After Agnew resigned as Nixon's Vice President

[Douglas Caddy]

My resignation left me literally destitute. I lost not only my salary but my riight to a substantial government pension, and soon thereafter , my means of earning a living as a lawyer.

Soon after I satisfied the ten-thousand dollar maximum fine imposed on me, the IRS contacted me and demanded a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in back taxes, interest and penalties. I said I had no money. They told my lawyer I should get it out of my "shoe box" - which of course did not exist,

The IRS agents said, "If you don't pay this, we will go to court and lift your passport." As I was even then arranging to go overseas to try to develop some international business, I had to have that passport. I was desperate.

So I called Frank Sinatra's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, of Beverley Hills, California, to see if he had any ideas that might let me keep my passport and gain some time. He said he would think about it.

The next day, Mickey called me and said, "Frank thinks you should pay."

"Well, dammit, Mickey," I said, "I don't have the money; I can't pay."

"What is your bank and account number?" Mickey asked. "Frank has directed me to put two hundred thousand dollars in your account.".

I couldn't believe my good fortune, or that anyone could be so considerate and generous.

"That's wonderful," I exclaimed. "But where is the promissory note?"

Mickey laughed and said "Don't insult the man. I wouldn't even dare ask him about that. He knows you will pay him back when you can. That's all he needs."

The day after I resigned, Frank had sent me thirty thousand dollars to pay my ten-thousand dollar fine and my family expenses until I could find some way to make a living. As time went by, and my business improved through my numerous trips overseas, I earned an adequate income and paid back the last of the Sinatra loans in 1978.

Former Vice-President Spiro T.Agnew,

"GO QUIETLY... or else",
William Morrow and Company, 1980