He moved to the United States, anglicising his name to Steve Banerjee, where he operated a Mobil gas station and afterward a failed backgammon club.
The 1979 addition of a male stripper dance troupe performing to target female audiences was the first of its kind in the United States.
[3] Banerjee was charged with enlisting the aid of Ray Colon, a former Palm Springs police officer and lounge room entertainer, to commit the murder of show producer Nick De Noia in 1987, and in 1990 and 1991, a plot to kill Michael Fullington, a former Chippendales dancer and choreographer, and two other ex-Chippendales dancers, who Banerjee felt were competition to the Chippendales franchise.
In the early morning of October 23, 1994, hours before he was due to be sentenced, Banerjee was found dead in his cell, having hanged himself.
[1] When Banerjee died, Irene inherited the entire Chippendales outfit, including money, properties, and associated assets.