Jefferson Hills Motel owner fatally shot

The owner of the Jefferson Hills Motel on Route 51 was shot to death early Friday in an apparent robbery, authorities said.

Dehnad “Chief” Taiedi, 78, of Jefferson Hills had been working at the front desk when someone walked into the motel and shot him in the head just after 4:15 a.m. He died at the scene.

Police have not made any arrests.

Carl Harris, 58, who has lived at the motel for five years, said he suspects the incident was the first of its kind in his time there. He hopes it will be the last.

“He never bothered anybody,” Harris said. “He always looked after his customers. There isn't that much money in the world to kill someone over.”

Harris said that the motel's front door usually is locked after midnight and that someone would have needed to ring the bell to get inside.

The son of a retired Iranian general, Taiedi had been a businessman since the late 1960s. He owned nightclubs in Washington, D.C., and opened a dry cleaning business in Pittsburgh, according to a 1977 article by the Washington Post.

In 2001, Taiedi and his wife, Linda, who died in 2013, bought the motel from Claude M. Kauffman. The couple purchased Saddle Brook stables in South Park in 2009.

For 17 years, the two ran the nightclub Someplace Else, along Route 51.

Mark Petrocelli, 48, a drummer who used to perform at the venue, said he is shocked by the death of Taiedi, whom he referred to as “The Rockfather.”

“Everyone is at a loss today,” he said, recalling Taiedi's “Saturday Night Live”-type outfits, which included a medallion he wore around his neck, and his thick Persian accent.

“He gave a lot of us young degenerates a place to call home away from home and to be able to give us a place to explore our creativity and have fun.”

Dana Cannone, 53, who owns the Church Recording Studio in Overbrook and worked as a sound guy at the club, said Taiedi was a hands-on club owner who went out of his way to have relationships with bands who performed there. Taiedi even helped them out financially.

“That kind of person doesn't exist in the club scene anymore,” he said.

Allegheny County police ask anyone with information about the shooting to call 412-473-1300. Callers can remain anonymous.

Madasyn Czebiniak is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-320-7822 or mczebiniak@tribweb.com. The Washington Post and Associated Press contributed.