Nixon's Florida White House
25°41′30″N80°10′28″W/ 25.691761°N 80.174460°WTheFlorida White House(orWinter White House) was an informal name for a compound inKey Biscayne, Florida,used byU.S. PresidentRichard Nixon.
History[edit]
Nixon purchased the first of his three waterfront homes, 500 Bay Lane, during 1969 from his formerSenatecolleagueGeorge SmathersofFlorida.Nixon visited it at least 50 times while in office as President from 1969 to 1974.
Nixon's compound was close to the home ofCharles "Bebe" Rebozowho resided at 490 Bay Lane and of industrialistRobert Abplanalp(inventor of the modern aerosol spray can valve). Bebe Rebozo, president/owner of the Key Biscayne Bank, was indicted for money-laundering a $100,000 donation fromHoward Hughesto the Nixon election campaign.
According to an exposé byDon Fulsom,Nixon and Rebozo got bargain real estate prices fromDonald Berg,aMafia-associated Rebozo business partner. TheSecret Serviceeventually advised Nixon to stop associating with Berg. The lender for one of Nixon's properties wasArthur Desser,who consorted with bothTeamstersPresidentJimmy Hoffaand mobsterMeyer Lansky.Nixon and Rebozo were friends ofJames V. Crosby,the chairman of a company repeatedly associated with major mobsters, and Rebozo's Key Biscayne Bank was a suspected pipeline for Mafia money from Crosby's casino inThe Bahamas.By the 1960s, FBI agents monitoring the Mafia had identified Rebozo as a "non-member associate of organized crime figures".
PresidentJohn F. Kennedyand Nixon met for the first time after the1960 presidential electionin an oceanfront villa at the old Key Biscayne Hotel. As the Watergate scandal developed, Nixon spent more time in seclusion there.
TheUnited States Department of Defensespent $400,000 constructing ahelicopter landing padinBiscayne Bayadjacent to the Nixon compound. When Nixon sold his property, including the helicopter pad, there were public accusations that he enriched himself at taxpayer expense.
Scarface,the 1983 gangster movie starringAl Pacino,was filmed there.[1]
The original building was razed during July 2004 by ownerEdgardo Defortuna,president of Fortune International Realty.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Tim Reid (July 28, 2009)."$20m holiday home at Blue Heron Farm suits Barack Obama to a tee".Times Online.London. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-05-08.Retrieved2009-07-28.
- ^"Nixon's Presidential Retreat in Fla. Razed".AP Online.July 22, 2004. Archived fromthe originalon September 24, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 19,2014.
External links[edit]
- Fulsom, Don (February 5, 2006).The Mob's President: Richard Nixon's Secret Ties to the Mafia.Crime Magazine.
- Associated Press(July 23, 2004).Nixon's Winter White House Razed.
