MIAMI -- A year after powerboat racing champion Don Aronow was gunned down on Miami's Gasoline Alley, police still have no motive and no suspects in the murder and a $100,000 reward offered by his widow still is unclaimed. Its quite possible that someone had a personal grudge against Don. [3] Ben Kramer, winner of the 1986 American Power Boat Association Offshore Championship, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in 1996. Nearly a decade later, two men pleaded no contest to charges related to Aronow's killing. ", Added Theodoli, the present owner of Magnum: "He was a hard-nosed guy. This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids, Best coffee city in the world? Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Interior Department announces new initiative to restore bison population. Don Aronow's first job was as an usher working nights and weekends at the old Kingsway theater in Brooklyn. His trial is scheduled to begin tomorrow in Miami. The Florida State Attorney's Office moved quickly. It looks to me like a crime of passion, said Crouse, who knew Aronow for more than 20 years. Police are still not sure if he was the killer. "I don't think anyone has it figured out completely yet.". I took him out of the car. . Maybe a disgruntled shipper wanted Don out of the way.". The Formula was followed by Donzi (which Aronow, characteristically, named for himself). designer of the Cigarette speedboat on the street near his office. [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. The only weakness in this fine book is the authors' failure to explain how Aronow became such a big shot in the first place. ARONOW'S BOATS GAVE HIM access to a rich . The 36-foot Cigarette, which most experts consider his masterpiece, named for a type of boat that pirates used to hijack rumrunners during Prohibition. Robert was a cold-blooded killer. Aronow's violent death on Feb. 3, 1987, at the age of 59, was considered a showcase murder, one of the most sensational ever to occur in South Florida. If it's true, Bush can be viewed as a celebrity-worshiping goof, a bad chooser of friends, or both. His established a companys reputation by winning races (the world offshore powerboat championship twice, the U.S. championship three times), then would sell the company at an enormous profit and start a new one next door. He was full of bravado, and very much into himself, said Assistant State Attorney Gary Winston, who put Young away for Aronows slaying in 1995. The circumstances of Aronows death mystified his friends and associates. If convicted of the first-degree murder charge, Young could receive either the death penalty or life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years. "Don was to offshore speed boats what Ben Franklin was to electricity," remarked an admiring Customs official. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. . Donald Joel Aronow (March 3, 1927 - February 3, 1987) was an American designer, builder and racer of the famous Magnum Marine, Cary, Cigarette, Donzi, and Formula speedboats. ( Source : powerandmotoryacht) Likewise, Don is also survived by his second wife, Lillian Crawford, and their two sons, Gavin and Wylie. Dr. Stuart Lerman, chief of emergency medicine at the hospital, said Aronow died of blood loss, but the wounds alone would have been fatal. Young boasted of involvement with gun-running, prostitution rings and violence during the 1970s. Aronow's wife, Lillian, was accompanied by friends from the chapel. Father of Private; Private; Private; Private and Private, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Aronow. ", "Kramer's Conviction Upheld in Aronow Murder", "Helicopter Crash Foils Drug Smuggler's Prison Escape", "1986-1990 APBA Hall of Champions Inductees", "Master Of Those Mad Racers - Don Aronow hurts a little, but as the world's top ocean powerboat driver and builder he is never bored", "DONALD ARONOW, BOAT DESIGNER AND CHAMPION RACER, SHOT TO DEATH", New York Times, Men's Fashion, Travel: "For The Moment | Show Time for Adam Kimmel", "Interfaith Celebrities: Coming of Age Again, the Girls of NYC and a Couple of Rookies", Historic Offshore Race Boat Association - Donald Aronow, "The Murder of Speedboat Builder Don Aronow", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_Aronow&oldid=1137382567, American people of Russian-Jewish descent, James Madison High School (Brooklyn) alumni, Articles needing additional references from January 2014, All articles needing additional references, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 February 2023, at 09:41. Others raced in the Kentucky Derby. Lillian Aronow was born circa 1914, at birth place, Pennsylvania, to Samuel Aronow and Minnie Aronow. She attended St. Mary's School in Waco and was a 1972 graduate of Waco High School. [1] His father owned a gas station and then a taxi company which collapsed during the Great Depression. Available features. John Travolta stars as Don Aronow (renamed 'Ben Aronoff' in 'Speed Kills'), the speedboat racer and multimillionaire murdered in 1987. They had two sons, Gavin and Wylie. Fv 27, 2023 . -- JOANNE A. FISHMAN is a freelance writer who has written a book and numerous articles on the powerboating industry. His boats, success and wealthalso attracted trouble. They say that although he had made enemies with his business tactics, they doubt that a competitor would have gone so far as to kill him. We also offer a free consultation to help you find the best solution for your needs. Burial services were private. The possibilities are as varied as was Aronows life style, which his friends say was a constant quest for excitement in the forms of money, women, success and--above all--speed. March 3 (UPI) -- A New Brunswick couple who initially thought a burglar had broken into their home discovered the invader was actually a panicked deer. He built speedboats for the Shah of Iran, Charles Keating, Robert Vesco, Malcolm Forbes, and George H. W. Bush. "He had his whole future in front of him, an exemplary firefighter and employee, just a great all-around person. Members of the Bee Gees were neighbours on both sides. She/her. Also during 1986, Fort Lauderdale's George Morales, the 1985 powerboat champion, was jailed for two concurrent 16-year terms after pleading guilty to three charges of drug smuggling. Paper Size. "We know it was no small task and thank you for joining us in the war on drugs," the commissioner wrote. In 1984, he was released along with 21 other Americans in a deal engineered by civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. Cigarette boats in the mid-70s, the Customs Service equipped itself with a 39-foot catamaran, also designed by Aronow and dubbed Blue Thunder.. Any way you look at it, this fast-paced book is an eyebrow-raiser. Lillian, a former girlfriend . Born into a Brooklyn family that lost everything in the Depression, he became a top athlete in high school, and spent his summers as a Coney Island lifeguard. "This is the street that Don created, and he died right here in the middle of it.". Until now. Aronow, 59 at the time of his murder in 1987, was a handsome, jet-setting Miami speedboat racer and designer of the sleek racing craft known as the cigarette boat. "It looks to me like a crime of passion," said Crouse, who knew Aronow for over 20 years. The problem with this theory is that Aronows killing did not resemble a professional hit. The gunman drove his own car. He regarded this marriage as a part of his success story, boasting: "I'd never be married to a beautiful woman like Lillian if I hauled garbage for a living." Restrictions: Contact your local office for all commercial or promotional uses. Back in Miami, Young hooked up with a group of dope peddlers who considered themselves a new version of the 1960s Dixie Mafia crime group. Lillian Crawford A Wilhelmina fashion model and socialite George Bush's contribution to the book is a wonderful and moving addition. "I knew the police would get the guy eventually because of who Don Aronow was," he says. Father and son decided to branch out--into racing and breeding horses. Like many of the boat builders along the street, Theodoli heard the shots that killed Aronow. Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, Elliott: Kings use their heads over hearts in trading Jonathan Quick, The problem with Pablo Escobars hippos. WITH THE NEWS OF YOUNG'S ARREST, BOBBY Saccenti, owner of Apache Marine (not to be confused with Ben Kramer's Fort Apache Marina), seemed like a man under siege, with constant calls from the media, and even some from the police. But that didn't stop the federal government from hiring Aronow in 1984 to design "Blue Thunder," a boat that was used by drug-busters from the U.S. Customs Service to patrol the waters off Florida. According to his longtime friend and public relations man, John Crouse, he was planning to take part in the grueling 362-mile Miami-Nassau-Miami race this summer with a new 45-foot deep-V shaped boat. He rushed to his window as the gunman was making his getaway in a dark blue Lincoln Continental. Now on Netflix, #5 most watched movie on the site in its first week: Speed Kills, the movie adaptation, screen-credited as based on the book Speed Kills. [1] In 1953, he established his own construction company, the Aronow Corporation which quickly became one of the largest construction companies in the state. His father, a taxicab owner whose family came from Russia, went bankrupt during the Depression. The rugged, multimillionaire speedboat racer had a glamorous wife, four loving children, and entree to the top social circles in South Florida. [1] He graduated a top athlete from James Madison High School in 1944,[1] worked as a life guard at Coney Island, and enrolled at Brooklyn College. Donald Aronow is the man behind the "Speed Kills" plot. He certainly deserved more than what he got for the death of her husband, he said.She was relieved knowing he died in custody., Cockwells Duchy Sport review: This 500k stunner is the ultimate wakesurfing boat, Jeanneau DB/37 yacht tour: Dazzling day boat with serious cruising credentials, Technohull Omega 48 first look: The 86-knot RIB thats surprisingly luxurious. Detectives estimate that of Dade County's 235 murders last year (one of the highest homicide rates in the nation), at least one-quarter were "drug-related." But there were also other, less glamorous, clients. Walton told investigators that in 1986 Young showed him a hit list of people that the Colombian drug lords would like to see dead. One of their horses--named Don Aronow--won more than $200,000 in prize money. He built speedboats for the Shah of Iran, Charles Keating, Robert Vesco, Malcolm Forbes, and George H. W. Bush. A child of the Depression, Aronow, 59, founded several of the world's hottest speed-boat manufacturing companies. Witnesses said that a powder blue Lincoln pulled next to Mr. Aronow's car from the opposite direction, and when Aronow rolled down its window the driver opened fire. And the names of Don Aronow and Robert S. Young will be forever linked by Metro-Dade Police Case Number 55187-H -- Homicide. U.S. Customs threatened to withdraw its Blue Thunder contract if Kramer, then a suspected drug smuggler, purchased the company. . By the time he was 30 he was a millionaire -- and bored. Others did not. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Suddenly, its creator found himself in the powerboat business. Don was to offshore speedboats what Ben Franklin was to electricity, said one admiring Customs official. Share. Three weeks before he was murdered, Aronow had a pensive, reflective talk with his wife, Lillian, a former girlfriend of Jordan's King Hussein. You have to look elsewhere. But they also mentioned his macho personality, rough manners and occasionally explosive temperament. In 1995, he pleaded no contest to the contract hit of Aronow, the powerboat king. Lillian Aronow (Crawford) Birthdate: estimated between 1897 and 1957: Death: Immediate Family: Wife of Donald Aronow Mother of Private and Private . Let him feel the same pain, suffering and fate that I was feeling, he said. Accueil Uncategorized don aronow wife. But if the murder was a message, Aronow seemed to take it to his grave with him. He retired to Florida in 1960, and bought himself a speedboat. . He had attracted the attention of passers-by by hanging around in Gasoline Alley for some time before the murder. @slimaaronsofficial # officialslimaarons # slimaarons # slimaaronsphotography # slimaaronsphoto 'Basically we've no good, solid evidence to go on.'. This is the street that Don created, and he died right here in the middle of it.. Don Aronow, powerboat racing champion and founder of Magnum, Cigarette and Donzi, continues to fascinate - as does his mysterious death. As she inspires more biographies, will we ever get closer to the 'real' Plath . It was along this quiet street of a northern Miami suburb, near the ocean that made his pulse race, that Aronow built the boats that made him a legend of the sporting world. They had three children: Michael who was a star athlete at the University of Florida until he was severely injured and confined to a wheelchair in a car accident in 1970. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, City mourns Buffalo firefighter Jason Arno as investigation into fatal fire launches, Buffalo firefighter makes 'ultimate sacrifice' in blaze that may have sparked backdraft, Sabres place Alex Tuch on injured reserve; top-line winger's status is uncertain, Paula's Donuts to move Clarence store that faced backlash for tax breaks to Amherst, Chad Hall's departure from Buffalo Bills to Jaguars remains a bit of a mystery, Vandal damages 'brokenhearted' Russell Salvatore's tribute park in Lancaster. Find 7 people named Lillian Aronow along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. Lean, handsome and rugged, Aronow was described by Magoon as a charismatic person who was both "a man's man" and a "woman's man.". Having found it easy to make millions at an early age, competition became the driving force in his life. In 1959, at age of 32, the now-millionaire Aronow moved to Miami with his family, where he began racing boats as a hobby. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. The couple's son, Wylie, is a cofounder of Bored Ape Yacht Club, a . "You can understand why I want to keep this in the past," says Saccenti. Suspicion originally fell on Kramer, who had been involved in a 1984 deal to buy Aronow's USA Racing Team for $600,000 plus -- as the street talk has it -- substantial money under the table. Yet, with the Blue Thunder he had visibly taken sides. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. Road and war material again flowed from Rangoon to Chungking. Kramer, already serving a life sentence on federal drug-smuggling charges, received 19 years in prison the same time amount of time as Young. Magoon described the lean, ruggedly handsome Aronow as a charismatic person who was both a mans man and a womans man.. This would be on top of the time he already is serving. He wins a lot of big motorboat races and is now known as the mogul of motorboats. Another witness tried to follow the Lincoln as it fled but could not catch the killer(s). You have permission to edit this article. Describing his friends life as a mixture of triumph and tragedy, Magoon added: Don died as he would have wished--with his boots on and with front-page headlines. Looking for Lillian Aronow? Speed Kills the film loosely based on the life of Don Aronow (Ben Aronoff in the movie) has been released on Netflix US. Suspected burglar inside New Brunswick home was a panicked deer. "Here in Miami, you can get into a killing fight in a restaurant or at a stop light. Trump legal team requests six-month delay in New York civil lawsuit. view all Donald Aronow's Timeline. I was very upset I was betrayed by my own family, Young told a federal agent in 2004. 'It's a real stumper,' said Metro-Dade Police Detective Mike Decora. The film, described as Wolf of Wall Street on boats was released in 2018 but received a lukewarm reception with eminent film website Rotten Tomatoes giving it an average rating of only 2.6/10 and IMDB 4 out of 10. 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. lilliancrawford13s@gmail.com. His boat company, Apache Boat of Hollywood, and his Fort Apache Marina on Thunderboat Row, were confiscated by federal agents. . Drug traffickers used his Cigarette speedboats to move cocaine. The jump from Jersey to Miami left this reader scratching his head. He was 59. . It contains an amazing blend of breathtaking photographs, fascinating anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories of Aronow's personal and professional life. WITH ROBERT YOUNG'S ARREST, Aronow's murder took on an intriguing dark twist, offering a glimpse of a world involving drug and gun running, murder and prostitution. [1], After school, he worked as a physical education teacher for a time until he accepted a job at his father-in-law's southern New Jersey construction business which was booming thanks to demand from returning World War II veterans. Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, United States, Best-dressed Girl Brightest Boy Miss Herelehy Robert Simonetii, Mar 3 1927 - Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, Feb 3 1987 - Miami, Miami-Dade, Florida, United States, Shirley Aronow (born Goldin), Lillian Aronow (born Crawford). Aronow spent the morning of his death supervising the workmen remodeling his new waterfornt house in Miami Beach, where he and his second wife, Lillian, planned to live with their two young children. His boats went on to win a whopping 350 offshore races and Aronow himself was a two-time world champion and three-time US champion of offshore racing. lillcrawf.co.uk. He changes his mind to "win.". His second, the Formula, was made of Fiberglas--and it was a winner. Lillian Crawford, 24 years his junior. The Aronow stables at Ocala, Fla., house about 40 2-year-olds in various stages of training. His technique was to establish a company's reputation by winning races (the world offshore powerboat championship twice and the U.S. championship three times), then sell the company for enormous profit and open a new one next door. The killer's car has never been found, and detectives are still contacting the owners of the 2,500 dark colored Town Cars sold in south Florida in recent years. The idea of bad guys outracing other bad guys and seizing their fortune appealed to Aronow. Keep reading with unlimited digital access. In 1996, Kramer, who once owned a casino and raced powerboats, pleaded no contest to ordering the killing of his rival, Aronow. Saccenti was a boyhood friend of Aronow's from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, N.Y., a marine mechanic who Aronow brought to South Florida to work with him at the Cigarette boat factory.