29. Anthony Durante (Pitbull #2) – Age 36
While Anthony Durante escaped time in federal prison, he was not so lucky with escaping the plague of substance abuse far too common among his peers. The Pitbulls (Gary Wolfe and Anthony Durante) were a highlight of ECW’s tag team and singles division, with the Pitbulls winning the ECW World Tag Team Championship and each of them holding the World Television Championship. Behind the scenes, the Pitbulls landed in hot water after the federal government indicted them on drug charges on June 25, 1997. According to the book, Hardcore History, Wolfe and Durante had been caught in a sting by federal agents after selling marijuana to a government witness (as well as giving said witness steroids to sell on consignment). The Pitbulls reportedly took a plea deal and avoided a bid in federal prison by naming their suppliers. In 2003, both Durante and his girlfriend Diane Husley were found dead in their home, with autopsies ruling Durante’s death as a drug overdose from fentanyl and Hulsey from a mix of painkillers and alcohol. Miraculously, the couple’s 21-month-old boy and eight-month-old girl were found alive despite being trapped in the house for days.
