Palm Beach sugar baron Pepe Fanjul robbed at Oscars
Tags: Beverly Willshire, Emilia Fanjul, Florida Crystals, Jose Lambiet's Page2Live, Oscars, Palm Beach, Pepe Fanjul, West Palm Beach
| Monday 8 March 2010 4:42 pm
Palm Beach sugar and land baron Pepe Fanjul and his wife Emilia were robbed in their room at the fancy Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills Friday night, shortly after the couple arrived in the Los Angeles area to attend the Oscars.
Fanjul, 65, a generous donor to the Republican Party, is one of the owners of the West Palm Beach-based sugar grower and manufacturer Florida Crystals.
According to several reports from the West Coast, the Cuban-born Fanjul and his missus, 63, struck a conversation in Spanish with a man as they rode up in a hotel elevator. The Fanjuls went to their room, then heard a knock on their door.
It was the man from the elevator, wearing a blue uniform with the word “hotel” written on it. He claimed he needed to fix their air-conditioning.
As he pretended to work around the room, the suspect allegedly helped himself to Emilia’s extensive jewelry collection, which Pepe described to police as “valuable.”
Hotel staffers have been going through security videos to identify the suspect. There’s been no arrest. The Fanjuls weren’t injured.
The Fanjuls, who are highly-visible on Palm Beach’s do-gooder circuit, were on their way back today and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Good!!!! Karma exists. The Fanjuls have been ripping off Floridians for years. Too bad the robber didn’t punch him in his face too.
Sounds like an insurance scam. These stinky Fanjuls have been screwing over FL since the day the door they floated here on reached the beach. The Fanjuls are just jealous because US Sugar is getting the taxpayer’s money these days.
Why would she take her jewelry collection with her if they were only going to be in LA for a night or two?
The crime is Grand theft, NOT ROBBERY. Robbery is taking something by threat of harm or physical force. The penalty for robbery is must more severe that theft. I do think the Fanjuls are good people and I hope they catch the culprit…
Is this the father of the Fanjul who left his two DOGS in his range rover on a 100 degree day? The poor dogs DIED while their owner FORGOT them and went in the house.
Their reputation is crap. Allegedly Live LARGE on US TAX subsidies which keep sugar price they receive WAY above what a uncorrupted market price would be.
Allegedly Sugar cause MASSIVE OBESITY AND DIABETES.
Two of the biggest killers in the world.
They allegedly used to be involved with some charity called NEW HOPE….that had fancy dinners in their Palm Beach Mansions to raise money for the impoverished in Belle Glade.
This was so cynical.
Much of the poverty was attributed to the grindingly low wages in the sugar industry!
Finally, I read that allegedly Clinton was on the phone with this fajul guy while M. Lewinsky was giving him a BJ in the White house.
Tuuurds.
These are the illegal immigrants, that should have never been granted asylum.
Man, people make a lot of mean statements based on very little real information. His relative neglects his dogs? Illegal immigrants? Somebody did something tawdry while talking on the phone with him? It sounds like some people are really stretching to try and come up with a reason to hate these people. At least one of these comments is pretty racist, too.
whoever started this idea of letting the “public” comment ought to be shot. It’s mostly disgraceful.
Why so much hate? I used to work for Florida Crystals and they were a great company. We had cheap health insurance, 401k and a pension. The pay wasn’t half bad either. Those of you spitting so much vitriol probably have very little knowledge of what happened to the Fanjuls in Cuba. Castro took all their property and they fled to the states and started all over again and built an empire even bigger than the one they had in Cuba. As for the all the talk about sugar subsidies, you have no idea how the world sugar market functions. The Mexicans were worried about cheap US sugar when NAFTA opened the borders to sugar.
fancy people: messed up the everglades for ever–and found a way so that taxpayers paid for the cleanup until now!!!, brought drug dealers into the sugar cane mills in a major way (and still there)…and pretend they are generous people…Please, spare us!
KARMA is the word here!
Thank God for the Fanjuls. They employ a lot of folks in the ‘glades that spend their money in the ‘glades. Without them, the impoverished ‘glades would be greatly worse off.
To all the hate spewers here, just go sit in a corner and suck on an egg or something. Dummies.
I love SUGAR!
Just because some people ABUSE sugar the rest of the population shouldn’t be punished!
It wasn’t a “Robbery” and you know that, congrats for being an alarmist.
Jose if you are going to have a comment section…Why do you keep deleting peoples comments?
Lame!!!
No wonder people won’t read your stuff!
Most wealthy people are not very street smart,
how would you dare to let anyone in your room?
wouldn’t concierge let you know if a repair man is going to show up? Thank God that you are alive, forget the jewelry.
SUGAR IS THE DEVIL!
They were a victim of a crime that could have cost them their lives. It happens to anyone of us rich or poor. They are people just like anyone of us. Have some consideration for them as human beings. May God give this lovely couple the strength to cope with this horrible experience. My heart goes out to you.
TOO bad for Pepe and his wife.
BUT, there is justice in this world after all.
Several years ago, my firm and I had business dealings with Pepe and his Fanjul brother-hoods. They were the most immoral and unethical people we have ever dealt with. Pepe was an idiot constantly repeating himself and deferring to his older brother Alfe. All Pepe could talk about were his connections with Spanish royalty, his hunting, and his sports cars.
Talk about the Cuban mafia.
The Fanjuls exploited good, decent farm workers in the Glades for many years until they replaced them with machines.
One of these days, the Fanjuls will pay for their funding of the Oligarchies and the Dictatorships in Cental and South America. No amount of contributions to St. Edwards Catholic Church in Palm Beach.
You can thank the Fanjuls for a large part of the destruction of the everglades. That’s not a personal attack. It’s public record and fact.
Less money for the Governor, Senate and House campaigns.
I’m not a fan of their company or them but how awful for this to happen to them! Someone took advantage of two elderly people and stole their personal items. Imagine if this was you and some jerk robbed you blind, or even worse your grandparents some of these comments are totally shameful
With a few exceptions, most of the posters here are class envy a$$holes. Sugar dosen’t kill you…being a weak, sugar sucking lardass kills you. I don’t know what, if anything, these folks reletives did with their dogs. Being rich dosen’t make you an animal killer. These people provide jobs for thousands of people in the glades…that’s more than Obama & his dem friends are doing. If they got the best of you in a business deal…get over it or get out of it. They don’t pollute the Everglades and they pay millions in taxes. As I said, most of you posters are class envy a$$holes.
This blog is an excellent example of hatred for the wealthy (I have never worked for a poor man). Nobody was forced to work for Mr. Fanjul, nobody was forced to live in the Glades and as far as the Everglades being “ruined”, what in the hell are people talking about? Gators thrive there along with excellent fishing, Ibises, otters, marsh hares, Ospreys, deer, boars, foxes, bobcats and thats just to name a few.
GROW UP PEOPLE!
Fact - the Fanjul family is one the reasons the people of Cuba followed Castro - they were sick of being treated like 2nd class people - like the Fanjuls now treat their own workers in the fields - the Fanjuls have fought unionization (democracy) in their fields for years and refuse to negotiate or give any rights to their workers - but Fanjuls take turns complaining about Castro’s undemocratic ways. Fact - the Fanjuls got $660,000 in subsidies (cash payments from the government) for just one of their sugar companies last year and they lobby congress to stop any imports of sugar, so the price we pay stays artifically high.
READ THE POST’s PEOPLE
The Hate is growing against the rich and the Government.
The Rich have stolen from the Midle Class and profited off them for Generations.
The Economy is getting worse and we are already in a DEPRESSION.
Much like the Great Depression, the poor are starting to wake up and realize they have been robbed by the wealthy and poisned.
The Economy is getting worse and much like the Great Deprssion, the Poor will come for the wealthy.
Look around Florida, Mega Mansions and 50 Million dollar boats everywhere.
They got this money off of the Middle Class and in most cases stole it.
No matter, the country is going to have massive riots and civil unrest.
The Department of Defense and Home Land Security have already prepared for Civil Unrest and massive riots.
How is that Wallstreet Bailout working out for you all……..
patriot-that would be interesting but i’m afraid the public is too drugged and larded out from being buzzed on sugar for too long.
Heck! They only take 1.5 billion a year from the taxpayers for growing sugar and polluting the everglades. And his mega yachts aren’t the biggest in the world .
Come on folks give this POOR family a break.
Another crime, another victim. It’s that simple. My complaint is with Jose Lambiet who is unable to understand WHAT TYPE of crime this was. His headline is incorrect according to the details. The criminal used a ruse to steal items from their room. Period. This is grand larceny, NOT ROBBERY, the elements of which demand force or threat of immanent force. This was not the case. Just more misleading and shoddy reporting. Larceny is a hateful crime and my hope is that the criminal will be caught quickly. However, printing misleading public information also creates harm and confusion. Jose, be more responsible please.
Seems to be a whole lot of class envy and jealousy on the part of those that only wish they could achieve a fraction of the wealth and status this couple has.
So I guess the point of identifying him as a Republican donor is meant to demonize him with the very Liberal audience that reads this rag. And that is how the irresponsible Liberal media divides. What would be more beneficial would be to note the numbers that have been employed by his very successful business. But then that would not fit the Liberal agenda.
I didn’t realize how much this local PB couple was loved. With great wealth, comes great responsibility. Maybe they lack the latter and need to work on their social grace. However, the attacks are bitter displays of hatred and are childish.
Besides, their best years and greatest worth is behind them. Wish them peace and well being!
I am AMAZED, and really SHOCKED, at the hate, envy, animosity, hostility, aggressiveness, venom, ignorance and ill-will of some of the people that comment in this article and website !!!!
Having lived in Wellington for a year, I follow the John Goodman case. Although it is a terrible tragedy involving a DUI in that case , there is no need for the poison to come out by some of the commentators.
You can easily tell who they are, by their very poor spelling, grammar and diction !!!!! Go back to school first, and then try spreading your hate.
If you think they a pay a lot of taxes ,guess again. Is Pepe even a US citizen?
Let’s see. They came here with nothing but the shirts on their backs and became successful business men. They were smart enough to legally take advantage of our laws (subsidies) and they hire lobbyists to represent their interests in Washington and get rich. They keep the unions out to keep costs low and they employed hundreds of people who otherwise wouldn’t have jobs.
Like it or not folks, they are living the American dream.
Looks to me like the only thing they got robbed of is good taste…that jacket is … well I am at a loss for words…Why were they attending the Oscars to begin with???
There’s a lesson that seems to be getting lost in all this bickering. If you check into a hotel that charges more than, say, ten dollars a night and someone shows up at your door with no tools and wearing a smock that just says “hotel” maybe, just maybe you want to think twice before letting them in the door.
Exposing a rich crook is not class envy.
Its exposing a crook.
Was exposing Madoff/Eptein/Picower/Rothstein class envy?
Of course not.
But Palm Beach is clearly full of shallow snobs that ghetto with each other in a vain effort to make themselves self-important.
Bringing Cuban Bad Business practices to the US, and bribing politicians to get away with it…is hardly a reason for Palm Beach Apologists to defend these people.
They don’t really like them anyway. They just have a money fetish.
If these people lost their money…their “friends” would go too…
Look at Madoff….Picower, etc…..once loved….once exposed….Pariahs.
But they were always Pariahs………the snobs just did not care.
That’s a Theft or maybe a Burglary Jose, not a Robbery.
From dictionary:
Robbery — the felonious taking of the property of another from his or her person OR IN HIS OR HER IMMEDIATE PRESENCE
I find it very funny how many people posting here about those nasty illegal “cubans” are the regulars that are always throwing the “Rasist” term around. Heather #22 is one that really cracks me up. Check out many of her other blogs and she is the one with the touchey feeley love for illegals and immigrants in general. Is it just because they have money. YES.
American Patriot; it seems that you are very much into starting a war in the US. You should be looked into….
I’m Cuban and I’m proud of people like the Fanjuls who came here with nothing and legally made great contributions to the economy of this great society. I cant believe how people that were born and raised in this country continously cry about losing out to an immigrant (legal or illegal). If an immigrant passed you economically, it was probably because you did not work as hard as he did. I’m sorry these folks were robbed and I hope they recover what was wrongfully taken from them. Envy and resentment won’t get you ahead.
could the powers at be please change the color of this background on this page, this black page makes it impossible to read it hurts your eyes and makes you see spots if looked at for a while . please please!!!!!!!!!!!
That guy and his wife are as white as they come. You dont really hate him because he is of a different race. You hate him because he came from another country and bacame rich playing by the same rules that apply to you. LOSERS
Let’s get a couple of things straight, shall we? Big sugar destroyed 75% of the Glades. It was drained and planted with cane. Central and S America produces sugar cheaper but the gov. props up slime like Fanjul.
The forefathers of this family lived in the USA since 1800 in NJ Alpine NJ the name is Rionda, Mr. Fanjul Rionda emigrated from the USA to Cuba in 1900, his cousin a Genral Fanjul of the Spanish army was shot during the Spanish Civil War defending AlfonsoXII the king of Spain hence the relationship.
Mr. Fanjul Rionda returned permanently to the USA in 1958 via Pan American
The
current agricultural area in the Glades was a byproduct of the 1920s Huricane and the necesity to suply water to Dade and Broward Counties.
US Sugar was operating in the Glades 35 years prior to the construction of Osceola Farms
Both Sugar mill are fully union.
At one time there were more sugar mills in Fl. if the current four would not be operating the whole Galdes area would be a disaster
If you want more information on the Fanjul Rionda family go to the Braga Papers University of Florida Gainsville or read the book Sugar Baron Manuel Rionda and the Fortune of Pre Castro Cubans by Muriel McAvoy
Karma is right!!!!! You reap what you sow. Poor little rich fols!!
Shame on all the people leaving all these discrimanatory messages. They deserved to me robbed because they are Cuban and rich ? How about the fact that they came to this country fleeing a COMMUNIST country and have continued working hard. There company has employed hundreds and thousands of people in Palm Beach County and they have paid MILLIONS in taxes to this county and country!Shame on you Jose for keeping all these comments on here!
If these racist comments about other ethnic groups were written they would be removed!!!! It’s okay if we make fun of Cubans and hispanics ? They don’t count…
I parked there cars all the time back when i work for a velet company RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE FLORIDA CRYSTAL BUILDING all you haters that dont know do more reserch first the Fanjul family is caring people you ever met
test
Why would two old goats go to the Oscars. They really need to go quietly into the sunset. Everyone laughs at how silly and ostentatious the whole family is. They cannot even take care of two dogs. How lame is that. The fanjuls are simply boat flotilla people without class or brains.
I feel sorry for the Fanjuls and the theft of their property at their California hotel. Concerning the artificially high price of sugar, the Fanjuls are only partly responsible, i.e., if free markets were allowed to operate without governmental distortions, e.g. price subsidies, then the price of sugar, and all other commodities, would be set by the marketplace. If you believe that sugar is high, then what about petroleum, corn, wheat, etc.. Again, I believe that governmental and political intervention in the markets is what ultimately causes artificially inflated prices. Let us return to “true” free markets and we will see prices of all commodities, including labor, attain their actual values. Thank you.
Its not racism for AMERICANS to notice we let let these boat people in and they repay us with drugs diseases crime racism and the loss of the AMERICAN city of Miami to the non- Anglosphere.
Well the Dupont’s owned Varadaro penninsula and kept horses there,pre revolution,they want the thingy back, seems the //Fanjul clan wants the villa that Castro lives in and the oil paintings back. Wonder of wonder that a revolution by Castro and allies in 1959. This happens, the richest get even richer, the poor poorer, monopolies crush the competition , wouldn’t be surprised if the man in the elevator was a shakedown to amend wrong doing to a relative in the fields pre 1990’s and Fanjul being a massive inherited wealth and psychopath immediate negoiated rob my room, don’t kill . You can only enjoy life if you’re alive. Not stupid.