A Goldman Sachs analyst who recently attended a concert at a venue that has had battles with the New York State Liquor Authority over alleged drug use at the venue has been found dead.
John Castic, 27, was last seen Saturday at about 2:30 a.m. after he left a concert at the Brooklyn Mirage. His body was found Tuesday in a section of Newtown Creek called English Kills.
“They have found his body and confirmed it’s him,” said Jeffrey Castic, John’s father, according to WNYW-TV.
“It appears to have been death by misadventure. His wallet and phone were found on him,” he said.
In June, Karl Clemente, 27, disappeared after being at the Brooklyn Mirage and was found dead five days later in Newtown Creek.
Jeffrey Castic said his son “was so smart but, in the end, he did something dumb, and it cost him.”
“We think he might have been impaired, we do not know, and it was just a lapse of judgment,” he said.
Sara Kostecka, 25, of Chicago, who was a friend of John Castic, was not as quick to blame the victim, according to the New York Post.
He was last spotted leaving a Zeds Dead concert at the Brooklyn Mirage. https://t.co/5utt3triWe
27-year-old John Castic’s body was found in the same region Karl Clemente’s body was found after he was denied from the same music venue in June.
— Entrepreneur (@Entrepreneur) August 2, 2023
“Whatever happened, he did not deserve this,” Kostecka said, calling Castic a “very responsible individual” who would not just wander off.
“This is atypical behavior,” she said.
William Sullivan, 31, who also works at Goldman Sachs said Castic was not alone at the venue but left after telling others he was not feeling well.
“It was late, the concert was almost over, and he decided to call an Uber and just leave,” Sullivan said. “We don’t know if he got in [though] … We just wish we knew more, had some video or something of how he ended up in the water.”
Alex Clemente, father of Karl Clemente, said he thinks the cases could be linked, according to WNYW.
“There’s something weird here. There might be some connection,” he said, noting that his son was turned away at the venue because staff said he had been drinking. Video later showed him running down a street.
“Why was he running? Someone was chasing him. There’s something fishy here,” Alex Clemente said, adding that his son’s wallet and phone were not found on his body.
A report in the Gothamist said that Brooklyn Mirage and the state Liquor Authority have been at odds for years with the state calling the venue in a 2020 court filing “a place for teenagers and young adults to get high on Ecstasy, Ketamine and other drugs while loud music plays.”
In 2022, methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy and heroin were found on bags collected at the venue, according to a state Liquor Authority report.
Leave a Comment