Henry V. Vaccaro is an American businessman and author. His primary business was the Henry V. Vaccaro Corporation, located in Neptune, NJ. The construction company, started in 1964, built over $1 Billion in construction projects throughout New Jersey. These projects included hospitals, prisons, schools, and nursing homes.

Kramer Guitars

In 1976, he was the main investor and owner of

Kramer Guitars Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock and heavy metal musicians in the 1980s; Kramer i ...

in Neptune, NJ. In 1993, Henry Vaccaro sold the Kramer Guitar Company to Jackson Communications Inc, formed by the family of superstar

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. However, missed payments by JCI led to a lawsuit by Vaccaro, who obtained judgments against many of the family members. Vaccaro, with the help of detective Frank Coonis and attorney Steve Fernandez, uncovered and ultimately seized many of the Jackson family's assets, including the largest collection of Jackson family memorabilia. Vaccaro was sued by Michael Jackson in 2004, for $100,000,000.00. The cause of action included copyright infringement, cyber squatting, false designation of name, and the Latham Act, among others. Vaccaro won, as the suit was dismissed by the judge "with prejudice."

Involvement in Asbury Park redevelopment

In 1983, Henry, along with his brother Sebastian and friends

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

and TV news anchor

Ernie Anastos Ernie Anastos (born July 12, 1943) is an American news anchor and the host of the show ''Positively America with Ernie Anastos''. He anchored the news at 6 p.m. on WNYW in New York City. He was also the anchor of the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts on Fo ...

purchased and refurbished the Berkeley-Carteret Hotel, a $16 million restoration project. The hotel opened to rave reviews in 1985, and went on to win numerous awards, including a national award in Washington, DC, for the best project in the United States that utilized both public and private funds. In 1985, Henry and Sebastian purchased over 40 properties in Asbury Park, and formed a partnership with Carabetta Enterprises, Inc., a Connecticut company. The partnership, known as Carabetta Vaccaro Developers LLC, was awarded a waterfront redevelopment contract by the City of Asbury Park, NJ. The Vaccaro brothers eventually sold their shares in the development to partner Carabetta Enterprises. But due to the real estate collapse in the early 1990s, the project failed. Ultimately, Vaccaro negotiated terms between Carabetta, the City of Asbury Park, and another entity known as Asbury Partners (which was later bought out by iStar Financial).

Relationship with Johnny Cash

In 2013, Henry Vaccaro wrote an autobiography chronicling his 30-year friendship with Johnny Cash (which lasted until Cash's death in 2003). Vaccaro served as an honorary pallbearer at his funeral.

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

said of the memoir, "I have wonderful memories of my dad's decades-long friendship with the wonderful Henry Vaccaro, and his book vividly brought them back to life.""Johnny Cash is a Friend of Mine"
Amazon.com, 12 July 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaccaro, Henry Living people Businesspeople from New Jersey American male writers Year of birth missing (living people)