Bebe Rebozo: Difference between revisions
imported>PacificBoy No edit summary |
|||
| Line 93: | Line 93: | ||
</ref> | </ref> | ||
In 1974, Rebozo received a letter threatening his life | In 1974, Rebozo received a letter threatening his life.<ref name=fbi /> | ||
In 1976, Rebozo was the subject of a bank fraud investigation. The loan application Rebozo filed with Hudson Valley National Bank in [[Yonkers, New York]], stated that the loan was for residential real estate when it was actually used for business. Rebozo repaid the loan with interest | In 1976, Rebozo was the subject of a bank fraud investigation. The loan application Rebozo filed with Hudson Valley National Bank in [[Yonkers, New York]], stated that the loan was for residential real estate when it was actually used for business. Rebozo repaid the loan with interest and the bank did not file a complaint.<ref name=fbi>[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] [http://vault.fbi.gov/Charles%20Rebozo "Vault: Charles G. Rebozo"] Retrieved: March 16, 2008</ref> | ||
Mobster [[Vincent Teresa]] admitted to laundering stolen money at Rebozo's bank.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fulsom |first=Don |url=https:// | Mobster [[Vincent Teresa]] admitted to laundering stolen money at Rebozo's bank.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fulsom |first=Don |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9MA-etFRqY4C&dq=Vincent+Teresa+laundering+Key+Biscayne+Bank&pg=PA50 |title=Nixon's Darkest Secrets: The Inside Story of America's Most Troubled President |date=2012-01-31 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-66296-7 |language=en}}</ref> | ||
=== Role in firing of NPS director George Hartzog === | === Role in firing of NPS director George Hartzog === | ||
Rebozo encouraged Richard Nixon to fire then-[[National Park Service]] director [[George B. Hartzog Jr.|George Hartzog]] in retaliation for receiving "a ticket from a park ranger in [[Biscayne National Park]] for tying his boat illegally to an NPS administrative dock there."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book | | Rebozo encouraged Richard Nixon to fire then-[[National Park Service]] director [[George B. Hartzog Jr.|George Hartzog]] in retaliation for receiving "a ticket from a park ranger in [[Biscayne National Park]] for tying his boat illegally to an NPS administrative dock there."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Jarvis |first1=Jonathan B. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1268123272 |title=National parks forever: fifty years of fighting and a case for independence |last2=Jarvis |first2=T. Destry |date=2022 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-81909-9 |location=Chicago, IL; London |oclc=on1268123272}}</ref> Nixon fired Hartzog in December 1972, despite attempts by [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] [[Rogers Morton]] to talk the president out of his decision.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hevesi |first=Dennis |date=18 Jul 2008 |title=George Hartzog: National Park Service chief |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ventura-county-star-obituary-for-george/150171532/ |access-date=27 Jun 2024 |work=[[Ventura County Star]] |pages=46}}</ref> | ||
Nixon opted to replace Hartzog with his office's head of travel arrangement [[Ronald H. Walker|Ron Walker]], an "unqualified appointment" who openly admitted "that he did not know the difference between the National Park Service and the [[Scouting Movement|Boy Scouts]]."<ref name=":0" /> Rebozo's influence on Nixon's firing of Hartzog has also been noted in Dr. Gil Lusk's 2019 book ''National Parks: Our Living National Treasures'' and ''A Conservative Environmentalist: The Life and Career of Frank Masland Jr.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lusk |first=Dr. Gil |title=National Parks - Our Living National Treasures: A Time for Concern |publisher=Gatekeeper Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781642374988 |edition=1st |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Thomas G. |title=A conservative environmentalist: the life and career of Frank Masland Jr |date=2024 |publisher=The Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-271-09752-7 |location=University Park, Pennsylvania}}</ref> Former [[National Park Service]] director [[Jonathan Jarvis|Jonathan B. Jarvis]] has credited Rebozo with indirectly bringing about an overly-politicized era of the Parks program administration that still exists to the present, wherein NPS directors are expected to resign with the election of each new president.<ref name=":0" /> | Nixon opted to replace Hartzog with his office's head of travel arrangement [[Ronald H. Walker|Ron Walker]], an "unqualified appointment" who openly admitted "that he did not know the difference between the National Park Service and the [[Scouting Movement|Boy Scouts]]."<ref name=":0" /> Rebozo's influence on Nixon's firing of Hartzog has also been noted in Dr. Gil Lusk's 2019 book ''National Parks: Our Living National Treasures'' and ''A Conservative Environmentalist: The Life and Career of Frank Masland Jr.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lusk |first=Dr. Gil |title=National Parks - Our Living National Treasures: A Time for Concern |publisher=Gatekeeper Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781642374988 |edition=1st |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Thomas G. |title=A conservative environmentalist: the life and career of Frank Masland Jr |date=2024 |publisher=The Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-271-09752-7 |location=University Park, Pennsylvania}}</ref> Former [[National Park Service]] director [[Jonathan Jarvis|Jonathan B. Jarvis]] has credited Rebozo with indirectly bringing about an overly-politicized era of the Parks program administration that still exists to the present, wherein NPS directors are expected to resign with the election of each new president.<ref name=":0" /> | ||
==Personal life== | |||
Following his graduation from [[Miami High School]], class of 1930, Rebozo married his high school sweetheart, Claire Gunn. Both of them were 18, and the marriage was annulled three years later. In 1946, they remarried but divorced four years later.<ref name="nyt98">Binder, David (May 10, 1998) According to a recent tape published in the Atlantic, he was a closeted racist. [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/ronald-reagans-racist-conversation-richard-nixon/595102/] [[The Atlantic]] [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/10/us/bebe-rebozo-loyal-friend-in-nixon-s-darkest-days-dies-at-85.html "Bebe Rebozo, Loyal Friend in Nixon's Darkest Days, Dies at 85" (obituary)] ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved: February 4, 2017.</ref> He later married Jane Lucke, who survived him.<ref name=nyt98/> | |||
==Death== | ==Death== | ||
Rebozo died on May 8, 1998, of complications from a [[brain aneurysm]].<ref name=WashingtonPost1998-05-10 /> | Rebozo died on May 8, 1998, of complications from a [[brain aneurysm]].<ref name=WashingtonPost1998-05-10 /> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 22:07, 9 August 2025
Charles Gregory "Bebe" (pronounced Script error: No such module "Respell".[1][2]) Rebozo (November 17, 1912 – May 8, 1998) was an American Florida-based banker and businessman who was a close friend and confidant of President Richard Nixon.[3][4][5][6]
Early life
The youngest of 12 children (hence, the nickname "Bebe" meaning "Baby" in Spanish) of Cuban immigrants, Matias and Carmen, Rebozo owned several businesses in Florida, including a gas station and a group of laundromats, before he started his own bank, the Key Biscayne Bank & Trust, in Key Biscayne, Florida, in 1964. Rebozo regularly attended Key Biscayne Community Church, sometimes accompanied during later years by Nixon.
Friendship with Richard Nixon
Rebozo first met then-U.S. Representative Nixon in 1950 through Florida Representative George Smathers. Smathers had recommended Key Biscayne as a vacation destination to Nixon, who eventually established a residence there which was later nicknamed the "Winter White House" by journalists. While Nixon was vacationing in Key Biscayne, Smathers had Rebozo take Nixon deep sea fishing. Rebozo and Nixon then started a friendship that endured 44 years.[7]
Rebozo quickly became best friend and financial and real estate advisor to Nixon. In 1968 Rebozo changed his party from Democratic to Republican.[7]
According to Rebozo, the two men were swimming together at Rebozo's home in June 1972 when Nixon was first informed of the Watergate Hotel break-in, and he was with the president on the night that Nixon resolved to resign from the presidency. John Dean, Nixon's lawyer, testified before the House Judiciary Committee that he had been ordered to direct government agencies covertly to punish a journalist who called Rebozo "Nixon's bagman."[5] Rebozo was investigated for accepting covert payments of $100,000 on behalf of Nixon.[6]
Journalist Jack Anderson speculated that Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox had been fired because he had started to investigate Rebozo's role in Nixon's accepting covert payments.[8]
According to a November 27, 1975, article in The New York Times, a completed manuscript of a biography on Rebozo, which was scheduled to be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, was stolen from the home of Thomas Kiernan. In addition to Rebozo's biography, "several tape recordings of interviews and several research files, including one file containing all of Mr. Kiernan's book contracts and another containing all his royalty statements, were taken," the newspaper reported.[9] Other news coverage at the time pointed out that the "thieves [had] ignored" jewelry and other items of value.[10]
In 1974, Rebozo received a letter threatening his life.[11]
In 1976, Rebozo was the subject of a bank fraud investigation. The loan application Rebozo filed with Hudson Valley National Bank in Yonkers, New York, stated that the loan was for residential real estate when it was actually used for business. Rebozo repaid the loan with interest and the bank did not file a complaint.[11]
Mobster Vincent Teresa admitted to laundering stolen money at Rebozo's bank.[12]
Role in firing of NPS director George Hartzog
Rebozo encouraged Richard Nixon to fire then-National Park Service director George Hartzog in retaliation for receiving "a ticket from a park ranger in Biscayne National Park for tying his boat illegally to an NPS administrative dock there."[13] Nixon fired Hartzog in December 1972, despite attempts by Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton to talk the president out of his decision.[14]
Nixon opted to replace Hartzog with his office's head of travel arrangement Ron Walker, an "unqualified appointment" who openly admitted "that he did not know the difference between the National Park Service and the Boy Scouts."[13] Rebozo's influence on Nixon's firing of Hartzog has also been noted in Dr. Gil Lusk's 2019 book National Parks: Our Living National Treasures and A Conservative Environmentalist: The Life and Career of Frank Masland Jr.[15][16] Former National Park Service director Jonathan B. Jarvis has credited Rebozo with indirectly bringing about an overly-politicized era of the Parks program administration that still exists to the present, wherein NPS directors are expected to resign with the election of each new president.[13]
Personal life
Following his graduation from Miami High School, class of 1930, Rebozo married his high school sweetheart, Claire Gunn. Both of them were 18, and the marriage was annulled three years later. In 1946, they remarried but divorced four years later.[7] He later married Jane Lucke, who survived him.[7]
Death
Rebozo died on May 8, 1998, of complications from a brain aneurysm.[6]
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Binder, David (May 10, 1998) According to a recent tape published in the Atlantic, he was a closeted racist. [1] The Atlantic "Bebe Rebozo, Loyal Friend in Nixon's Darkest Days, Dies at 85" (obituary) The New York Times. Retrieved: February 4, 2017.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Federal Bureau of Investigation "Vault: Charles G. Rebozo" Retrieved: March 16, 2008
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Sources
- Fulsom, Don (February 5, 2006). "The Mob's President: Richard Nixon's Secret Ties to the Mafia." Crime Magazine.
- Leinster, Colin (July 31, 1970). "Nixon’s Friend Bebe." Life, vol. 69, no. 5. pp. 18-26.
- Summers, Anthony (2000). The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon.