'Club Kid' Killer Michael Alig Free After 17 Years

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Notorious "club kid'' killer Michael Alig has been released from prison after serving 17 years for killing his roommate over a drug debt.

Alig was released from the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, N.Y., on Monday.

The 48-year-old Alig was part of a decadent 1990s party scene characterized by wild costumes and rampant drug use. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 1997 for killing Andre "Angel'' Melendez.

Alig admitted that he and co-defendant Robert "Freeze'' Riggs killed Melendez, cut the body up and dumped the parts in the Hudson River. Riggs also pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He was released in 2010.

The story was turned into the 2003 movie "Party Monster,'' in which Macaulay Culkin played Alig.

After his release, Alig wrote on Twitter that he is "happy to be free and so grateful for this second chance."

He also joked that so many cameras were recording his release he felt like Kim Kardashian.

Alig also tweeted a photo of his "first burrito of freedom.''

Alig maintained a social media presence while behind bars although he had no access to a computer, dictating tweets to a friend over the prison phone.

According to his Twitter bio, he is finishing a book he wrote in prison titled "Aligula.''

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories:

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)