By Andy Furman
NKyTribune staff writer
Sometimes you just must relive the past. Louie Meisner is doing it in film.
The 32-year-old media specialist and filmmaker just finished pre-production on — Our Friend Sandy.
It’s the story of Sandy Cohen, a well respected Covington businessman and two-term Covington commissioner who disappeared in July 1986. He owned and operated a popular printing company on Madison Avenue, Sandy Cohen Printing, and mysteriously disappeared. The search for him was the subject of widespread news coverage at the time.
His badly beaten body was found days later, according to the Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky, and two 22-year-old “male hustlers” were found guilty of murder. Until his disappearance, Cohen had not been publicly known to be gay.
“My dad always spoke about his best friend, Sandy Cohen,” Louie Meisner told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “He (David) would always talk about Sandy. All I knew was he was murdered.”
Young Meisner says it’s the most insane story he’s ever heard – and that’s why he wants to put it to film.
“It should be a movie,” he said.
Sandy Cohen was closeted gay, who according to media reports, and was robbed and murdered by the two young men convicted of his murder.
“My dad found Sandy’s body on July 10 on the side of the railroad track, following a tip from the now-deceased psychic, Patricia Mischell,” son Louie, a Wyoming High School graduate, said.
“Around late October, or November of last year, my dad’s friends got together, and yes they’re getting old – one is in his 90s,” Louie said. “I knew then, I needed to tell the real story of Sandy’s death.”
Young Meisner says there are multiple interpretations of what happened in those five days that Sandy went missing.
“We are trying to get the true timeline of events and produce this story while Sandy’s friends are still alive,” he said. “Everyone seems to have their own version of what happened. We’re just looking for the truth.”
What he does know is that Sandy moved here from his Mississippi residence.
“He came here to visit with his sister in the ‘60s,” Louie said, “And he liked it so much, he decided to stay.”
So how did the project get off the ground?
After Louie Meisner graduated Wyoming High School, he moved to Montana and attend the University.
“I met Paul Nocchi in college,” Louie said, “and he’s working on the film with me.”
Nocchi is an Austin, Texas-based film writer and creative director with roots in journalism and a career in advertising.
Meisner is an independent filmmaker, and does branding, apparel work as well as concerts and festivals. It was the perfect match.
Now for the hard part – the cash for the project.
“We’re looking for $60K to help bring this documentary to life,” Louie said. “As a filmmaker, I just felt the pull and need to tell the story. But it’s more than that. I really want to understand it. I want to understand my dad. I want to understand the world they lived in. And I want to bring care and attention to a story that never really got closure.”
Meisner also knows – the names of the two murderers – Gregory Moore and James (Jimmie) Messmer.
“I have not been able to find any up-to-date info on Moore,” Louie said, “As for Messmer, he is currently held at Allen Correctional Institution and is up for parole in May, 2029.
For Meisner, this project is personal. He says it’s hard. He says he’s scared – in a strange way.
“I don’t know where it will take me, but I know I have to follow through. “
For their friend – Sandy.
See more information about the funding for Our Friend Sandy here.