Gilded Lily
Page 31
The elderly woman, who prefers to remain anonymous, has poured thousands of dollars into keeping Alfredo’s memory alive. When Ponto Frio celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2006, few of the current executives thought to honor the founder. So she rented airplanes to fly giant banners that featured two penguins, the Ponto Frio mascot, proclaiming, “They’ve forgotten our founder.” The planes flew over Rio’s beaches on the weekends, when they would be crowded with sunbathers. The woman also took out full-page ads in the country’s biggest newspapers with the same message.
“All of this is costing me so much that I had to sell one of my Picassos to put all of it together,” said the woman with a wink as she examined the hundreds of white T-shirts that she planned personally to distribute through Rio de Janeiro’s poorest communities.
In a country of nearly 200 million people, it might have appeared a feeble gesture to raise awareness of a man, long dead, who had built a massive fortune but never forgot the poor. But to those who knew him and loved him, Alfredo Monteverde was no ordinary man. And his death, which has never been investigated to their satisfaction, still weighs on them, even more than forty years after the fact.
When the first full-page ad of the Alfredo remembrance campaign was published in O Globo, Victor Sztern, who was a young man of seventeen when Alfredo died, bought a copy and headed to the cemetery at Caju. Victor, a heavyset businessman who is in his late fifties and owns his own coffee export business in Rio, has never forgotten the man who took him under his wing when his own parents died. Victor placed a copy of the newspaper on top of Alfredo’s grave and said a prayer.
The newspaper was not allowed to remain on Alfredo’s tombstone for long. Marcos’s assistants at Caju cleaned it up before it joined the refuse that makes its way into the cemetery from passing cars and mourners.
“We would clean up the rest of these graves, if we could get a hold of Dona Lily or Michel Elia,” said Marcos, who was growing increasingly annoyed as he finished his tour of the graves.
But for now, at least, the graves of the people who were so important in the plot of the great novel that has been the billionaire widow’s life so far remain unkempt, neglected, and forgotten.
According to Marcos’s calculations, Lily Safra owes the cemetery just over $3,000, and he’s not about to continue the upkeep of the graves until the lady pays up.
Notes
INTRODUCTION: “THE PLOT OF A GREAT NOVEL”
The drama that would lead to the death of Edmond Safra: Transcripts of Ted Maher’s trial in Monaco, Le Tribunal Criminel de la Principauté de Monaco, November 21, 2002. Testimony of Pierre Picquenot, “Death in Monaco,” Dominick Dunne, Vanity Fair, December 2000.
“Enemies?”: Marcelo Steinfeld, interview by author, October 17, 2007.
“Telephone calls between third parties and the occupants”: Edmond Safra’s autopsy report, Court of the First Instance of Monaco, Office of the Attorney General, December 5, 1999.
“I saw their relationship”: Eli Attia, interview by author, January 6, 2008.
“he would telephone his far-flung business associates”: “Death in Monte Carlo,” The Economist, December 11, 1999.
“a slim blonde charmer”: New York Post, March 12, 1981.
“Lily answered a toast from her host”: New York Post, March 12, 1981.
Mehle wrote that Lily and her friend Lynn Wyatt: Aileen Mehle, Suzy, Women’s Wear Daily, April 4, 1997.
Brooke Astor “wore her sable hat”: Aileen Mehle, Suzy, Women’s Wear Daily, February 2, 1994.
The Safras had “exquisite taste”: Aileen Mehle, Suzy, Women’s Wear Daily, September 13, 1996.
“perhaps the most beautiful home in all of London”: Aileen Mehle, Suzy, Women’s Wear Daily, July 25, 2001.
“one of the most wonderful private houses on the Cote d’Azur”: Aileen Mehle, Suzy, Women’s Wear Daily, September 3, 1996.
“Lily was an extremely generous woman”: Vera Contrucci Pinto Dias, interview by author, October 16, 2007.
on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association: Details of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Rita Hayworth Gala from the organization’s auction catalogue, A Sparkling Silver Celebration. The event took place at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, October 28, 2008.
“I think that since childhood her dreams”: Samuel Bendahan, interview by author, October 2, 2007.
“Every girl dreams of her Prince Charming”: Ana Bentes Bloch, interview by author, March 11, 2009.
Ted Maher’s agreement…reads: The confidentiality agreement is dated August 16, 1999, and signed by Anthony Brittan. It was widely quoted in press reports and also used as an exhibit at his 2002 trial in Monaco.
“Lily Safra litigates with a bottomless pit”: Lady Colin Campbell, interview by author, August 30, 2008.
“Those who were there at the scene”: The press statement issued by the São Paulo branch of the Safra family was widely quoted in press reports following the Maher verdict in December 2002.
“This story is all about money, power, and corruption”: Ted Maher, interview by author, March 5, 2008.
“I don’t know how she has coped”: Carlos Monteverde quoted in “A Nora de Lily,” Bruno Astuto, RG Vogue, November 2007. Translated from the Portuguese by the author.
“She is really the prettiest of women”: Aileen Mehle, Suzy, Women’s Wear Daily, April 29, 1992.
“I have always believed”: Gastaõ Veiga, interview by author, April 26, 2006.
ONE: “THE MOST ELEGANT GIRL”
“Lily was a social climber”: Gastaõ Veiga, interview by author, April 26, 2006.
“He made a tidy fortune”: Marcelo Steinfeld, interview by author, October 17, 2007.
“For ten years we have worked with Mr. Watkins”: Hilmar Tavares da Silva, October 12, 1950. Da Silva’s letter to federal authorities is part of the Watkins family’s application for Brazilian citizenship, National Archives, Rio de Janeiro. Translated from the Portuguese by the author.
In “Description of the Engraving,” Lily wrote: Lily Watkins, school papers, Colegio Anglo-Americano, Rio de Janeiro. Translated from the Portuguese by the author.
“She was a beautiful girl”: Ana Bentes Bloch, interview by author, March 11, 2009.
“I can easily say that Lily was the most beautiful and the most elegant debutante”: Lygia Hazan Gomlevsky, interview by author, March 13, 2009.
“Lily used to wear the most exquisite dresses”: Ana Bentes Bloch, interview by author, March 11, 2009.
“Her parents must have been”: Ana Bentes Bloch, ibid.
TWO: “EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE”
“Fred was an incredible businessman”: Victor Sztern, interview by author, August 22, 2006.
“Fred was brilliant”: Gastão Veiga, interview by author, April 26, 2006.
“We’d be on his boat”: Vera Contrucci Pinto Dias, interview by author, October 16, 2007.
“one of the most important figures in commerce and industry”: Editorial, Luta Democratica, August 26, 1969.
“I do not get tired, as I work with great pleasure”: Alfredo Monteverde to Rosy Fanto, October 8, 1950.
“Sometimes we had people who would come into the office”: Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006.
At the Millfield School: Charles Greville, “When it comes to Raising Funds, They Certainly Know All There is To Know About it At Millfield,” publication and date unknown.
“I spent a lot of time undoing Fred’s whims”: Ademar Trotte, interview by author, March 12, 2009.
“Geraldo had a difficult time”: Lourdes Mattos, September 13, 2006.
For despite his phenomenal success: letter from Alfredo Monteverde to Rosy Fanto, July 2, 1956.
“The women arrived at Fred’s house”: Rosy Fanto, interview by author, July 27, 2006.
“Sylvia is wonderful”: Alfredo Monteverde to Rosy Fanto, October 8, 1950.
“We never understood Fred’s attraction to Sylvia”: Maria L
uisa Goldschmid, interview by author, October 25, 2007.
“Fred drove right through reception”: Maria Luisa Goldschmid, ibid.
“Fred fell in love with an image”: Rosy Fanto, interview by author, July 27, 2006.
“We’d be playing poker at his penthouse”: Al Abitbol, interview by author, September 20, 2006.
“He was a crazy genius”: Marcelo Steinfeld, interview by author, October 17, 2007.
“Every woman in Rio turned her head”: Alvaro Pães, interview by author, May 8, 2006.
“We set up the store as part of Fred’s larger company”: Ademar Trotte, interview by author, March 12, 2009.
“She had the best of everything in her store”: Vera Contrucci Pinto Dias, interview by author, October 16, 2007.
“They were never among the first team”: Danuza Leão, interview by author, March 11, 2009.
“He could move heaven and earth for the people he loved”: Victor Sztern, interview by author, August 22, 2006.
“Money was just paper to her”: Al Abitbol, interview by author, September, 20, 2006.
“Fernando didn’t even think of charging them”: Vera Contrucci Pinto Dias, interview by author, October 16, 2007.
“Regina always said that Fred”: Masha Monterosa, interview by author, November 7, 2006.
“We finally thought Fred had found the best woman”: Maria Luisa Goldschmid, interview by author, October 25, 2007.
Whenever brother and sister were together: Rosy Fanto, interview by author, July 27, 2006.
“Rosy, dear, as usual I am filling a whole letter”: Alfredo Monteverde to Rosy Fanto, July 2, 1956.
“I want to be able to walk a short distance”: Laurinda Soares Navarro, interview by author, May 11, 2007.
“If I’m not staying, no one else is going to stay”: Laurinda Soares Navarro, interview by author, May 11, 2007.
“Tell me”: Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006.
“Fred commented to my husband”: Lourdes Mattos, interview by author, September, 13, 2006.
“Shortly before Fred died Regina told me”: Masha Monterosa, interview by author, November 7, 2006.
“It was a bit of creative accounting”: Ademar Trotte, interview by author, March 12, 2009.
“But it was the wrong thing to do”: Laurinda Soares Navarro, interview by author, May 11, 2007.
THREE: “SHE BEHAVED BEAUTIFULLY”
Much of this chapter relies on information found in the police report on Alfredo Monteverde, August 25, 1969, Tenth District Precinct, Rio de Janeiro Police. Translated from the Portuguese by the author.
“Seu Artigas was at the house”: Laurinda Soares Navarro, interview by author, May 11, 2007.
“He wasn’t in one of his depressions”: Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006.
“He told my husband”: Lourdes Mattos, interview by author, September 13, 2006.
Most of Alfredo’s executive team at Ponto Frio: Lourdes Mattos, ibid.
“I know that Lily did not accept the divorce”: Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006.
Although they were by no means destitute: Maria Consuelo Ayres, ibid.
Had he mixed his medications with the Mandrax: Laurinda Soares Navarro, interview by author, May 8, 2007.
“My father is dead. He’s angry”: Laurinda Soares Navarro, ibid.
Laurinda saw Lily stop to open the drawer: Laurinda Soares Navarro, ibid.
It was the elevator operator: Vera Chvidchenko, interview by author, January 28, 2008. Chvidchenko described the scene at the Ponto Frio offices after the staff found out about Alfredo’s death.
“I saw Fred stretched out on the bed”: Ademar Trotte, interview by author, March 12, 2009.
The Ponto Frio executives who assembled at the house: Lourdes Mattos, interview by author, September 13, 2006; Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006.
It would be several hours after they found the body: Police report dated August 25, 1969; Conrado Gruenbaum, interview by author, December 18, 2007.
It’s not clear why Conrado: Conrado Gruenbaum, interview by author, ibid.
Nevertheless, they spent hours analyzing: Laurinda Soares Navarro, interview by author, May 8, 2007; Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006. Information also comes from the police and autopsy reports. The description of Alfredo’s room is taken from the photographs accompanying the police reports, August 25, 1969.
But there were obvious gaps: Laurinda Soares Navarro, ibid; Maria Consuelo Ayres, ibid.
“He wasn’t there when we discovered the body”: Laurinda Soares Navarro, interview by author, May 8, 2007.
There were other elements missing: Maria Consuelo Ayres, August 27, 2006; Laurinda Soares Navarro, ibid.
The police photographs show a dead body: Laurinda Soares Navarro, ibid.; Rosy Fanto, interview by author, August 10, 2006.
“He shot himself twice”: Al Abitbol, interview by author, September 20, 2006.
Samy Cohn, another wealthy: Samy Cohn, interview by author, December 5, 2006.
Do you want the body embalmed: Rosy Fanto, interview by author, July 27, 2006. Rosy’s recollections of Alfredo in this chapter are mostly from this interview.
The Ponto Frio executives worked into the wee hours: Lourdes Mattos, interview by author, September 13, 2006; Sonia Mattos, interview by author, January 10, 2008; Laurinda Soares Navarro, interview by author, May 8, 2007; Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006.
“It’s just like Fred”: Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006.
“Geraldo said that Fred’s death was very strange”: Lourdes Mattos, interview by author, September 13, 2006.
his secretary Vera received a call: Vera Chvidchenko, interview by author, January 28, 2008.
“The newspapers omitted most of the details”: Hélio Fernandes, interview by author, March 10, 2009.
Shortly after Alfredo died, there were some rumors: Lourdes Mattos, interview by author, September 13, 2006; Sonia Mattos, interview by author, January 10, 2008; Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006.
“Received the revolver, four bullets intact”: Police receipt, 10th District Precinct, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, August 26, 1969. There is some debate about who signed the police receipt for the return of the revolver and the bullet. It is impossible to tell from the scrawled signature on the receipt.
“It was the day after her husband’s funeral”: Rosy Fanto, interview by author, July 27, 2006.
But like so many others who questioned: Maria Consuelo Ayres, interview by author, August 27, 2006; Rosy Fanto, interview by author, August 10, 2006; Masha Monterosa, interview by author, November 7, 2006.
But as the investigating lawyers would find: Letter to Dr. Alfredo Lamy Filho from investigators, signature indecipherable. March 18, 1970.
“Although the initial police report”: Report by medical examiner Alexandrino Silva Ramos Filho, March 16, 1970.
FOUR: “EDMOND SAID HE WOULD FIX EVERYTHING”
“Every Jew had money outside the country”: Marcelo Steinfeld, interview by author, October 17, 2007.
“For years, Fred was Edmond Safra’s biggest account”: Maria Luisa Goldschmid, interview by author, October 25, 2007. Goldschmid and Maria Consuelo Ayres both said that Edmond Safra’s brothers were frequently at the Ponto Frio offices in Rio de Janeiro.
Their friend Albert Nasser: Albert Nasser, interview by author, December 3, 2006.
“We all thought that when Fred died”: Ruth Almeida Prado, interview by author, April 30, 2006.
“My son died on August 25, 1969”: Regina Rebecca Monteverde’s affidavit dated 1971, court documents, 1971 F. No. 2064, High Court of Justice, Chancery Division.
“but in the manner that a railway baron”: Samuel Bendahan, interview by author, October 2, 2007.
Lily was careful not to declare: Samuel Bendahan, interview by author, October 7, 200
7; Willard Zucker to G. C. Sutton, 13 December 1971, re: Mrs. L. Monteverde.
“She wasn’t exactly an intellectual”: Rosy Fanto, interview by author, July 27, 2006.
In rare interviews: “The Mystery Man of Finance,” BusinessWeek, March 7, 1994. “Collector of Banks is Going Public,” New York Times, September 27, 1972.
“You need honesty and hard work”: In “Safra, um banqueiro de 4,2 bilhões de dolares de ativo,” Jornal do Brasil. Translated from the Portuguese by the author, May, 14, 1978.
“That is what my father taught me”: “The Mystery Man of Finance,” BusinessWeek, March 7, 1994.
he convinced his father’s chauffeur: Albert Nasser, interview by author, December 3, 2006.
“Edmond, you are going to grow up”: Albert Nasser, ibid.
Years later, Madame Tarrab: Albert Nasser, ibid.
“Sephardic assimilation was slowed”: Daniel J. Elazar, The Other Jews: The Sephardim Today (Basic Books, 1992), p. 146.
“If they ask you”: Bryan Burrough, Vendetta: American Express and the Smearing of Edmond Safra (Harper Collins, 1993), p. 35.
“I’m in no hurry”: “The Mystery Man of Finance,” BusinessWeek, March 7, 1994.
The Safras moved to Rio de Janeiro: Edmond Safra, application for Brazilian citizenship (1954 to 1957), National Archives, Rio de Janeiro.
There were also so-called hold-mail accounts: Burrough, p. 43.
“He went there to buy a hat”: “The Mystery Man of Finance,” BusinessWeek, March 7, 1994.
Charles Knox initially established the hat company: Landmarks Preservation Commission, New York, September 23, 1980, Designation List 137, LP1091.
“He knew more about the history”: Eli Attia, interview by author, January 6, 2009.