The racers, Aronow and Kramer, had much in common. They threatened to cancel the Blue Thunder contract if Aronow didn't buy the company back. He boasted to a cop of running guns "south" and bumping off three Cuban military men. Just last Friday, he was sentenced in a daredevil escape from Metropolitan Correctional Center April 17, 1989. An Aronow family lawyer, Murray Weil, won't discuss the racers' financial dealings. Take a look, He found a clam on a Florida beach to make some chowder. They threw him in jail. He got himself into Cuba -- for smuggling. Panzavecchia took a shot at Young's car. In 1985, Kramer and a car-racing pal paid $50,000 to have a 36-year-old Fort Lauderdale man killed, witnesses told federal agents. Jacoby never looked for a boat. He announced that he worked for a rich man who wanted Aronow to build him a 60-foot boat. Aronow's last boat venture, USA Team Racing, was sold in November. Kramer turned over land, assets and a Bell helicopter. Robert Samuel Young, 41, the suspected hit man, is a "soldier of fortune type, " says Fred Haddad, one of his multiple lawyers. Aronow drove a white Mercedes, Kramer a white Porsche. Panzavecchia ran guns. And he may or may not be the same Jerry Jacoby who once strayed into Cuban waters during a scuba-diving trip out of Miami. But his gold Rolex was missing from his wrist. At least one he had committed. His technique was to establish a company's reputation by winning races (the world. "I'd do anything for him, " an Aronow employee, Patty Lezaca, quoted Jacoby. He backed his Mercedes into the street. He was a hero and a genius, a ballbuster and a bully. What's more, Young's description -- blue eyes, dark-blond hair -- does not match a composite drawing of the Lincoln's driver made from eyewitness accounts: a white man with a tanned complexion, a day or two's growth of whiskers and wavy brown hair. A child of the Depression, Aronow, 59, founded several of the world's hottest speed-boat manufacturing companies. Aronow built the dead-end street where he died, known as Thunder Boat Row, and paid his well-tanned laborers for designing and manufacturing his sassy speedboats: Formula, Donzi, Magnum, Squadron XII and the needle-nosed Cigarette. It pulled up to the Mercedes, driver's side to driver's side. "They didn't like each other in the end, " says Dr. Bob Magoon, an eye surgeon, racer and friend to both. Young's old lawyer, Melvyn Kessler, doesn't represent him anymore because of his own criminal problems. Once a Boca Raton officer stopped Young's Mercury Marquis and spotted one of the dogs in the back seat. And Benjamin Barry Kramer, the world champion fast-boat millionaire, could have ordered the daytime ambush after he and Aronow squabbled over a shady business deal, some investigators surmise. The Aronow stables at Ocala, Fla., house about 40 2-year-olds in various. On the course, Aronow horses -- Mike began training horses after his accident -- were the top winners at Gulfstream Park during the 1985 season. The next day, Young, using the name Bobby Scott, took some shots at Panzavecchia -- four .25-caliber bullets through the skull. For years, Young used different dates and places of birth, different names and occupations. Both were hot-tempered. Publicly, the Metro-Dade Police Department, the Dade State Attorney's Office and the FBI refuse to comment on the Aronow investigation -- except to cite substantial progress. But this Jerry Jacoby wasn't that Jerry Jacoby. Mystery Stalks Street Where Speedboat King Met Violent Death A fisherman found his body in a canal in Broward County. Saccenti says they didn't talk about Kramer or bad business blood. "And Don did buy it back, " Michael Aronow says. It exploded, injuring his legs. And they looked for Jerry Jacoby. Young skipped out on his $120,000 bond. One of their horses--named Don Aronow--won more than $200,000 in prize money. Aronow built the dead-end street where he died, known as Thunder Boat Row, and paid his well-tanned laborers for designing and manufacturing his sassy speedboats: Formula, Donzi, Magnum, Squadron. Release Date: Confirmed for 2021.michael aronow horse trainer.. Aronow was a handsome family man who moved to Miami after making a.His unparalleled accomplishments in the world of powerboating are insightfully described by the one who was with him nearly every step of the . They found the Jerry Jacoby the murdered man knew. Another lawyer, now disbarred, could be a player in the Aronow investigation, too. This story was originally published April 1, 2009, 10:21 AM. A Lincoln Continental with tinted windows was parked nearby, waiting. The street talk is a bit different: Aronow returned the land, the equipment and the chopper to Kramer -- and kept the under-the-table money. Their livers were missing, Little dragon found on uninhabited Australian island is a new species. Speedboat king's death still a puzzle | Miami Herald Maybe they never will. Michael Aronow Inc. 1988 - Present35 years Port Washington, New York Thoroughbred and Equine Consultants. Another possible government witness is William George Walton, also serving time. The locals also found out that the FBI was interested in "a case of murder on the high seas involving the killing and discarding of a body from Robert Young's boat.". No one has been charged. Principal - Law Office of Michael Aronow - LinkedIn Not to worry, he explained. Or it could have had something to do with Ben Kramer, he says. Along Thunder Boat Row, people are reluctant to talk about the extent of the Aronow-Kramer relationship. The murder of Aronow, shot to death three years ago, seems to be unraveling as one of the most sensational chapters in the nation's drug story. Takeaways and reaction, Miamis falling murder rates show the fallacy of Republicans anti-immigration stance | Opinion. a perplexed Aronow asked. Says Michael Aronow, the slain racer's son: "The way my father lived, it (the murder) could have been as casual as a handshake. U.S. District Judge James Kehoe gave him 10 years, on top of life. Nobody thought much of the comment at the time. He and two pals agreed to cooperate and testified against Young in the federal drug case, according to attorney Anita Sanders in Oklahoma City. He instructed his employees to accept collect calls from a con in a federal pen. With him on the ill-fated scuba trip was Robert Young, also jailed. Still recovering from the failed breakout, Kramer limped out of court on a wooden crutch. "Bobby is one of those guys you should be afraid of, " the detective says. It could have had to do with the CIA.". BOAT RACER LIVED HARD AND FAST AND LOVED IT - Sun Sentinel Conceivably, they could be wrong. Although cons have implicated Young in the Aronow murder, some investigators speculate that more than one man pulled off the crime. Bush named a Cigarette Fidelity. Prosecutors said the lawyer helped cycle Kramer's dirty profits through secret bank accounts and phony companies stretching from Colombia and Los Angeles to Miami, London and Lichtenstein. A tall stranger walked in, introducing himself as Jerry Jacoby. ", To another officer, Fort Lauderdale Organized Crime Detective Stephen Robitaille, Young said: "I'm a mercenary.". He is in jail in Oklahoma City, awaiting sentencing on the federal drug charge. He might or might not be the Jerry Jacoby who has a chauffeur's license from Seminole County. In the summer of 1987, Fort Lauderdale police arrested Young after he twice shot an Army vet, Craig Marshall. Don Aronow was a dead set legend. He designed, built and raced the famous Magnum Marine, Cary, Cigarette, Donzi and Formula speedboats. Marshall lived. Young, already serving time for the "Dixie Mafia" murder, didn't respond to a telegrammed request for an interview. And in the end, he wound up as nothing more than a target for an assassin's bullet. Then he counted the rings, Mysterious ball seen beside road was 14-foot invasive snake, New York officials say, Elite gathering of financial titans returns to Miami for annual event, UM, Pitt battle for first place in ACC Saturday in front of sold-out Watsco Center, Philly phenom Carranza back at DRV PNK Stadium to face former Inter Miami teammates, Fourth-quarter burst by LaShae Dwyer propels UM women to ACC tournament quarterfinals, Heat falls to 0-2 on important homestand with painful loss to Knicks. . . Jesse Jackson has a bit part -- as the innocent humanitarian who got Young out of a Cuban prison in 1984. "He just stopped by to see how I was doing, to find out what was going on in the neighborhood, " he says. "I can't confirm or deny anything that's not public record, " says Walton's lawyer, Paul A. UM women play immature first quarter, bounced by Virginia Tech in ACC tournament, Mysterious creature seen hopping along rainforest river for first time in 24 years, 11 sharks wash up on South African beach, researchers say. A day or two after the murder, Kramer told police how troubled he was to lose his "friend" Aronow. Cuban authorities said they found almost 300 pounds of marijuana aboard. Aronow drove his Mercedes less than a block, over to Bob Saccenti's boat place. He didn't want to talk to The Miami Herald. Supposedly, he kept a squad of Rottweilers trained to attack on hand command. He shot Aronow in the chest, blasting his way down to the groin. "They were having trouble with a deal.". With a .45, the killer opened fire. "And I'll let the dog chew on him. . About 2 p.m. the day of the murder, Don Aronow arrived on Thunder Boat Row. They looked for the Lincoln. "They've been following leads, " says Gary Rosenberg, assistant state attorney. Jesse Jackson, running for president, engineered the release of Young and 21 other Americans, as well as 26 Cuban political prisoners, in June 1984. THE VIOLENT DEATH OF AN AMERICAN DREAM - The Washington Post Along Thunder Boat Row, they called him the Old Man. Aronow, afraid of nothing, also moved in corporate circles. Others raced in the Kentucky Derby. The drug deal went bad. By the 1980s, the two men were in the boat business together. MURDER OF ARONOW UNSOLVED AFTER YEAR - Sun Sentinel Ben Kramer, the fast-life desperado, is also adjusting to life in prison. He sold boats to Christina Onassis and Victor Posner and allegedly was a pal of Meyer Lansky, the financial brains of organized crime. He refused to identify his employer. In his spare time, he built speedboats for the Shah of Iran and American presidents George Bush Sr and Lyndon Johnson, among others and he hung out with the Beatles. Then he stopped talking upon the advice of his lawyer. His widow, Lillian Aronow, has not spoken publicly about her husband's murder. "What do you do for your boss?" The chauffeur is 39 years old and 6 foot 2 -- about the same age and height of the stranger who walked into Aronow's office on the afternoon of the murder. Lacy. It could have been international. Detectives looked for the watch. In the 1970s, police said, he ran a "floating prostitution" enterprise in St. Louis; Columbia, S.C.; Wheeling, W.Va.; and Las Vegas. On April 19, 1988, a federal grand jury in Oklahoma City indicted Young and three other men in a Colombia-to-U.S. drug pipeline. A shy waitress and a persistent customer put their faith in fortune cookies in this sweet story from the director of Lbs. Not six months later, Young plotted a drug deal with John "Big Red" Panzavecchia, 39, a member of the "Dixie Mafia." He was holed up with his green- eyed companion, three Rottweilers and a .22-caliber semi- automatic rifle. We act in a management and/or Agent capacity in any and all aspects of the industry.. And the street talk is that he also gave Aronow cash -- under the table. It hasn't been easy. But when the Feds found out they were buying the boats from Kramer, a drug suspect himself, they cringed. On May 17, 1988, Miami Detective Nelson Andreu, investigating the Panzavecchia murder, got a telephone call from Metro-Dade Detective Mike DeCora, investigating the Aronow murder. They were Communists. The cast of characters -- two behind bars, one the victim of a mysterious bomb explosion, and one unaccounted for -- all have connections to a trans-Atlantic network of shell companies and secret bank accounts. Robert S. Young, a self-described mercenary with a fondness for call girls, guns and mean dogs, is the hit man who gunned down Donald Aronow, the legendary speedboat demon, investigators suspect. . This time the dispute was over a 40-foot custom-made sailboat, Cat Dancer, named for Young's green-eyed girlfriend, a one-time topless dancer. USA Racing Team's primary mission was its lucrative U.S. Customs contract -- to build "super" anti-smuggling catamarans called Blue Thunder. You can arrest me now if you want to. "What they did personally amongst themselves, I have no idea, " says Robert Saccenti, a former pal of both men. Andreu wrote a report: DeCora "stated he had information from a source who was in federal custody in Oklahoma and provided them the name of Robert Young as the shooter in their investigation of millionaire boat builder Aronau, " spelling the name wrong. They never found the other one. Investigators don't have the proof. He seemed "agitated, " says Jerry Engelman, Aronow's manager. "That's hearsay, " Michael Aronow says. But he was the wrong one. Both liked money, winning, fast toys and the color white. . Call girls got him into Leavenworth. A double-dealing mob tale, it might out-Godfather The Godfather -- if, of course, it's not fiction. About two weeks later, Palm Beach SWAT officers coaxed Young out of a five-acre estate. Young liked guns -- rifles, shotguns, Rugers. He was bested businesswise very badly.". He kept newspaper clippings about unsolved murders in his house. According to the Nashville newspapers, Silverman is a federal informant. Someone swiped a gold Rolex watch from the dead man's wrist. Panzavecchia still had on his underwear with the words "Be My Baby, " and his gold panther ring. My Prince Charming had a shot at the Kentucky Derby . An old Bell chopper plucked him from the prison's athletic field -- only to snag on a barbed wire fence and crash. Through the lawyer, Mary Catherine Bonner, Kramer denies involvement in the murder. Donald Aronow, a bored millionaire at 28 and a dead man 26 days before his 60th birthday, used to move briskly through Miami's shadowy world where dopers, government spies and mobsters commingle. Fast Talk - the Wild Life of Legendary Builder Don Aronow Aronow knew a Jerry Jacoby, a racing champion and former partner. A world-champion boat racer who enjoyed wild success in business, he was also an unapologetic playboy and fabled bon vivant. michael aronow horses A couple of weeks ago, a federal jury found Kessler guilty of a drug conspiracy charge. He is Paul K. Silverman, also convicted on a drug charge, also serving time in Oklahoma.
Christopher Sheldon Albatross,
Articles M