and procedure in place...."

Sheriff's investigators are not releasing at this time any other statements made by the many witnesses to the altercation, such as hotel employees, Osceola said.

"There are quite a few witnesses, and the department is looking over hotel security tapes to see whether the incident was caught on tape," she said. "There were many people in that stairwell. Remember, as deputies were trying to take Justin away, an entourage came flooding in behind them. I'm not sure who a lot of them were. We had to get rid of most of them to deal with the altercation that was the most volatile."

The sheriff's department is getting a slew of e-mails from irate Rush fans who believe the singer was the victim of police abuse.

"We're getting a lot of Rush fans being completely foul (in the messages)," Osceola said. "I know the city of Naples police department is getting them. The county is getting them. I don't know what they (the fans) think they are proving. Maybe they hope they will get an autograph-signed copy of his booking sheet, I don't know."

Suzanne Willis, a spokesperson for the hotel, said the hotel is also being criticized by some Rush fans.

"There is a definite misunderstanding that we were the ones pressing charges. We have not done that," she said. "Basically, this entire event is very unfortunate, and nothing like this has ever happened at our New Year's Eve event before."

With a world tour set to begin in May, Alex Zivojinovich will be allowed to travel anywhere despite the charges against him.

State prosecutors, who agreed to $14,500 bond set by a judge in Naples on Jan. 2, the day after the arrest, said state law doesn't require any restrictions on a defendant released from jail on bond. And prosecutors didn't ask the judge to confiscate Zivojinovich's passport.

"That's really something you go through the bondsman for," said Rich Montecalvo, the assistant state attorney who will handle the case. "It's up to him and the bondsman, as long as he shows up to court."

Mary and Jimmy's Bail Bonds in Naples is the company that paid Zivojinovich's bond, allowing the musician to leave the Collier County jail. Co-owner Mary L. Chacko-Minor said ordinarily her company limits a defendant's travel to within the five-county circuit.

But in Zivojinovich's case, as with many clients, exceptions are actually the norm. Usually a defendant will ask to travel elsewhere in Florida, often Disney World in Orlando, and the bondsman allows that but asks the client to check in at her office before he leaves and when he returns.

So she has faith Zivojinovich will return for mandatory court hearings, which can be weeks or even months apart. Many hearings are routine, and Zivojinovich's attorney can appear on his behalf without his presence.

"We don't care. We know he's going to come to court. His attorney will make sure he's back when he needs to be," Chacko-Minor said.

Jerry Berry, Zivojinovich's lawyer, is well-known and respected, Chacko-Minor said, and that plays a little part in allowing a high-profile musician to travel around the world on a tour.

Berry declined to comment on the case and referred all comments to SRO Management. "Usually, in general, when we bond someone out who lives in New York, we take cash collateral. We have to play the cash if they skip out," Chacko-Minor said.

Copyright 2004, Naples Daily News. All Rights Reserved.

Oj Simpson

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Hey Everybody,


New comer here, I just wanted to say that I can't even believe this is happening to Alex.
You got a guy like Oj Simpson which I think all clearly know that he was responsible for the crime he was charged with.

Then you have poor Alex Lifeson, Personaly I believe what his son said happened, but even for the sake of argument, if Alex really did throw her down the stairs. Oj walks away from a murder, Alex throws some deputy down a flight of stairs and they want to charge hime with thirty years in the slammer?

I think the system needs some serious reworking! :killer:

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Welcome!

Anyone who throws a punch at a cop (and I'd probably do the same if they'd stun-gunned my son, which is what I understand they did to Lifeson the younger) will immediately be thrashed by five cops and charged with assaulting an officer. I'm just glad he appears to be back in Canada, so they can't send him off to Camp X-Ray or anything...
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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Well, if you throw a punch at a cop, it's understandable that they'd charge you with assaulting an officer. The question I have is the events that led up to that point, and could the situation have been handled differently without it esclating to that point.

Rush announces the dates tomorrow for the 30th anniv. tour, so Alex will be back in America I guess. Now I just have to decide where to go see them. The venue they play here in Dallas sucks big time. Actually, the best place I've seen them was at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto.

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NaplesNews wrote:Trial of Rush guitarist, son delayed until September

The trial scheduled of Rush founder and his son was postponed after defense attorneys told the judge they need more time to prepare

By CHRIS W. COLBY, cwcolby@naplesnews.com
June 10, 2004


The date for the battery trial of the lead guitarist and founder of the rock group Rush, and his son, was pushed back another three months Wednesday.

Alex Zivojinovich, also known on-stage as Alex Lifeson, and his son Justin are scheduled to be tried the week of Sept. 13 in Collier County Circuit Court. The trial scheduled for Monday was postponed after defense attorneys told Judge Cynthia Ellis they need more time to prepare. The delay came in a routine hearing called a sounding, which is held the week before a trial date so attorneys for both sides can inform the judge on the progress of the case.

The two Zivojinoviches were arrested after what reports described as a scuffle with Collier County sheriff's deputies on New Year's Eve at The Ritz-Carlton in North Naples. Alex Zivojinovich, 50, has a residence in North Naples.

Justin Zivojinovich, 33, created a disturbance by going on-stage to join the Ritz house band after he was warned not to. The arrest report says he was verbally abusive when told to leave the stage.

Alex Zivojinovich intervened when deputies were escorting his son off the property. The deputies accuse the Rush guitarist of pushing a deputy down a stairwell, causing her to hit her head on a concrete floor. They also accuse Alex Zivojinovich of spitting blood in another deputy's face. Deputies used stun guns to subdue the father and son.

The State Attorney's Office filed one count of resisting arrest with violence against the son. That and the two battery charges the father faces are third-degree felonies that could be punishable by up to five years in prison upon conviction.

Each defendant has pleaded innocent.

Rush is scheduled to play concert dates in England and Scotland during the week of the trial, with shows already sold out in Birmingham and Manchester. Alex Zivojinovich is allowed to travel outside the country under the conditions of his bond, but it remains to be seen how his case would be disposed of by plea agreement or trial if he is scheduled to be out of Florida performing in a concert.

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blabbermouth wrote:Hearing To Schedule Trial Date For RUSH Guitarist Set For This Week

According to News-Press.com, a hearing to schedule a trial date for RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson (a.k.a. Alex Zivojinovich) — who is charged with two counts of battery during a Jan. 31, 2003, New Year's Eve party at the posh Ritz-Carlton hotel in Naples — and his son, Justin Shawn Zivojinovich — who is charged with a count of resisting arrest with violence — is scheduled for Wednesday (Jan. 5) in Collier County, Florida.

Each of the father's and son's charges carries a maximum penalty of a five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
damn, only a year later...

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Blabbermouth wrote:Charges Reduced In Trial Of RUSH Guitarist's Son - Apr. 20, 2005
John Henderson of the Naples Daily News has issued the following report:

A judge on Wednesday (April 20) reduced the charge that a jury is considering against the son of the guitarist for the rock group RUSH.

Justin Zivojinovich is now charged with a misdemenaor — resisting arrest without violence — instead of a felony.

Retired Senior Circuit Judge Charles T. Carlton's reduced the charge at the conclusion of the prosecution's case and instructed the jury to come back at 1 p.m. to continue with the defense case.

Defense attorney Michael McDonnell had argued Tuesday that deputies illegally charged Justin Zivojinovich on New Year's Eve 2003 with one count of resisting an officer with violence, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

That charge was reduced to a misdemeanor by Carlton, who left the case for the jury to decide, rather than dismissing it. Misdemeanors carry a sentence, upon conviction, of no more than a year in jail.

The defendant is the son of RUSH guitarist Alex Zivojinovich, known professionally as Alex Lifeson.

McDonnell's argument was that when deputies took Justin into custody, at one point stretching his arms behind his back as they escorted him down the hallway of the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, Justin had committed no crime.

McDonnell also said that whatever had happened previously in the ballroom of the hotel wasn't witnessed by deputies, and under case law that had to occur before an arrest.

Justin Zivojinovich was accused of getting onto the house band stage at a New Year's Eve bash and being verbally abusive to Ritz-Carlton security, who called deputies.

Sheriff's deputies were among the witnesses to testify Wednesday morning.