Dave Mustaine has been slammed by the former manager of late Megadeth drummer Nick Menza for an “act of betrayal.”
Robert Bolger, who managed the drummer before his death in 2015, accused Mustaine of “fabricated bullshit” when talking about his personal and professional relationship with the drummer in the recent book, Rust In Peace.
Tweeting via Menza’s official account, Bolger said: “I'm going to keep this short, brief and to the point without tea bagging anyone in the processes, just how Nick would have wanted it! Some of the content that's published in that book and in the press about Nick is fabricated bullshit to try and sell copies, nothing more, nothing less!
“The Menza family wasn't even aware of any book being in the works, asked to comment or even offered a copy, i wonder why. Dave and Junior were NOT good friends of Nick no matter what they say now that Nick’s not here to answer what’s being said about him. Dave wasn't very nice to Nick towards the end before his passing...
“This act of betrayal is a huge blow to Nick, his family, friends and fans. I have all the documented proof, from e-mails to text messages that was never published in Nick's book out of respect for the integrity and legacy of the band. The truth will be displayed in a two segments of the official Nick Menza documentary that's in the works. YOU WILL NEVER DIMINISH NICK'S LEGACY - RIP NICK MENZA
Bolger shared a link to an interview in which Mustaine addressed the aborted 2014 reunion of the Rust In Peace-era Megadeth line-up, which featured Menza and guitarist Marty Friedman.
“Nick said some shitty things about me at the end, especially to you guys and to Blabbermouth, where he would just wail on me," said Mustaine. "And I would think, 'Nick, why are you doing this? I never did anything to you. I'm always fighting for you.”
In the same interview, Mustaine claimed he had fought to include Menza in the reunion but the drummer had asked for an “exorbitant” amount of money to take part.
“When I would read the stuff that [Menza] would [say about me], I would just be so hurt. 'Cause when we went to do the reunion, you see Ellefson tell the story, I wasn't the one that said Nick wasn't ready — Dave said that. I was really bummed about that; I wanted things to work out with Nick. And then in fact, I even said, 'You know what? If it's not gonna work with him playing in the studio, let's have somebody else go into the studio and play, and then we can have Nick play live.' I was bending over backwards to get a place for Nick. And then he said he wanted this exorbitant amount of cash to work for us and to be able to sell all kinds of merchandise that he had.”
