Shortly before the 1960 Presidential election, Richard Nixon was harmed by revelations of a $205,000 loan from Hughes to Nixon's brother Donald. It has long been speculated that Nixon's drive to learn what the Democrats were planning in 1972 was based in part on his belief that the Democrats knew about a bribe that his friend Bebe Rebozo had received from Hughes. Nixon's desire to cover up this event may have led to the Watergate break-in.[16]
Charles Gregory "Bebe" Rebozo (November 17, 1912-May 8, 1998) was a Florida banker who gained fame for being a close friend and confidant of President Richard Nixon. He was also allegedly an associate of the Genovese Family, one of the most powerful New York mafia factions.
The youngest child (hence, the nickname "Bebe" meaning "Baby" in Spanish) of Cuban immigrants to Tampa, Florida, Rebozo owned several businesses in Florida, including a chain of coin laundry outlets, before starting his own bank, the Key Biscayne Bank & Trust, in Key Biscayne in 1964.
Rebozo first met then U.S. Representative Richard Nixon in 1950 through Florida Representative George Smathers. Smathers had recommended Key Biscayne as a vacation destination to Nixon, who eventually set up the Florida White House in the area. While Nixon was vacationing in Key Biscayne, Smathers had Rebozo take Nixon deep sea fishing. Rebozo and Nixon then started a friendship that lasted 44 years.
Always a staunch supporter of Nixon, Rebozo became involved in the Watergate crisis when he was investigated by a congressional committee for accepting a $100,000 cash contribution on behalf of the Nixon campaign from industrialist Howard Hughes.
Francis Donald Nixon (23 November 1914 – 27 June 1987) was a brother of United States President Richard Nixon.
He was the third of five children:
- Harold Nixon (June 1, 1909 – March 7, 1933)
- Richard Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994)
- Donald Nixon
- Arthur Nixon (May 26, 1918 – August 10, 1925)
- Edward Nixon (May 3, 1930)
He married Clara Jane Lemke and had a son named Donald A. Nixon.
In January 1957 Howard Hughes lent Donald Nixon $205,000 to bail out his "Nixon's" drive-in restaurant in Whittier, California. [1] The restaurant went bankrupt less than a year later. Questions about whether this was a political favor dogged Richard Nixon during his campaign for president and later when he sought the governorship of California. [2]
He never lived it down, and one of the many speculated motives for the 1972 Watergate burglary that ultimately led to Richard Nixon's resignation was a desire to find proof that the then-Democratic National Committee chairman Larry O'Brien was also secretly working for Hughes. [3]
In 1973, financier Robert Vesco fled the United States hoping to avoid prosecution on charges of embezelement. Shortly before his departure, in hopes of shutting off the United States Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into his activities, Vesco routed substantial political contributions to President Richard Nixon through Donald Nixon, Jr., Donald Nixon's son.
In 1974 the staff of the Senate Watergate committee disclosed additional information to support the charge that Charles Rebozo gave or lent part of a $100,000 campaign contribution to President Nixon's personal secretary Rose Mary Woods, and to Nixon's brothers Donald and Edward Nixon. [4]
Donald Nixon, Jr. was held in Cuba in 1995 after obtaining assistance from Vesco in working with the Cuban government on clinical trials for an immunity-boosting drug. The clinical trials yielded positive results, however the operation was shut down by Cuban authorities subsequent to Vesco's attempt to defraud Nixon and Raul Castro, President Fidel Castro's younger brother.
Donald Nixon was portrayed by Sean Stone in the 1995 Oliver Stone film Nixon.
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