Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 29, 1994 TAG: 9401290209
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: N.Y. Times News Service
DATELINE: MANHASSET, N.Y. LENGTH: Short
The developer, who was named one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century by Life magazine, fell on hard times in the late 1970s and 1980s and was accused by New York state officials of looting millions of dollars from a charitable foundation.
Levitt built more than 17,000 houses in the years after World War II, mostly for returning veterans. He sold his development companies to his sons in 1968 and later lost millions in a series of failed business ventures including projects in Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela.
After 1986, he was forced to liquidate all his assets.
In 1990, then-New York state Attorney General Robert Abrams accused Levitt of looting from the Levitt Foundation, a charitable organization. Levitt agreed to pay $11 million in penalties in 1992, but according to a July 1993 memo from Abrams' office, the state collected $7.7 million.
Levitt also was accused by the Federal Elections Commission of making illegal contributions in 1986 to Sen. Joseph Biden's presidential campaign. The commission, citing the developer's advanced age and financial troubles, last month dropped its attempt to collect $39,000 in fines.
by CNB