The disgrace of wealthy Tampa businessman Douglas S. Cone was not a matter of fraud, insider trading, or any other such business offense, but was of the personal sort.
Mr. Cone, a stern-looking man who made his money in road construction, had been married for 50 years to his wife, Jean Ann Cone. The two had contributed to various philanthropies, most notably the building of Berkeley Prep, a local prep school.
Another generous benefactor of Berkeley Prep was one Donald Carlson, who no one at the school had ever actually met in person. The Carlsons sent both their children to the school,and its baseball field was named in the Carlsons' honor due to their financial gifts.
In 2003, Mrs. Cone returned home in her green Rolls Royce, pulled into her garage, shut the garage door, but left the car running. She died there of carbon monoxide poisoning, and tests later showed that she had anti-anxiety medication in her system in addition to having a high blood alcohol level. Her death was ruled accidental.
Just two weeks later, Douglas Cone remarried, this time to a woman who had been calling herself Hillary Carlson for 20 years. It then came to light that Douglas Cone and Donald Carlson were one and the same fellow.
Cone had managed to have two families for all those years, and they lived a mere 20 miles apart. He had done it by telling wife Jean Ann that he frequently had to be away on business and by telling Hillary that he had a highly sensitive State Department job that kept him on the road much of the time.
Talk about burning your candles at both ends. And talk about sheer gall!
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