Plantation Key Yacht Harbor was developed by Dr. J. M. Renedo and Thomas Renedo. The brothers were born in Key West.
On Dec. 15, 1940, the Miami Herald printed a story about its opening and stated that it was managed by Frank Paskewich, “whose record in athletics at the University of Miami is well known to thousands of Floridians.” He was a star football player from 1937 to 1939.
The advertisement read: “Drop Anchor At Plantation Key Harbor! Plantation Key Yacht Harbor Opens Today! ‘For the vacationist the lovely cabins, splendidly appointed, give privacy and comfort. The scenic effect, over Gulf waters, is superb. There are launches, outboard skiffs, a splendid pier, and a club house that has no superior in appointments and charm.’”
The resort closed at some point between 1942 and 1944. The Dec. 20, 1944, edition of the Miami Herald printed: “Plantation Key Yacht Harbor now is open. Closed for several years during wartime, it recently was purchased by Leonard E. Billman. Under his direction and with the new manager, Jim Quinnan, on the job, the entire place has been refurbished and put in condition to receive angling guests.”
The following year, Clyde E. Holland was managing the property, clearly appealing to an upscale crowd. The Feb. 5, 1948, edition of the Chicago Tribune advertised: “Live and Loaf at the Plantation Key Club. Only 50 guests. References Required. Write to Club or Robert S. Warner Associates, 77 W. Washington, Chicago, Ill.”
At some point, the property was owned by the Reynolds Metals Company of Richmond, Virginia. The Sept. 4, 1949, edition of the Miami Herald announced: Yacht Harbor Sold to Head. “The 21-acre resort cottage colony on Plantation Key was sold by the Reynolds Metals Company to J. G. Head for a reported $110,000.”
Head is identified as a real estate developer and broker based in Fort Worth, Texas, and Miami. According to the 1949 article, the property consisted of “10 guest cottages – 22 living units, clubhouse, dining room and lounge, double fireplace of natural coral rock. Head plans to add: yacht club, yacht harbor, swimming pool, and about 100 modern guest cottages. Stores and restaurants along the highway front.”
As advertised, Head improved the property, or at least someone did. In the Dec. 24, 1950 edition of the Miami Herald, the newly reopened resort boasted, “Quarter million just spent on this property.” The Dec. 31 edition advertised: “Now Open To The Public. The Finest Fisherman’s Club in Florida. Plantation Yacht Harbor ‘The Sportman’s Paradise.’ Introducing Paul DuVall, Famous Chef de Cuisine. New Management: J.G. Head, Owner, J. Neil Stebbens, Manager.”
There are discrepancies regarding ownership of the property. However, the owner is mentioned in the March 6, 1952, edition of The News. “Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Edwards and Mr. and Mrs. Naugle were staying at Plantation Key Yacht Harbor, (Tavernier, Fla.) recently, where Mr. and Mrs. Spinella of Patterson, former Wyckoff residents, are spending the winter.”
Eighteen months later, on Sept. 6, 1953, a headline in the Miami Herald read: “Spinella Linked To Keys Resort.” Mike Spinella, the former rackets figure recently deported to Italy, is the real owner of the lush $500,000 property. … There was strong indication that Spinella’s junior partner in the operation is Meyer Lansky, who just finished a three-month jail term, bought into the Plantation Key Properties Inc. in 1951, but nothing has ever shown up in public court and government records to reveal their connection.”
The swank resort facility was incorporated in Florida in May 1951, under the name Plantation Key Properties. Joseph A. Varon, Hollywood attorney, handled the incorporation and has served as the nominal president-treasurer ever since. But Varon said Saturday he isn’t the owner and “I don’t know who the owners are.” He declined to comment when asked if Spinella and Lansky had an interest in the company.
“I was paid in 1951,” Varon stated, “to set up the corporation. Ever since then I have been the nominal head – nothing more. I don’t even sign the checks.”
Varon said he was originally retained by Larry Knohl, president of the Atlantic Investors Inc. of Washington, D.C., an oil firm, when Knohl purchased the place from a Miami real estate firm. The reported purchase price was $150,000. Knohl apparently stepped out of the picture shortly thereafter when it became known that he was convicted of embezzlement about 17 years ago. He denies he ever got any money out of the deal.
Subsequently, Knohl figured prominently in the income tax scandals that rocked the Internal Revenue Bureau during the Truman administration and, in October 1952, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. on charges of making false statements to the Reconstruction Finance Corp.
Knohl’s former ties with the Key Largo Motel and Yacht Harbor have never been revealed. His name came into the congressional investigation of T. Lamar Caudle, former assistant attorney in charge of tax cases, in connection with an airplane sale of which Caudle received a $5,000 commission. Khohl sold out to Spinella who has already poured in excess of $200,000 in the place. Spinella added 32 air-conditioned units to the motel, which contained 18 when he bought it. There also is a swimming pool, restaurant, cocktail lounge, fishing facilities and docks.
Lansky, who still maintains a home in Hollywood and formerly operated three luxurious gambling houses in Broward County, has been a good friend of Spinella and reportedly joined him in the Plantation Key deal to the extent of at least $50,000. Reliable sources close to Spinella said he and Lansky put their money into Plantation Key properties as a “sound legitimate business investment.”
Lansky was a childhood friend of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and later a friend of Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Actors Ben Kingsley, Patrick Dempsey, Dustin Hoffman and Harvey Keitel have played Lansky in movies. According to FBI documents, “Meyer Lansky has been reported to be an overlord of international racketeers and gangsters; to have national connections in gambling circles; and a close associate of the most notorious gangsters and racketeers in the United States; and is considered among this element to be a leader.”
The property has been bought and sold several times since the Spinella and Lansky years. Though recognized as the “Mob’s Accountant,” Lansky remained relatively untouched by the law. He was living in Miami Beach when he died from lung cancer on June 15, 1983. He was 80.
On Feb. 24, 1999, the Village of Islamorada purchased the 40-acre Plantation Yacht Harbor. It is now home to Founders Park.
