Anthony Pugliese

Early life and business activities

Since the 1970s, Anthony Pugliese and The Pugliese Company have designed high-end condos, office buildings, and well-designed self-storage units that enhance property values in surrounding areas. 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. Lacking money for college, Anthony teamed up with his father to start a swimming-pool business. By age 21, Pugliese had designed a signature pool that incorporated natural landscaping elements and looked more like a lake than a swimming pool, creating the Pugliese Natural Look® Pool. The success of his family business allowed Pugliese to move into real estate, purchasing undervalued properties in New Jersey, and eventually Florida. 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. Pugliese has also expanded his business forays into the world of art, motion picture cinema, and technology.

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. 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.

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:

Destiny, Florida

Destiny, Florida, was a large scale eco-sustainable community designed as a biotechnology hub located in Osceola County near Yeehaw Junction, Florida. The city 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. 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. It was one of 16 initial projects of “climate positive" real estate developments supported by the Clinton Climate Initiative. In 2010, the project was delayed due to lawsuits and opposition from Florida state agencies. On August 26, 2015, Pugliese pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit organized scheme to defraud and grand theft in connection with charges that stemmed from the soured Destiny real estate deal with Subway founder Fred DeLuca. Pugliese faces up to 18 months in prison to be followed by up to 10 years of probation.

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. 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.