Editing Howard Hughes (section)

=== Later years in Las Vegas ===

The wealthy and aging Hughes, accompanied by his entourage of personal aides, began moving from one hotel to another, always taking up residence in the top floor penthouse. In the last ten years of his life, 1966 to 1976, Hughes lived in hotels in many cities—including [[Beverly Hills]], [[Boston]], [[Las Vegas]], [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], [[Freeport, Bahamas|Freeport]]<ref name="Howard Hughes history">{{cite web |title=Business magnate and famed aviator Howard Hughes dies |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/howard-hughes-dies |website=History.com |date=November 16, 2009 |access-date=July 22, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Vancouver]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Aaron|last=Chapman|url=http://www.vancourier.com/issues04/123204/news/123204nn1.html|title=Man of mystery|work=[[Vancouver Courier]]|publisher=[[Glacier Media]]|location=Vancouver, British Columbia|date=December 15, 2004|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050124103855/http://www.vancourier.com/issues04/123204/news/123204nn1.html |archive-date=January 24, 2005}}</ref>

On November 24, 1966 (Thanksgiving Day),<ref name=lvrj1>{{cite news|first=Corey|last=Levitan|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/gritty-city/|title=Top 10 Scandals: Gritty City|work=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]|publisher=News + Media Capital Group LLC|location=Las Vegas, Nevada|date=March 2, 2008|access-date=March 3, 2008}}</ref> Hughes arrived in Las Vegas by railroad car and moved into the [[Desert Inn]]. Because he refused to leave the hotel and to avoid further conflicts with the owners, Hughes bought the Desert Inn in early 1967. The hotel's eighth floor became the center of Hughes' empire, and the ninth-floor penthouse became his personal residence. Between 1966 and 1968, he bought several other hotel-casinos, including the [[Castaways (casino)|Castaways]], [[New Frontier Hotel and Casino|New Frontier]], [[the Landmark Hotel and Casino]], and the [[Sands Hotel|Sands]].<ref>{{cite news|first=K.J.|last=Evans|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/howard-hughes|title=Howard Hughes|work=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]|publisher=News + Media Capital Group LLC|location=Las Vegas, Nevada|date=February 7, 1999}}</ref> Hughes was rumored to have bought the [[Silver Slipper (Las Vegas)|Silver Slipper]] casino to move its trademark neon silver slipper which was visible from his bedroom, but this is not credible.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Levitan |first1=Corey |title=VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: Howard Hughes Bought Silver Slipper Just to Dim its Sign |url=https://www.casino.org/news/vegas-myths-busted-howard-hughes-bought-silver-slipper-just-to-dim-its-sign/ |website=Casino.org |date=January 3, 2025 |access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref> After Hughes left the Desert Inn, hotel employees discovered that his drapes had not been opened during the time he lived there and had rotted through.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Megan|last1=Messerly|first2=J.D.|last2=Morris|title=A peek into the mind of Howard Hughes|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/dec/28/a-peek-into-the-mind-of-howard-hughes/|work=[[Las Vegas Sun]]|publisher=Greenspun Media Group|location=Las Vegas, Nevada|date=December 28, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref>

Hughes wanted to change the image of Las Vegas to something more glamorous. He wrote in a memo to an aide, "I like to think of Las Vegas in terms of a well-dressed man in a dinner jacket and a beautifully jeweled and furred female getting out of an expensive car."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldstein |first1=Michael |title=Las Vegas At A Crossroads: Popular Destination Tries Re-Invention |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2018/02/16/las-vegas-at-a-crossroads-popular-destination-tries-re-invention/?sh=5452fee4786a |website=forbes.com |access-date=March 16, 2023}}</ref> Hughes bought several local television stations (including [[KLAS-TV]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=K.J. |title=Howard Hughes |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/howard-hughes/ |website=reviewjournal.com |date=February 7, 1999 |publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. |access-date=March 16, 2023}}</ref>

Eventually, the brain trauma from Hughes' previous accidents, the effects of [[neurosyphilis]] diagnosed in 1932<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 91</ref> and undiagnosed [[Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder|obsessive-compulsive disorder]]<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 183–185</ref> considerably affected his decision-making. A small panel, unofficially dubbed the "Mormon Mafia" for the many [[Latter-day Saint]]s on the committee, was led by [[Frank William Gay]] and originally served as Hughes' "secret police" headquartered at 7000 Romaine, Hollywood. Over the next two decades, however, this group oversaw and controlled considerable business holdings,<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 263</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918528,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930033905/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918528,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2007|title=The Keepers of the King|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|location=New York City|date=December 13, 1976|access-date=January 5, 2008}}</ref> with the CIA anointing Gay while awarding a contract to the Hughes corporation to acquire sensitive information on a sunken Russian submarine.<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, pp. 345–346</ref><ref>The term "Mormon Mafia" has also been used to describe the Mormon presence in the CIA and FBI. see {{cite book|author-last=Shupe|author-first=Anson|author-link=Anson D. Shupe|title=The Darker Side of Virtue: Corruption, Scandal, and the Mormon Empire|publisher=Prometheus Books|year=1991|pages=11–12}}</ref> In addition to supervising day-to-day business operations and Hughes' health, they also went to great pains to satisfy Hughes' every whim. For example, Hughes once became fond of [[Baskin-Robbins]]'s banana nut ice cream, so his aides sought to secure a bulk shipment for him, only to discover that Baskin-Robbins had discontinued the flavor. They put in a request for the smallest amount the company could provide for a special order, 350 gallons (1,300 L), and had it shipped from Los Angeles. A few days after the order arrived, Hughes announced he was tired of banana nut and wanted only French vanilla ice cream. The Desert Inn ended up distributing free banana nut ice cream to casino customers for a year.<ref>Brown and Broeske 1996, p. 341.</ref> In a 1996 interview, former Howard Hughes Chief of Nevada Operations [[Robert Maheu]] said, "There is a rumor that there is still some banana nut ice cream left in the freezer. It is most likely true."{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

As an owner of several major Las Vegas businesses, Hughes wielded much political and economic influence in Nevada and elsewhere. During the 1960s and early 1970s, he disapproved of underground nuclear testing at the [[Nevada Test Site]]. Hughes was concerned about the risk from residual [[Ionizing radiation|nuclear radiation]] and attempted to halt the tests. When the tests finally went through despite Hughes' efforts, the detonations were powerful enough that the entire hotel in which he was living trembled from the shock waves.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ralph|last=Vartabedian|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hometown-nuke28-2009jun28,0,1389110.story|title=Howard Hughes and the atomic bomb in middle of Nevada|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=June 28, 2009|access-date=July 25, 2009}}</ref> In two separate, last-ditch maneuvers, Hughes instructed his representatives to offer bribes of $1 million to both Presidents [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and Richard Nixon.<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Carlson|title=Obituary: Robert Maheu|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/aug/20/usa|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London, England|date=August 20, 2008|access-date=July 27, 2016}}</ref>

In 1970, [[Jean Peters]] filed for divorce. The two had not lived together for many years. Peters requested a lifetime [[alimony]] payment of $70,000 a year, adjusted for inflation, and waived all claims to Hughes' estate. Hughes offered her a settlement of over a million dollars, but she declined it. Hughes did not insist on a [[gag order|confidentiality agreement]] from Peters as a condition of the divorce. Aides reported that Hughes never spoke ill of her. She refused to discuss her life with Hughes and declined several lucrative offers from publishers and biographers. Peters would state only that she had not seen Hughes for several years before their divorce and had dealt with him only by phone.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

Hughes was living in the Intercontinental Hotel near [[Lake Managua]] in Nicaragua, seeking privacy and security,<ref>{{cite book|first=Jay|last=Mallin|url=http://www.ineter.gob.ni/geofisica/sis/managua72/mallin/great04.htm|title=The Great Managua Earthquake|publisher=SamHar Press|location=Charlotte, New York|date=1974|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220073628/http://www.ineter.gob.ni/geofisica/sis/managua72/mallin/great01.html|archive-date=February 20, 2007|access-date=April 23, 2007}}</ref> when a [[1972 Nicaragua earthquake|magnitude 6.5 earthquake]] damaged [[Managua]] in December 1972. As a precaution, Hughes moved to a large tent facing the hotel; after a few days, he moved to the Nicaraguan National Palace and stayed there as a guest of [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle]] before leaving for Florida on a private jet the following day.<ref>[http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/e-h/hughes1.html "Howard Hughes: A Chronology."] ''Channel 4''. Retrieved: January 5, 2008.</ref> He subsequently moved into the penthouse at the Xanadu Princess Resort on [[Grand Bahama Island]], which he had recently purchased. He lived almost exclusively in the penthouse of the [[Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina]] for the last four years of his life.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} Hughes spent a total of $300&nbsp;million on his many properties in Las Vegas.<ref name="lvrj1" />

====Autobiography hoax====
In 1972, author [[Clifford Irving]] caused a media sensation when he claimed he had co-written an authorized Hughes autobiography. Irving claimed he and Hughes had corresponded through the United States mail and offered as proof handwritten notes allegedly sent by Hughes. Publisher McGraw-Hill, Inc. was duped into believing the manuscript was authentic. Hughes was so reclusive that he did not immediately publicly refute Irving's statement, leading many to believe that Irving's book was genuine. However, before the book's publication, Hughes finally denounced Irving in a teleconference attended by reporters Hughes knew personally: James Bacon of the Hearst papers, Marvin Miles of the ''Los Angeles Times'', Vernon Scott of UPI, Roy Neal of NBC News, Gene Handsaker of AP, Wayne Thomas of the ''Chicago Tribune'', and Gladwin Hill of the ''New York Times''.<ref name=":3">Bartlett and Steele 2011, pp. 469–471.</ref>

The entire hoax finally unraveled.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/clifford-irving-dead-howard-hughes-prankster-was-87-1069918|title=Clifford Irving, Howard Hughes Prankster, Dies at 87|newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|location=Los Angeles, California|date=December 21, 2017|access-date=June 25, 2018}}</ref> The [[United States Postal Inspection Service]] (USPIS) got a subpoena to force Irving to turn over samples of his handwriting. The USPIS investigation led to Irving's indictment and subsequent conviction for using the postal service to commit fraud. He was incarcerated for 17 months.<ref>{{cite web |title=Clifford Irving {{!}} National Postal Museum |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/behind-the-badge-case-histories-scams-and-schemes-financial-frauds/clifford-irving |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |access-date=December 11, 2021}}</ref> In 1974, the [[Orson Welles]] film ''[[F for Fake]]'' included a section on the Hughes autobiography hoax, leaving a question open as to whether it was actually Hughes who took part in the teleconference (since so few people had actually heard or seen him in recent years). In 1977, ''The Hoax'' by Clifford Irving was published in the United Kingdom, telling his story of these events. The 2006 film ''[[The Hoax]]'', starring [[Richard Gere]], is also based on these events.{{sfn|Irving|1999|p=309}}