Nixon Scandal, Pt. II
In 1982 he moved to Cuba, a country that could provide him with treatment for his painful urinary tract infections, and which would not extradite him to the U.S. Cuban authorities accepted him on the condition that he would not get involved in any financial deals. He married Lidia Alfonso Llauger.
Vesco was indicted in 1989 on drug smuggling charges.
In the 1990s, Vesco became involved once again with Donald A. Nixon after Nixon went to Cuba seeking to partner with the government in conducting clinical trials on a substance he claimed to boost immunity, called trixolan or TX. Vesco introduced Nixon to Fidel Castro and his brother, Raúl Castro, and the Cuban government agreed to provide laboratory facilities and doctors to conduct the trials. Results from the studies were claimed to be positive, however on or about May 31, 1995, Vesco attempted to defraud Nixon and Raúl Castro, and Cuban authorities seized control of the project and arrested Vesco and his wife. Nixon was detained for questioning and was released thirty days later.
At the time of Vesco's arrest the Cuban Foreign Ministry said he had been taken into custody "under suspicion of being a provocateur and an agent of foreign special services," or intelligence agencies. However, he was formally charged with "fraud and illicit economic activity" and "acts prejudicial to the economic plans and contracts of the state." In 1996 the Cuban government sentenced Vesco to thirteen years in jail on charges stemming from the scandal. He was scheduled for release in 2009, when he would have been 74. Vesco's wife Lidia was convicted on lesser charges and got out in 2005.
Vesco reportedly died of lung cancer in November 2007 and was buried at Colon Cemetery in Havana. However, these reports of his death have been disputed.
A similar figure who combined political and financial shenanigans, Allen Stanford, developed extensive ties in Antigua. In 2012 a Texas court sentenced Stanford to 110 years for fraud.
Read more about this topic: Robert Vesco, Biography
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