Credit: Courtesy of Arthur Jay Harris. He would have a succession of ladies that would appear. They were fast (more than 112km/h), good for interdiction activities (stable when boarding intercepted boats) and comparatively easy to drive. We could see all the gunshots., Allan Brown He was murdered right out in front of my office, halfway betweenSaccentis building and my building. It fuelled an uneasy dynamism. [3][4][5] Kramer had a business dispute with Aronow after buying the latter's USA Racing Team but was forced to sell it back to Aronow after the Customs Service refused to do business with him. Don Aronow: The King of Thunderboat Row, 1994, by Michael Aronow They become friends and Johnson told my father about the Miami-Nassau race, which my father became really interested in. This was not the first mystery to surround Donald Joel Aronow. However when the Customs Service found out about the younger Kramers criminal reputation, they put the kibosh on the transaction.]. [3] Kramer was already in prison on a life sentence with no possibility of parole following 1988 and 1989 convictions for drug smuggling and gun charges, as well as receiving a 1990 conviction for a failed escape attempt by helicopter from a federal prison near Miami.[4]. He raced his 8.2-metre Maltese Magnum all over the world. And I can tell you, the day he was murdered there were phone calls to the King of Jordan, the King of Spain, George Bush. Don did not enjoy boating. A certain Ben Kramer, who came from a seemingly good home on the Intracoastal Waterway between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, started smoking pot at school and began selling it. By November 1981, a Time magazine cover feature was declaring that an epidemic of violent crime, a plague of illicit drugs and a tidal wave of refugees have slammed into South Florida with the destructive power of a hurricane. Of the World's most recognized racing boat companies, Don Aronow established five; Donzi, Formula, Magnum, Cigarette and He started hosting Sunday afternoon brunches at the new home, sometimes for 50 or 60 people, with only Skip and Joanne Allen, of Southern Boating, and my wife and I as the token Christians. Saccenti: I think there were over 100 suspects when they finally killed him. Saccenti: [Kramer and Aronow] were both wealthy, and if it was over money, thats a shame. Aronow set out after Bertram, working with designers on NE 188th Street to create deep V fibreglass Formula boats, notably the seven-metre 233. During the day were asked to patrol their race course during events for emergency rescues, a Coast Guard official told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. A guy comes in with the money and you build a boat for them and you never know. The great speed of Cigarette boats also made them a popular choice among cocaine smugglers. If the real motive for Aronows murder was him turning informant, surely others (on the wrong side of the law) were potential suspects, too? And he never would backpedal later or change things. [A tough, athletic, Jewish kid from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, by age 21 Aronow found himself married and about to start a career in his father-in-laws New Jersey Peters: One of the first issues I had to deal with when he hired me [in the early 80s] was [notorious Haitian dictator] Baby Doc [who was a client]. The official record shows that, via a tip-off, police identified a mercenary street criminal named Bobby Young as the man whod shot Aronow. Hes the only person Ive ever known like that. After divorcing his first wife, Shirley, with whom he had three children, Aronow married Lillian Crawford, a Wilhelmina fashion model and socialite. [1][2] In 1959, at age of 32, the now-millionaire Aronow moved to Miami with his family, where he began racing boats as a hobby.[2]. He thought he was going to semi-retire to Florida and skin dive and fish, but he got bored. Claudia, his daughter, is an artist in New York. It had to do with his father's taxicab company. Celebrated yacht designer Michael Peters, who went to work for Aronow the day before he died, said, He was an asshole, but he was my asshole a benefactor for whom Ill always be grateful., On 3 February 1987, Peters was aged 34 and among the last people to speak with Aronow at the office of USA Racing Team, the latest of Aronows boat firms. They just dont make em like Don Aronow anymore. [2] Peters: It could have been anyone from drug runners, to business partners, to jealous husbands. He pulled alongside a Lincoln car with tinted windows. He did that a few times. A kid was going to start a boat company in Florida. Allan Brownie Brown is a former acquaintance. Aronow had just left a meeting with Bob Saccenti, part owner of Apache Power Boats together with partner Ben Kramer. I told my secretary to call 911. David A. Arnold: Death And Obituary How Did Famous Comedian, Actor-Writer &Producer Die? He was a great dad and a great husband. He competed in the race in April 1962 and led until the end. The people who killed him were found out almost a decade after the fact. Vice President George Bush drives one of Aronow's Cigarettes. Saccenti: He was a great guy and a great businessman. He wears khaki slacks to work-tieless and sockless-as he cuts six-figure boat deals with a young Italian count one minute, and talks rpm's with a greasy race mechanic the next. Aronow, it seems, would sell anybody a boat, especially for cash, but if you said you were using it to smuggle drugs, Don wouldnt have anything to do with you, asserted Mike Kandrovicz from USA Racing Team. Semi-blind, he was forced to wear heavy-rimmed and thick-lensed glasses that were always a worry when he played. Adam Kimmel, the menswear designer and spouse of The Glass House actress Leelee Sobieski, is the son of the ex-couple. Brown: Our friend Stu Jackson worked for Thunderbird and he received a gold Rolex when he retired. Even local residents the Bee Gees were not immune. But a dark Lincoln Continental rolled alongside of him, and thenshots rang out.]. At the time, Saccenti was recovering from a horrific crash on Lake Erie. He was right out of a Hollywood script. Little Don couldn't understand how all his father's taxicabs could get lost at once. Emblematic of both the American dream and a particularly magnetic kind of American masculinity, Aronow was a frontiersman, a real-life Marlboro Man and a fearless racer. Back in those days, [criminal activity involving speedboats] was very prevalent because there was a lot of smuggling going on. She has a son with him. Peters: If you were a coward, with him, you were gone. An estimated 70 per cent of all marijuana and cocaine imported into the US passes through South Florida, the feature reported. Bobby Young was the person who did the killing, and he said that Ben Kramer hired him. Over the years, theories have developed to involve the Chicago mob, Colombian drug kingpins, cuckolded husbands or just a random shooter. Radios blared out the hits of the day. If your browser is out of date, try updating it. If you continue to be blocked, please send an email to secruxurity@sizetedistrict.cVmwom with: https://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/claudia-aronow/, Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:88.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/88.0, A summary of what you were doing and why you need access to this site. Shortly after the visit, Aronow left his office and drove down the street to Apache Performance Boats to visit with his former protg, Bob Saccenti. He built this entire street. Airlifted to a nearby hospital, Don Aronow was dead within the hour. Bush a close friend.]. I can retire and lets go to Florida. This was in 1961., Allan Brown Everybody has their own idea about why he was in Miami. Whereas Don Aronow was more brash, assertive more resolutely a mans man. You had to be able to match. The 2018 criminal drama film Speed Kills served as a vehicle for Dons epicness. He sold Magnum to American Photocopy for a ton. Little could prepare him for the scene two hundred metres up the street. The secret to happiness is taking risks: Don Aronow understood that motto as well as anyone who ever lived. A violent criminal named Bobby Young was fingered as the hitman, whose employer according to the courts was Ben Kramer. That was just his personality.. You should have seen that pilot's face.". Bob Saccenti The real Don was sitting at a business table negotiating deals. People said whatever Don touched turned to gold., Michael Aronow Forrest Johnson was originally his fishing buddy. Kramer got a 19-year sentence for manslaughter to run concurrently with a life term for marijuana smuggling. This is his story in the words of some of the men who knew him best. So does Jordan's King Hussein -- and Haiti's President Baby Doc, fugitive financer Robert Vesco, British tabloid tycoon Sir Max Aitken, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Evil Kneviel. Included in the settlement was $1.25 million in cash, a million-dollar Miami waterfront home and a Rolls-Royce. Michael, his oldest son, was one of the best athletes at the University of Florida. Witnesses assert that as Aronow rolled down his window, the other driver allegedly started shooting. Like others who bought a boat company from Aronow, the Theodolis had reason to be wary. They could not countenance procuring drug interdiction boats from a firm owned by a convicted smuggler and predictably moved to cancel the procurement contract. Some of the most popular types of speedboats were the Cigarette, Donzi, Formula, and Cary. You had to be able to match. The Shah of Iran, George Bush Sr., and Lyndon Johnson all had speedboats that he made for them. And he never would backpedal later or change things. The deals off. Im guessing Don kept some of the under-the-table money. By the end of 1962, Don had founded the Formula Marine boat company as a specialized moto boat business, which he ultimately sold to Alliance Machine Corp. of Merrick Lewis. [2] In 1947, he returned to the USA and completed his studies graduating from Brooklyn College in 1948 with a physical education degree[1] earning letters in football, wrestling, and track. He owns a horse farm in Ocala, a home in Miami Beach and a new Long Island estate that just made Toen and Country. It was a big building and obscured the Donzi plant, and you couldnt see [Donzi] from Highway 1 anymore! After buying Aronows USA Racing Team, Kramer had a business dispute with Aronow, but was forced to sell it back to Aronow after the Customs Service refused to do business with him. I cant imagine that, though, he was pretty easy to find. Collecting his children from summer camp, and not returning to the family home, the 34 year-old arrived in Florida with a $2 million retirement fund. By various accounts, he then fled to Florida in 1960 to escape the mob. Michael Aronow is one of Dons five sons from three wives. He later got married to Lillian Crawford, a model for Wilhelmina who was 24 years younger than he was. He ran a successful business making speedboats. Ive met some extremely charismatic men, including Sean Connery and Roger Moore, she said. Back in those days [criminal activity involving speedboats] was very prevalent because there was a lot of smuggling going on. Back in 1981, Time quoted a legal researcher living in Miami as saying: I see people walking down the streets openly carrying guns, some in their hands, others in their holsters. Michael, Donalds eldest son, thought his dad was a hero. Further reading. Hed knock you right down. The Row was island-like, bounded by water on three sides. "But she didn't want anything to do with me.". Brown: He started Formula from scratch and sold it to Thunderbird in about a year. "It won big," Aronow says. Aronow left his office in his white Mercedes, shortly after visiting a rival boat dealership owned by Kramer. It was mostly a lot of hell-raising and good times.". Although witnesses failed to identify him in police line-ups, Young pled no contest to the shooting. The contessa suddenly mashed her brakes and brought the car to a halt at the side of the road, its tires only inches away from a sheer drop into a dark valley. Their son is menswear designer Adam Kimmel; His second wife was former Wilhelmina model, Lillian Crawford, 24 years his junior. You gotta do your homework. You can talk to anybody [about that]. Also read:Queen Elizabeth II: Death And Obituary What Happened To Her? Guys wanted to be him. Bush, right, was a close friend who initially threw his weight behind the murder investigation. The murder may forever remain a mystery. If you are using a VPN, try disabling it. A certain nostalgia colours memories of the 1970s as a time of the gentlemanly marijuana business. It was in 007 that he beat Bertram in the Miami-Nassau race in 1965. There are about 70 people out there who think they have a boat Don built for himself!, Michael Aronow By 1966, my dad had sold Donzi to Teleflex. He was larger than life. We collected some of the best. He gave the impression that he felt he could take whatever he wanted.. New hotels and office towers are rising in Miami, and once-sleepy towns nearby are growing skylines of their own, chronicled Time. [A tough, athletic, Jewish kid from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, by age 21 Aronow found himself married and about to start a career in his father-in-laws New Jersey Aronow famously kept company with people from all walks of life. To finance the development, he sold more civilised versions, with teak decks and sleeping quarters, to the general public. In the film, Ben Aronoff is wed to Katherine Aronoff, his wife. [1] In 1953, he established his own construction company, the Aronow Corporation which quickly became one of the largest construction companies in the state. I used to work boat shows with him and Holy Christ!, Michael Aronow I dont think any of those guys had ever seen anything quite like it, to be honest., Allan Brown At Cigarette, he had an intercom in his office and he used to boff his secretary there. Bush back-pedalled out of there as fast as he could. "That's what winning is all about," Aronow grins nearly 20 years later. It lets you transport your luxury car up to the safety of your own unit, even as crime rates have dropped. A pattern emerged whereby Aronow would sell his companies and then seek to eclipse them. He might also try to buy the companies back, for cents on the dollar. Aronow is a former junior high school gym teacher from the Bronx. A tough, athletic, Jewish kid from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York, by the age of 21, Aronow was married and about to start a career in his father-in-laws New Jersey construction company. Half out of his car, Aronow lay slumped, crimson blooming across his shirt. Wylie, the second son, says that he helped start the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Australia, DEAN OF THE DEEP | TIM DEAN ABOARD HIS 47FT OBRIEN, FULL SEND MODE CLAYTON MCDIARMIDS MINT HAINES HUNTER V17. He was born in 1927, the son of an affluent taxicab owner whose family had emigrated from Russia and been bankrupted by the Great Depression. But Aronow may have possessed a darker side that even he could not outrun and in the end, he wound up as nothing more than a target for an assassins bullet. "I took her to all the best places," Aronow says. (ABOVE) RUM RUNNER: The first boat to wear the Formula name was a 233 called Cigarette after a famous rum running boat. [Then vice president] Bush said, We aint gonna buy boats from Ben Kramer. Don Aronow is also quite proud of his lovely wife Lillian. In 1948, he married Shirley Goldin, [1] [6] whom he had met while working as a lifeguard on Coney Island. WebI think it was at this point that Don discovered that he was Jewish. He was very young. WebAronow married twice. Speculation about who the killer might be ran from jilted lovers or jealous husbands to [Jewish mobster] Meyer Lansky and the CIA. Next thing I know, an employee is banging on my door. Don was the only person who gave me more than a platitudehe gave me a job, this was December of 86. Young died in prison in 2009 after steadfastly refusing for years to testify against Kramer. [2] Jackson said it was the best in the world. A tough, athletic, Jewish kid from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York, by the age of 21, Aronow was married and about to start a career in his father-in-laws New Jersey construction company. The contessa was at the wheel of her two-seater Italian sportscar, its tires squealing as she forced the car through the mountain curves. (Captains note: we think he means money.) At his funeral, [eye surgeon and powerboat racer] Doc Magoon gave the eulogy, and at one point he said, Don was a mans man. He paused, and then said, And he was a ladies man. Everybody looked around the room at all of the known mistresses that were sitting there., Michael Aronow My father broke up more marriages than anybody. After Don Aranow was killed by a gunshot in Miami in 1987, his story was told in the 2009 documentary Thunder Man: The Don Aranow Story and in the 2018 film Speed Kills. [1] His father owned a gas station and then a taxi company which collapsed during the Great Depression. His face flushed with excitement, Don Aronow launches into another one of his stories. Peters: I had gone through a divorce and it was terrible times. By this time the mid 1990s he was being kept in an isolation cell without, his lawyer claimed, adequate dental or medical care. Congregating witnesses spoke of a dark Lincoln Continental having pulled up alongside Aronows white Mercedes. Certainly, he added sex appeal to it all. In 1977, Cigarette introduced the super sexy new 35 Mistress (as the advertisement read). His mother and father sounded very frightened in the front seat of the car as it sped homeward through the night. Anyhow, there was this contessa Don Aronow met while he was racing in the Mediterranean off northern Italy. The book about Don Aranows life by Arthur J. Harris was turned into the movie Speed Kills. I knew they were gunshots. That one time, Don said, Alright kid, Ill see ya, and walked out the door. "I don't now why nobody was killed. Leaving his office that afternoon, Aronow was making for his North Bay Road residence, a 1929 Spanish-style waterfront mansion undergoing renovations, 30 minutes drive away. Ben Aronoff's success in business and as a successful boat racer hampered his personal life and caused a separation between him and his wife. Race officials found themselves in invidious positions. That became the original Formula Marine.. Aronow said Let me see. Then he took the watch by the clasp, banged it on the table, and threw it in a glass of beer. "I'd never be married to a beautiful woman like Lillian if I hauled garbage for a living," Aronow adds. 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