Michael Alig

Alig attended Grissom Middle School and Penn High School, where he was a straight A student and graduated in the top 8% of his class. During his teenage years, Alig reported that he was often bullied because of his homosexuality. Seeking a less conservative social environment after graduating in 1984, he attended Fordham University in New York City. He studied architecture there before transferring to the Fashion Institute of Technology. There, he met the boyfriend of artist Keith Haring, who introduced Alig to New York City nightlife. Alig soon dropped out of school and began working at Danceteria as a bus boy.

In 1988, Alig was hired by the owner of The Limelight, Peter Gatien. Alig's parties at The Limelight were such a hit that he began organizing parties for Gatien's other clubs: Club USA, the Palladium, and Tunnel. Alig's notorious "Outlaw Parties", which were thrown in various unconventional places including a Burger King, a Dunkin' Donuts, abandoned houses, and a subway, helped to revitalize the downtown New York City club scene which Village Voice columnist Michael Musto declared had atrophied after artist Andy Warhol died in 1987.

As Alig's popularity in the club scene grew, so did his drug use. He was arrested several times for drug offenses and entered rehab, but continued to use drugs. In 1995, his boss, Gatien, sent Alig to rehab once again. Alig later claimed that after he completed his stint and was released, Gatien fired him.

On April 26, 1996, Musto reported rumors of Alig's involvement in Melendez's death in a blind item, in his Village Voice column. Although no names were used, Musto's reports included the details of the murder. Musto had previously reported on Alig's firing from The Limelight and noted the buzz about a missing club person. The following day, the New York Post's "Page Six" column ran a lead item about the murder mystery, citing Musto's reporting as well as a New York magazine piece quoting an evasive Alig. Over the coming weeks, the Village Voice continued to report and make accusations about Melendez's murder.

Through September 1996, the police still had not questioned Alig about the murder; they were focused on his business partner, Peter Gatien, wanting Alig to testify against him. Since several months had passed, many people believed Alig would get away with murdering Melendez, until children playing in the water pulled a box containing a legless torso from the waters of Oakwood Beach at Miller Field, in New Dorp, Staten Island. James St. James recounted how Melendez's brother was baffled by what he regarded as callous indifference by the police and by the scenesters Melendez had considered friends.

In November 1996, the coroner reported the body had been identified as Andre "Angel" Melendez. Alig fled New York, but was located by police in a motel room rented by his drug dealer boyfriend, Brian, in Toms River, New Jersey. Alig was arrested as was Riggs. Shortly after his arrest, Riggs confessed to police:

Alig claimed he killed Melendez in self-defense and helped to dispose of the body in a panic. Prosecutors were hesitant to charge Alig with first-degree murder, as they still hoped he would testify against his former boss, Peter Gatien, who had been arrested for allowing drugs to be sold in his nightclubs. They eventually offered both Alig and Riggs a plea deal: a sentence of 10 to 20 years if they accepted the lesser charge of manslaughter. On October 1, 1997, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 10 to 20 years.

While incarcerated in the New York State prison system, Alig was transferred from prison to prison; he also spent time in the psychiatric ward at Rikers Island. In 2000, at Southport Correctional Facility, he was placed in solitary confinement after he was caught using heroin. He remained in solitary for another two and a half years after a drug test showed that he was still using drugs.

In August 2004, Alig's longtime friend and mentor, James St. James, began a blog entitled "Phone Calls From a Felon". The blog contained transcripts of phone conversations between Alig and St. James about Alig's experiences in prison. After six weeks, Alig put a stop to the phone calls claiming, "People think I'm having a grand old time. Or that I'm trying to exploit my situation." He was moved to Elmira Correctional Facility that year.

Alig became eligible for parole in 2006. His first parole request, in November 2006, was denied, reportedly after parole officers watched the film Party Monster (2003), a fictionalized account of Alig's life, starring Macaulay Culkin. He was again denied parole in July 2008 after failing several drug tests. In an interview with his former fellow prisoner, Daniel Genis, Alig said that his time spent reading while in solitary inspired him to write his memoirs, which he titled Aligula, and he particularly identified with the character Raskolnikov from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. In March 2009, Alig said he finally decided to stop using drugs and that he had been sober since then.

Alig was paroled on May 5, 2014. Per the conditions of his parole, Alig returned to New York City. He was required to abide by an 8 p.m. curfew and undergo drug and anger management counseling, and job readiness training. In the months following his release, Alig granted numerous interviews in which he expressed a desire to star in his own reality show and stage an exhibition of his artwork. In May 2014, reports emerged that Alig was attempting to sell his memoirs and was pursuing a career as a magazine writer. Since September 7, 2014, Alig and fellow Club Kid Ernie Glam have hosted a YouTube comedy talk show titled "The Pee-ew".

On October 15, 2014, Alig released the pop song, "What's In (Featuring DJ Keoki)", written and produced by Greg Tanoose, through Austound Music, an Austin, Texas, based record label. An EP, also entitled What's In, was released. In May 2015, a selection of Alig's paintings went on display at the SELECT Fair in New York.

On February 2, 2017, Alig was arrested for trespassing and smoking crystal meth in Joyce Kilmer Park in Concourse, outside the Bronx Supreme Court, at approximately 1:30 a.m. He was detained because the park closes after dusk. The complaint alleges that "police found a bag of crystal meth and a pipe with residue from the drug in his jacket pocket". The New York Daily News reported that Alig was arraigned on drug possession and trespass charges, and pleaded guilty to trespass in exchange for a conditional discharge.