Rites Reflect the Dual Life of ‘Big Mac’

With his casket draped in the American flag--and later with flowers provided by off-duty exotic dancers--reputed Los Angeles vice lord Horace Joseph McKenna was laid to rest Tuesday after a memorial service in which a Catholic priest admonished, “Judgment is not mine, judgment is not yours.”

More than 250 people attended services for “Big Mac”--a man who attracted little public notice until his mob-style murder Thursday. They were an unusual mix. Even the pallbearers reflected the dual life McKenna had led.

There was his family, who have spoken of McKenna as a loving, generous, big-hearted man. One of the pallbearers was cousin George McKenna, now Inglewood schools superintendent and inspiration for “The George McKenna Story,” a television movie based on his tenure as principal of Washington High School. Also attending was Inglewood School Board Vice President Larry Aubry, who said the McKenna family was “well known and well thought of.”

Associates From the Clubs

Then there were the business associates from the network of nude and topless nightclubs McKenna allegedly controlled. Another pallbearer was Robert Berg, a former club manager. Berg chauffeured the limousine in which his 6-foot-6, 300-pound body-building boss was slain, shot by automatic rifle fire through a window as he entered his remote Orange County horse ranch.

Mourners left a distinct impression that they never saw the McKenna that law enforcement authorities portray as an intimidating, sometimes violent criminal. He was shot the day after court documents were released linking McKenna to prostitution, gambling, counterfeiting and drug trafficking.

After the flag was removed--McKenna reportedly served in the Navy--family members offered blessings with holy water. Then, in an impromptu expression, several women who work as dancers placed flowers on the casket and wept.

No formal eulogy was offered before interment at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. Father Paul Benet of St. Brigid Catholic Church appeared to offer allusions to McKenna’s alleged criminality during a memorial service at Angelus Funeral Home in the Crenshaw District.

Essence of Judgment

Scripture teaches, Benet said, that in this life, the essence of judgment is the conscience of the individual.

“Those considered the best may not see God in their actions,” the priest said. “Those who are considered the worst may see God in their actions.”

At the funeral home, the casket was flanked by a portrait of McKenna on horseback and several floral arrangements. At the burial site, there were several more arrangements, including one shaped in a horseshoe and emblazoned with the title “Mr. Universe”--an ode to McKenna’s devotion to body building.

After others had left, one mourner stayed behind. Darryl Finney, 30, said he had known McKenna almost 20 years, since the days when McKenna rode a motorcycle for the California Highway Patrol. The big man hired the young Finney to polish his motorcycle.

A few years later, Finney said, McKenna hired him to put flyers under car windshield wipers to promote McKenna’s first nightclub, called the Bucket.

“Man, it’s a cold world,” said Finney, now a construction worker. “He was an inspiration to me . . .He taught me the value of a dollar, taught me to be strong, taught me not to be afraid.

“I wish him the best.”