SAN DIEGO — Gay porn star Mario Romo and an alleged accomplice both pleaded not guilty last week to federal charges in the murder of a wealthy Texas retiree, according to a report.
Romo and the accomplice had been indicted on numerous charges after Mexican authorities found Jake Clyde Merendino stabbed to death and dumped in a ravine in a Baja ravine near a highway between Rosarito and Ensenada.
Romo, whose birth name is David Meza, faces federal counts of interstate or foreign domestic violence resulting in murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Langston is accused of obstruction of justice, false statement to a federal officer and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
According to StraightUpGayPorn.com, Merendino was stabbed more than 20 times in the chest and stomach and his throat was slashed.
Prosecutors allege that Romo, with help from girlfriend Taylor Marie Langston, persuaded Merendino to name him as his sole heir in a handwritten will, according to the report.
StraightUpGayPorn.com said that shortly after Merendino’s murder in May, Romo brought the will to the victim’s Texas lawyer in an attempt to claim a “sizable inheritance” as Merendino’s sole heir.
Romo started his career with Sean Cody in 2010 and has worked for about a dozen gay studios under Mario Romo, Francisco and Elder Gonzalez.
Romo, in the hearing last week, was denied bail. Langston was released on $50,000 bond.
Romo faces life in prison if convicted on all counts, and Langston faces up to 20 years.
