Paciello out at Miami club

Miami club king Chris Paciello has been bought out of his stake in South Beach hot spot Story. Paciello, the handsome club don who counts Madonna and Jennifer Lopez as friends, received a $600,000 payout as part of his severance, sources told us. David Grutman, Paciello and others opened Story last year, but Grutman recently sold his hospitality group MMG to SFX Entertainment and needed to divest all minority owners. In turn, SFX bought out Paciello’s interest. Some speculated SFX Entertainment wanted to distance themselves from Paciello, who served time in jail before pursuing club life in Miami. Others pointed to potential bad blood between Grutman and Paciello. But an insider says that’s not the case: “In no way did Chris’ departure have anything to do with his background, and if anything Chris was an unbelievable asset to Story and one of the critical reasons for its success.” Paciello told us in a statement: “Dave Grutman and I remain close friends. We reached a mutually beneficial agreement.”