

Alig then, and today (via Twitter)

Club Kids co-founder Michael Alig, who murdered and dismembered drug dealer Andre "Angel" Melendez in 1996, was released from prison this morning, as expected. The 47-year-old left Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, NY earlier today on a conditional release. Around 11 a.m. he was on his way to NYC:

Just narrowly escaped being re arrested for having my release filmed but we're ok and in our way to nyc! #narrowescape — Michael Alig (@Alig_Aligula) May 5, 2014

And after that it was time for a burrito:

Alig had been locked up for first-degree manslaughter since 1997, following a murder the previous year which was carried out via a hammer, duct tape, Drano, and dismemberment—this was all portrayed in 1998's Party Monster, starring Macaulay Culkin as Alig.

Regarding his release, his friend Steve Lewis, the nightlife columnist, had written: "There is no chance that he will return to clubs as a way of life, but he will paint and write, and as always, try to impact the way we think. I believe he has been rehabilitated." He's also working on his memoir.

Today, former Club Kid James St. James published an open letter to Alig, reintroducing him to the world ("cabs take credit cars now").