- 12 -
In May 1987, in what was either a last ditch attempt to
conceal Ben's ownership of the marina, or the recognition that
the Gilberts had forced Ben out, petitioner abandoned management
of the marina and other boat racing assets to Michael Gilbert and
Marina Bay Associates. Ben's hopes of ever recovering his
investment in the marina terminated in August 1987, when Federal
law enforcement officials arrested him and seized the marina and
other Apache power boat entities and assets. By that time,
petitioner had moved to Atlantic City, where he and Maxine
remained through October 1987, in an effort to "get away from it
all".
For the remainder of 1987, petitioner, in addition to trying
to recover the $9.5 million from the card club investment,
delivered bank checks for $500,000 to Ben's criminal attorneys,
and $250,000 to his own attorney as retainers for services to be
rendered in the impending grand jury proceedings and criminal
trials. Petitioner also succeeded in funneling an additional $1
million into Apache Power Boats. These funds, which exceeded
$1.75 million, came through the same channels through which
petitioner had tried unsuccessfully to recover the card club
investment.
In December 1989, Federal agents arrested petitioner.
Petitioner was indicted, tried, and convicted for crimes
associated with the money laundering and other activities
described above, as well as others not specifically detailed
Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011