Alvin Ira Malnik
Alvin Ira "Al" Malnik (born May 23, 1932 in St. Louis , Missouri ) is an American lawyer and multi-million dollar businessman and entrepreneur in Miami . He became known through his work for the mobster Meyer Lansky and as a consultant to the pop star Michael Jackson . He was also the founding owner of the legendary "Forge Restaurant", which opened in 1968 in the Census-designated place (CDP) South Beach (Florida) .
Life
Early years
Malnik is the son of a Jewish immigrant family from Russia . He grew up in a working-class neighborhood of St. Louis, where he attended Clark Elementary School and Soldan High School . He received his high school degree in 1950.
He studied at Washington University and was an exchange student on the ROTC program in El Paso (Texas) for two years . In 1954 he received a Bachelor of Arts , then served in the US Army until 1956 , which he left as Captain of the Reserve, and then completed a law degree at the University of Miami School of Law .
In 1959 he opened his office on Lincoln Road in Miami . Together with his friend Jay Weiss , he developed the area around South Beach into an attractive location. He himself opened his “Forge Restaurant” there, which is still legendary today. He was also involved in the Sky Lake County Club , California Club , Bandsmart Building , Club 41 and Cricket Club projects.
Malnik acquired the rights to distribute the Scopitone music machines, in principle a further development of the music box with film clips and thus a forerunner of modern music videos that came from Great Britain in the mid-1960s and found their way into New York City. The main partner in this deal was Maurice Uchitel ; who in particular from 1964 to 1970 was the owner of the famous night club "El Morocco". By reselling the rights, Malnik became a millionaire.
Malnik worked in the finance and real estate industries for ten years without being involved in any scandals or bankruptcies. In April 1969 he was arrested on suspicion of tax evasion . However, Malnik, who was released immediately, had to live with a litigation that was in principle pending for years. It was not until 1985 that the allegations were finally withdrawn and the proceedings, which had been started by the tax authority IRS in 1962, were discontinued.
Meyer Lansky
Malnik also started working for Meyer Lansky after entering into business relationships with Al Mones , who can be considered an associate of Lansky, in the late 1950s .
"It was a known fact among the criminal underworld that dealing with Al Malnik was the same as dealing with Meyer Lansky ..."
"It was a well-known fact in the criminal underworld that business with Malnik was business with Meyer Lansky ..."
In particular, Lansky, along with Santo Trafficante, Sr., controlled gambling and drug trafficking in Florida and Cuba . After the success of the Cuban Revolution , Lansky moved his activities to the Bahamas from 1959 .
Malnik first became known to the wider public in the early 1960s, when his establishment of gambling was noticed on Paradise Island, Bahamas . He has also worked in banking and real estate in Miami , where he was front man for Meyer Lansky in collaboration with Sam Cohen , a chairman of Miami National Bank who was another Lansky associate.
In 1962, Malnik was listed as director of the Bank of World Commerce in Nassau , Bahamas, which was used by numerous well-known gangster greats. Apparently it was Malnik's job to legalize Lansky’s business.
Malnik and Cohen ran with their companies "COMAL" and "Cove Associates" in the early 1970s speculations with property purchases in Florida and the Pocono Mountains . Financial aid was provided by Caesars World and the Central States Pension Fund ; The “ Teamsters ” transport workers' union pension fund . For example, in 1971 Malnik and Cohen acquired 325 acres of land on which a Dade County Country Club was built. On the sale, they made a profit of $ 14.7 million.
When the FBI against the Detroit Mafia because of their involvement in the casinos of Las Vegas determined and Jack Tocco had come to the attention of investigators, operational Malnik 1977 the sale of the shares in the casino Aladdin .
In 1980 Malnik was banned from the casinos because of his criminal contacts - especially with Lansky and Cohen - by the responsible "Gaming Commission" in New Jersey .
- Sam Cohen alone is associated with a sum of 30 million US dollars, which was skimmed from the flamingo's casino (American "skimming"). Cohen was one of the group of people whose visit to Lansky's stay in Israel was registered by the Israeli authorities in the early 1970s. These old criminal contacts ultimately led to Lansky being expelled from Israel in 1973.
The Gaming Commission's ruling was renewed on September 8, 1993, when two casinos - the Caesars and the Taj Mahal - in Atlantic City were disciplined for allowing Malnik entry.
"He is not welcome here."
"He's not welcome here."
After Lansky's death in 1983, Reader's Digest referred to Malnik as his "heir apparent" ("heir apparent"). Malnik denies close contact with Lansky. In 1999 he stated in a newspaper interview that he had only met Lansky personally once and had only legally represented him a few times.
“Contrary to popular belief, I (Al Malnik) never worked for Meyer Lansky. I knew him, and he was a good friend who I spent a lot of time with, but I never represented him in legal matters. To me, Meyer was quite the grandfather type. If you knew him and talked to him, you could never imagine that any of the stories you heard about him had any veracity. You could never imagine that he was responsible for doing the things people said he did. He was not a person to give in to rage. "
“Contrary to what the public might believe, I (Al Malnik) never worked for Meyer Lansky. I knew him, he was a good friend who I spent a lot of time with but whom I never represented on his legal affairs. For me Meyer was the quiet grandfather type. If you knew him, you couldn't imagine that the stories you heard about him were true. You couldn't imagine he should have done the things people said he did. He wasn't a person who got angry. "
In 1982, shortly before Lansky died, Malnik's canary-yellow Rolls-Royce was blown up in the underground car park of his cricket club , which he had helped design. Cal Coves, his partner in the project, was jailed for three years because he was linked to the corrupt union leader Jimmy Hoffa . No one was injured in the bombing, but no one could be held responsible. A good friend of Malnik's - Don Aronow - was shot dead in his car on NE 188th Street in Miami on February 3, 1987 .
Saudi royal family
In 1980, Malnik helped Mohammed Al-Fassi sell his villa in Beverly Hills , which he had bought in 1978 for US $ 2.4 million. Al-Fassi was the brother of Hind Al-Fassi, who was married to the Saudi Arabian prince Turki ibn Abd al-Aziz . Al-Fassi had not only aroused the displeasure of the neighbors because he had the villa painted pea green, but also because he had the Italian statues on the property painted flesh-colored, which clearly showed off the sexual organs .
In April 1980 Malnik met with members of the Saudi Arabian royal family. He served as financial advisor to Mohammed Al-Fassi and Turki Bin-Azis Al-Saud for a period of four years.
Son Mark Malnik, who was born in 1958, organized his wedding to Sheika Hoda Al-Fassi in Miami at this time . By December 1980, everyone named was on a trip around the world together. After completing his studies in 1982, Mark Malnik and Hoda Al-Fassi married. Mark Malnik changed his name to Shareef Malnik.
In March 1982, Malnik and his son went to Saudi Arabia and rumors began to spread that Malnik would convert to Islam and also change his name. However, the Al-Fassi-Turki clan is losing influence in Saudi Arabia: Mohammed Al-Fassi, who had returned to the Middle East , ended up in prison for three years in the 1990s because he publicly interviewed the Saudi royal family in radio interviews Had criticized Baghdad . He was expelled from Saudi Arabia and died of a liver infection in a Cairo hospital in 2002 . The family of Princess Hind Al-Fassi and Prince Turki Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud went there after Prince Turki had to leave Saudi Arabia, which has not yet been rehabilitated.
The Malnik family stayed in the United States; Shareef Malnik played in 1997 in a small supporting role of the film The Blackout by Abel Ferrara .
Michael Jackson
The friendship between Malnik and Michael Jackson is said to go back to 2002. When Jackson struggled with his liquidity to pay a total of $ 3 million in bail and legal fees, it was Malnik, Miami's leading moneylender, who filled that funding gap.
Malnik became an advisor to Michael Jackson. So he tried u. a. 2004 for a delay in repaying the millions of loans that Jackson had taken out.
"He never cared how much he [Michael Jackson] spent."
As a thank you, Malnik was named on a “Greatest Hits” album under “Special thanks” in the early 2000s. Jackson had retired to Malnik's house on Palm Beach for a few months with his children and relatives .
In 2003, Jackson performed at Malnik's 70th birthday party.
After Jackson's death in 2009, Malnik gave numerous interviews, including a. in the "Today Show" on NBC , with CBS (CBS4) and the Palm Beach Post , and offered the media private videos of Jackson with his children. He also commented on his difficult financial situation, since in addition to unresolved share claims by former business partners, Debbie Rowe , the birth mother of the two oldest Jackson children, could apply for sole custody of the children.
"Deciphering all of this could take months, if not years."
Malnik claimed Jackson appointed him as administrator of the estate in 2003 . He is also the godfather of Prince Michael Joseph Jackson, II, the youngest son who was born to a previously unknown surrogate mother. Malnik had given a written commitment to look after his godchild if something should happen to the singer. After Jackson's death, Malnik denied being the biological father of his godchild.
The reporter Bob Norman reported that in the end the friendship between Jackson and Malnik should have broken up, as Jackson assumed that Malnik was involved in the attempt to take the rights to the Beatles songs from him. The Miami New Times described Malnik as one of the countless "false friends" and "shady opportunists" of Michael Jackson.
Politics and business
The Forge
The restaurant The Forge (en: Die Schmiede) was opened by Malnik in 1968 and developed into a meeting place for celebrities and the so-called jet set . When it was closed due to a fire, Malnik was toying with the end of the restaurant.
Since son Shareef Malnik was ready to return to Miami from London and continue running the restaurant, it was restored and reopened. Shareef has been the sole owner and manager of the restaurant since November 4, 1991 .
Democratic party and fundraising
For years, Malnik has been one of the largest donors to the Democratic Party . He maintains good contacts with Chuck Schumer . One of the closest friends is Bernie Madoff , who was also a major donor to the Democratic Party.
He supports the Founders Society of the University of Miami, Founders of Mount Sinai Medical Center, Founders of the University of Miami / Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Make-A-Wish Foundation .
Casinos
Malnik is still involved in the casino business. He is a consultant for the casino complexes in Mystic Lake and Mount Pleasant . He also tried to take over the resort of the Hard Rock Casino from the Florida Seminoles . He is said to have broken into Indian casinos in various ways ; so he is associated with 300 of the 450 of these "Indian casinos".
Money lending and financing
Malnik is the leading moneylender in Florida. He holds 100% of the shares in Title Loans of America , which is primarily concerned with auto financing and generates profit rates of up to 300%. The company is one of the largest creditors - in terms of number of individual claims - in the United States.
Film industry
In his career as a lawyer with links to the film industry , he has drawn upon the services of a number of well-known film greats, including Frank Sinatra , Sammy Davis Jr. , Dean Martin, and Jackie Gleason .
Al Malnik was also co-producer of some films from 2002:
- 2002: 2 Birds with 1 Stallone
- 2003: The Gospel of Lou
- 2006: Revoloution (2006)
family
Alvin Malnik and his wife Debbie had a son, Mark Malnik, in 1958. Due to the family ties between the Malnik family and the Saudi Arabian royal family, the latter changed its name to Shareef Malnik in 1982 after he married Hoda Al-Fassi. Under this name he also took part in some motorsport races; u. a. In 1999 he was one of four drivers of the “Team Transenergy” at the Sebring 12-hour race (1999 Exxon Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring). In 1960 the daughter Andrea was born. In 1984 Yaseen, the son of Shareef Malnik and Hoda, was born.
On April 22, 1992 Malnik married again. His new wife is former model Nancy Elaine Gresham; she gave birth to the triplets Nathan Asher, Spencer Nicole and Jarod Jay Malnik in July 1998.
In May 2011, American film producer Brett Ratner stated in a 20-question interview that he saw Al Malnik as his real father - who had promoted him - and that his family felt a part of him.
Since August 2015, the son Shareef Malnik with actress Gabrielle Anwar married; when the marriage with Hoda Al-Fassi ended is unknown.
literature
- Alan A. Block: Masters of paradise: Organized Crime and the Internal Revenue Service in the Bahamas . Transaction Publishers, 1997, ISBN 1-56000-971-3 .
- Alan A. Block: Space, time & organized crime .
- Hank Messick: Lansky . Hale, 1973, ISBN 0-7091-3966-7 .
- Hank Messick: The Silent Syndicate . MacMillan, 1967. OCLC 575892888
Web links
- Alvin Malnik in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Portrait photo on www.brettratner.com
- Article with photo of Alvin and Mark Malnik and Michael Jackson on blogs.browardpalmbeach.com (English)
- Photo gallery on www.super-gallery.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Excerpt from "Alvin Malnik Biography Volume 1 The Unofficial Guide" ( Memento of the original from March 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on alvinmalnikbio.com (English)
- ↑ a b c Jacko's Bail Thanks to Reputed Mobster? ( Memento of the original from July 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. by Roger Friedman at www.strangecosmos.com
- ↑ a b Shareef Malnik / The Forge Dynasty by Joseph Brown, South Beach Magazine ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.miamibeachreflections.com (English)
- ↑ Alleged Mobster May Control Michael Jackson's Estate by Joe Weisenthal on June 28, 2009 at www.businessinsider.com (English)
- ↑ a b c Portland's Capital Consultants lent pension money to an auto lender associated with a man accused of organized crime ties on www.laborers.org (English)
- ↑ Al Malnik: Miami Beach Memories ( Memento of the original from August 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.alvinmalnikmemories.com (English)
- ↑ www.browardpalmbeach
- ↑ "MICHAEL'S SUGAR BADDIE Mogul pal, 70, linked to the mob" ( Memento from December 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on December 7, 2003 by Brian Kates and Jerry Cornfield on www.nydailynews.com (English)
- ↑ Thomas Burdick / Charlene Mitchell Blue Thunder: How the Mafia Owned and Finally Murdered Cigarette Boat King Donald Aronow. Simon & Schuster, October 1990, ISBN 0-671-66321-6 .
- ↑ a b Chronicle of Saudi Arabia ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.arabischehalbinsel.de
- ↑ Mohammed al-Fassi, 50; Upset Beverly Hills Over House on www.nytimes.com January 3, 2003
- ↑ King of Pop finally broke? on www.spiegel.de from February 13, 2004
- ↑ a b Katja Gelisnky's great complaint on www.faz.net
- ↑ a b St. Louis connection to Michael Jackson: Attorney Alvin Malnik ( Memento from July 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on July 6, 2009 by Deb Peterson at www.stltoday.com (English)
- ↑ a b The Kid Is Not My Son: Malnik at www.nbcmiami.com (English)
- ↑ a b Al Malnik Won't Shut Up About Michael Jackson on June 28, 2009 by Kyle Munzenrieder on blogs.miaminewtimes.com (English)
- ↑ How many debts did Michael Jackson really have on www.focus.de?
- ↑ UPDATED: Reputed Mobster Al Malnik Says He's Executor of Michael Jackson's Will and "Blanket" 's New Dad on blogs.browardpalmbeach.com by Norman Friday on June 26th, 2009
- ↑ Blanket's godfather: I'm not his biological dad ( Memento of the original from October 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at www.today.com (English)
- ↑ Interview by Al and Shareef Manik in the Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com
- ↑ Make-A-Wish Foundation at www.socialmiami.com (English)
- ↑ Bill Richardson and Corruption on www.opednews.com by Michael Cavlan on January 16, 2006 (English)
- ↑ Alex Constantine's Blacklist (English)
- ↑ 20 Good Questions with Brett Ratner . Aventurabusinessmonthly.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved on February 27, 2012.
- ↑ Gabrielle Anwar Marries Restaurateur Shareef Malnick in a 'Wild West' Montana Wedding . In: People , September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Malnik, Alvin Ira |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Malnik, Al (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American lawyer and multi-million dollar businessman and entrepreneur based in Miami |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 23, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Louis , Missouri |