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dgcight ra tes eo. me ks r ee eee ~~. 4 os What did it mateer Naas biew most of them out of thy ‘There was always the insura besides. Ari’ didn't have to K Sn self: . The result. of course, was that Onassis tumned up at war's end with a considerably jarger poke than he'd had when it started— and now there were those tankers that had been safely tied up in neutral ports while the shooting was going on. He was ready to rollin high gear. Aud rall he might. unbeknownsc to any- one hut these in the upper echelon of ship- ping circles. had it not been for what might be termed Ari's ene possible bluider—the deal to bury Monte Carlo. Since he alwats has been something of a silent parincr, or silent owner, in the many corporations he controls throughout the world. Onassis was virtualls an unknown when his Monte Carlo coup blazed across the frente pages. And he might sull be that todas, for all his fiebutous wealth. since one facet of his operations always has been to keep his financial didoes a secrer. tor only fram the press but fron his competitors as well, But Monte Carlo is a beword! for ro- mance. melodrama intrigue. So it was ineviialle thal any man whe bought it im mediately should land in the spothght— and the spotligit rarely is kind to anyone. Vhe hell of it was that it was all so un necessars. Onassis had his villa at Cap W Antibes. as did ao hot of ether wealths Grech shippers wha virmaadly had curred thar Jush playground of ihe mich imo a Greek colons. Had be simply been conient fo loll quieth an ihe veranda of Bis man. sion—formerhy the frome af the Duke and Duchess of Windsor—his partys shenani- fans wight have gone unnoticed by the very bassbodies le today excoriates as heing tie cause of His present nasty predicament. Bue. as has been pointed oul. if was se far co the office. ape there was that unused building—uie okt Winter Sporting Club—at- tached to the casing. Onassis reasoned that ioweull make a right hameds place to stack typenriters and filing cabinets, net to amen. tion the neat sseng ti ax mones, sp he made a casual bid to rent the ofd boilding. To his astonistiment. and prodabls his an- noyanec, iirecters Qarned tipi down. He promptly bought the casing and sold the yiner ba accepting and the Une directors aes ay Heir Tesigaiiians. Not that i was as cass as it sotingls, ever for one of the world’s best-heeled citizens. Oh, sure. the price was right—a million Camts was nothing io a chap with Omnassip atk accoubl—and. besides. the casino. which virtually supports the whole of Monaco, was hnown to be losing mote moneys than it was making. But the trouble in’ Monaco at the tinre was that His Screne Highness. Prince Rainier TIT. ruler of Monaco, had sent some of his boys off to Paris to borrow money from the banks. These buckos had come home with promises of enough financial support to tide the casing Over its current troubles. Result. io one was ina meal either to rent or sell. That’s when Ari went to werk in carnest. Haring heard that Prince Rainier coveted aovacht like those owned by his rich neigh- bors, Onassis dug up a dazzling [35-foot, Diesel-powered job which he discovered he coukl Jet go to the hug-eyed prince for a pals S417 .006, While His Serene Highness Semi PING up and down and clapping hye rokal hands over this new toy, Onasc iu he his boys at the Paris Bourse buving the casino stock they could lay their wana Thus. when it came time to get down to cases. Ari had Prince Rainier in his cor- ner, he owned reughh a third of the out- standing stack in the casino (enough to give him voting control). and he was in, just like Flynu. “For a million dollars.” he says of the deal. “T got control of a property with a real estate value alone of $20 million.” That isn't all Ire got. In addition to a beachhead on tax-free Monaco. he also got himself catapulted overnight into being a world-renowned celebrity, At tie same time he provoked the silent ire of his feltow- Greck shippers. wha quietly accused Ari of TRUE MAGAZINE having put chem, a6 a group. inte the public eve and perhaps made them targets for eversone from Senator McCarthy to the De- pariment of Justice. . Ihe result is that. today. Onassis is any- thing but a carefree millionaire. As he re- cals confided ta a reporter, he may be ure richest. ar one of the richest men in the world. bit he alsa daims the deles of being the “loncliest” and the “unhappiest.” “Its the toughest thing that ever hap- pened to men” he sass. mournfully, of his indiiment by ihe Feds. in faet. se tough is it that. to hear him tajk of it, one is led to conclude that ai the joy las been taken out of even his latest little deal. an arrange- ment with the gevermment of Saudi Arabia whereby Onassis’ ships will carry all that sad » oil eutput Ret handled, bn the Arabian-Ameriaan Oil Gompany. Since British have estimated that this katter will mean an additional $10 million in profits each year for the Onassis empire. you can imagine the degree of Agi’s gloom. The tough thing about the imdicunent. from the Onassis point of view, is that ns so unjustified. He didn't break ams faws. he says. The U. $, government passed a Ships Sales Act in 1946. which was designed t: rid Unele Sam of the big fleet of surptu, vessels Ire owned at war's end. Ali Qnase feeis he did—and he claims he did it with the legal advice of same of the best sea lawyers in this country-was to aid the United States by taking some of these oli huths off her hands. and al a price which should have made any taxpaver as happs as the first gus iu dine at a run on the bank. The government's feeling. however. is that Onassis may have been a fittle confused about the intent of pe tldp.s Sales Act. It wasn’t designed to unload ihe ships. the Feds sav: instead it Was passed as a means of get: ting the United States oul of the shipping busiiess by making its sirius booms wan able to pritate American shipping interests, awn thus Giada up aur merchant Thus. preference in buying the surplus ships —and special allowances in certain cases— was to be given to American citizens. with noncitizens like Onassis to have their choice alier the Jocals had picked over the stock. But the bows in Washington say that Onassis got around this proviso with a little guumick—he is alleged to have set up dunony corperagons in tus couairs, the officers of which were Americans dat which were financed by atiens such as Ari. Vhis. Unete Sam. just wast cricket. and the old bev om the red. white and blue top dist Is ashing for an explanation in open court Nae. Bais Pending the delivery of this explanarion— @ good inans months bence—the @oxeramecat has moved to seve tuelve of Ati’s ships whinh the Department of Justice claims should be declared forfeit, “Thex've also thrown thot copsbuges charge ah oour bes who free on SHEOOO bond awaiting trial. haw 7s But some sav—including a Nock of ship. ping men who havent esactis been writing love notes to Onassis-that he will beur dhe Tap. noe question about it, and that be knew this when he came voluntarily io America last winter to answer the indictment. For one thing, just last July. Chief judge Paul Leahy of Ue Visited States District Court. sitting in Wilmington, Delaware, threw out of court one of the government's principal claims against Onassis. Phe jadge ruled that it was not a depal contention in the government's move io ctaim forfeiuine ol ame oof the surplies the taker Lake George, As the judge saw it, for the goverment to have the right ta seize the ship, atthe federal government~would have to be a United States cittven. And ac. cording to Judge Leahy. ibe government ait we such wbing. a decision which prob ably fooled a Jot of people including Unete Sam. Thus. in this instinee ap deast. one of the four points in the government's Gise bas beer given the heave. leaving: ans three, which the defense insists i nor.” Vhe dis missed poing comtained “the heart of case” against Ari, according to his Jawvers. Which brings up another rntercst ig facet: the government's case in the fake stripes, ] insists the