{{promotional|date= October 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Anthony V. Pugliese III | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | monuments = | nationality = | other_names = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = Entrepreneur and businessman | years_active = | employer = The Pugliese Company<ref name="SunSentinelWiles">{{cite news | last =Fellersfeller | first =Stephen | title =Coconut Creek looking to develop along Wiles Road | newspaper =Sun Sentinel | date =June 25, 2010 | url = http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-06-25/news/fl-mcf-proposal-0624-20100625_1_wiles-road-retail-space-area| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141112072643/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-06-25/news/fl-mcf-proposal-0624-20100625_1_wiles-road-retail-space-area| url-status = dead| archive-date = November 12, 2014| accessdate =November 8, 2014 }}</ref> | organization = | agent = | known_for = Destiny, FL and Pop Culture Collection<ref name="PugliesePopCulture" /> | notable_works = | style = | height = <!-- {{height|m=}} --> | television = | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = | boards = | spouse = | partner = <!-- unmarried life partner; use ''Name (1950?present)'' --> | children = | parents = | relatives = | callsign = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | signature_size = | website = {{URL|www.anthonyvpugliese.com/}} | footnotes = }} '''Anthony V. Pugliese III''' is an American real estate developer and pop culture collector. He is the chairman and founder of The Pugliese Company, a real estate and business development company.<ref name="SunSentinelWiles" /> The Pugliese Company is known best for its proposed development of Destiny, a 61-square-mile eco-sustainable city spanning 41,000 acres that was named one of the 16 founding projects of the Climate Positive Development program by the Clinton Climate Initiative.<ref name="CNBCPugliese">{{cite news | last =Pisani | first =Joseph | title =Sustainable Cities Laying The Right Foundation | publisher =CNBC | date =June 30, 2009 | url = https://www.cnbc.com/2009/06/30/sustainable-cities-laying-the-right-foundation.html | access-date =November 8, 2014 }}</ref> Pugliese is also known for his pop culture collectibles that have included the James Bond 007 Aston Martin DB5, the hat of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz, and the Colt revolver that Jack Ruby used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald.<ref name="PugliesePopCulture">{{cite news | last =Pilkington | first =Ed | title =Witch's hat and Jack Ruby's gun under the hammer | newspaper =The Guardian | date =March 16, 2008 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/17/kennedy.usa | accessdate =November 8, 2014 }}</ref>
==Early life and business activities==
Since the 1970s, Pugliese and The Pugliese Company have designed condos, office buildings, and self-storage units.<ref name="PuglieseDreamer">{{cite news | last =Sashin | first =Daphne | title =Can-do dreamer has important date with Destiny in Osceola | newspaper =Orlando Sentinel | date =July 27, 2006 | url = https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2006/07/27/can-do-dreamer-has-important-date-with-destiny-in-osceola/ | access-date =November 8, 2014 }}</ref> The first of four children, Pugliese wanted to be an actor when he entered Arts High School in Newark, N.J. When the school dropped its drama class, Pugliese studied art and design instead.<ref name="PuglieseDreamer" /> Lacking money for college, Anthony teamed up with his father to start a swimming-pool business. By age 21, Pugliese had designed a pool that incorporated natural landscaping elements and looked more like a lake than a swimming pool, creating the Pugliese Natural Look Pool.<ref name="PuglieseAssociatedPress" /> The success of his family business allowed Pugliese to move into real estate, purchasing undervalued properties in New Jersey, and eventually Florida.<ref name="PuglieseDreamer" /> Throughout the years Pugliese has won numerous awards for his commercial developments such as the Crystal Corporate Center in Boca Raton, and the development of the Pineapple Grove district in Delray Beach, Florida.<ref name="PuglieseDreamer" /> Pugliese has also expanded his business forays into the world of art, motion picture cinema, and technology.<ref name="PuglieseDreamer" /> In 1993 Anthony founded Safe & Secure Self Storage which provides self-storage services to Bergen County, New Jersey. Shortly after founding ''Safe & Secure Self Storage'', Anthony founded Automated Self Storage, which focused on the robotic automation of the self-storage industry.
==Pop culture collection==
One of Anthony V. Pugliese III's most prized possessions in his pop culture collection is the gun that Jack Ruby used to assassinate Lee Harvey Oswald.<ref name="PugliesePopCulture" /> Pugliese bought the Colt Cobra .38 at auction in 1991 for $220,000, after the Ruby family won the rights to the gun following a 20-year legal battle.<ref name="NewsweekPugliese">{{cite news | author =Newsweek Staff | title =True Disbelievers | newspaper =Newsweek | date =November 21, 1993 | url = http://www.newsweek.com/true-disbelievers-191302 | accessdate =November 8, 2014 }}</ref>
Although Pugliese remains a top pop culture and political memorabilia collector, he did auction off a sizable amount of his collection to raise funds for his 41,000 acre eco-sustainable community, Destiny. Items that were sold at auction as part of Pugliese's Pop Culture Collection included:<ref name="PugliesePopCulture" /> * The witch's hat worn by Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz during the sequence in which Dorothy splashes her with water and she cries out: "I'm melting!" ($170,000) * The tailcoat worn by Orson Welles in Citizen Kane with a K embroidered on each cuff ($27,000) * Christopher Reeve's Superman costumes ($45,000) * The steel-reinforced black felt hat that Oddjob used as a deadly weapon in the James Bond film Goldfinger ($110,000) * Several canes carried by Charlie Chaplin ($4,200 and upwards) * Harrison Ford's bullwhip in Indiana Jones ($57,500) * The Colt revolver used by Jack Ruby to shoot Lee Harvey Oswald following the JFK Assassination.
==Destiny, Florida==
Destiny, Florida, was a proposed large scale eco-sustainable community designed as a biotechnology hub located in Osceola County near Yeehaw Junction, Florida. The proposed new city development encompassed more than 61 square miles, spanning more than 41,000 acres, making this acquisition by Pugliese the largest acquisition of land in Central Florida since Walt Disney acquired the land that would become Walt Disney World.<ref name="PuglieseAssociatedPress">{{cite news |first=Travis|last= Reed |title=Developer seeking his Destiny in eco-sustainable model city|url=http://www.chron.com/business/article/Developer-seeking-his-Destiny-in-eco-sustainable-1860316.php |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |date=October 22, 2006|accessdate=November 11, 2014}}</ref> After starting the Destiny project Pugliese eventually brought on FD Destiny LLC, owned by Fred DeLuca, co-founder of Subway, as a co-investor in the project.<ref name="Sibley">{{cite news|first=Sibley |last=Fleming |title=Starting from Scratch, Developer Plans America's First Eco City in Florida |url=http://enews.penton.com/enews/nrei/greensheet_/2009_06_11_06112009/display |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715063706/http://enews.penton.com/enews/nrei/greensheet_/2009_06_11_06112009/display |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 15, 2011 |newspaper=The Green Sheet, National Real Estate Investor |date=June 11, 2009 |accessdate=April 17, 2009 }}</ref> It was one of 16 initial projects of "climate positive" real estate developments supported by the Clinton Climate Initiative.<ref>[http://www.clintonfoundation.org/news/news-media/press-release-clinton-climate-initiative-to-demostrate-model-for-sustainable-urban-growth-with-projects-in-10-countries-on-six-continents "Clinton Climate Initiative To Demonstrate Model For Sustainable Urban Growth With Projects In 10 Countries On Six Continents"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120728215034/http://www.clintonfoundation.org/news/news-media/press-release-clinton-climate-initiative-to-demostrate-model-for-sustainable-urban-growth-with-projects-in-10-countries-on-six-continents |date=July 28, 2012 }}, Press Release, Clinton Foundation, May 18, 2009</ref> In 2010, the project was delayed due to lawsuits and opposition from Florida state agencies.<ref name="Gortner">Marvin G. Gortner, [http://www.aroundosceola.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5945:destiny-facing-huge-hurdles&catid=27&Itemid=55 "Destiny facing huge hurdles "], County News, ''Around Osceola'', April 9, 2010</ref> The Destiny land deal eventually fell apart, resulting in a contentious lawsuit and eventual trial against Anthony V. Pugliese III. In 2012 charges were filed against Pugliese for creating fake companies and using phony billings to steal from Frederick DeLuca. Pugliese was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 6 months in jail along with 10 years of probation. His business manager Joseph Reamer pleaded no contest and was sentenced to a four-year probation term. In January 2018, a Palm Beach Circuit Judge ordered Pugliese to pay $23 million to the estate of former business partner Frederick DeLuca.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-pn-pugliese-deluca-judge-order-20180105-story.html|title=Builder faces $23M court orders over failed land deal|last=Freeman|first=Marc|work=Sun-Sentinel|access-date=April 24, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Charitable activities== Anthony V. Pugliese III has contributed to both local and national based charities. In 2010, he donated $150,000 to create a Little League baseball field for disabled children in Delray Beach.<ref name="PuglieseMiracleField">{{cite news |first=Maria|last= Herrera |title=Miracle League opens field of dreams for special needs players|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-05-15/news/fl-delray-miracle-league-20100515_1_miracle-league-julia-kadel-sergio-field |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112065708/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-05-15/news/fl-delray-miracle-league-20100515_1_miracle-league-julia-kadel-sergio-field |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 12, 2014 |newspaper=Sun Sentinel |date=May 15, 2010|accessdate=November 11, 2014}}</ref> He named the field in honor of his grandson, Anthony V. Pugliese V. Pugliese has also been known to use his pop culture memorabilia to generate donations to charity including using bullets fired from the gun Jack Ruby used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald to raise money for various charities such as the National Audubon Society and other environmental groups.<ref name="LasVegasSunPugliese">{{cite news | last =Trask | first =Mike | title =From Jack Ruby to Las Vegas: A gun's trajectory | newspaper =Las Vegas Sun | date =March 11, 2008 | url = http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/mar/11/jack-ruby-las-vegas-guns-trajectory | accessdate =November 8, 2014 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.puglieseco.com The Pugliese Company] * [http://www.anthonyvpugliese.com Anthony V. Pugliese III] * {{IMDb name|2125905}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pugliese, Anthony}} Category:Living people Category:People from Osceola County, Florida Category:American businesspeople Category:People from Gulf Stream, Florida Category:People from Orange, New Jersey Category:Year of birth missing (living people)