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John's Journal... Entry 114, Day 2 David Horan - The Treasure Sultan I've worked as an attorney since 1971. I had a degree in marine biology with minors in chemistry and physics. When I came to Key West, all I really wanted to do was scuba dive and surf. I really didn't want to practice law. But when I arrived in Key West, I started practicing environmental law and representing the commercial fishing industry here in the Keys. In the first two or three years of my practice, I fought cases in front of the Supreme Court of Florida for the fishing industry. During that time, I frequented an establishment known as the Chart Room. Jimmy Buffet often came by to sing for drinks, and Mel Fischer sat around there and talked about lost treasure. Fischer's assistant encouraged him to get out of a contract he had with a Washington law firm. He owed them more than $1 million in past-due attorney fees. Although I was a widely-publicized young attorney in the Florida Keys area, I wasn't nationally, and he felt like he could afford me. He hired me as his counsel for his treasure-hunting adventures. That's how I got involved in the treasure business. Since those early days with Mel, however, I've represented other companies that found historic wrecks they wanted to salvage. I was the chief trial counsel for the "Titanic." However, the French salvage company won the rights to the "Titanic." I received the most financial reward from the "Central America" wreck. The salvage team recovered more artifacts and treasure from this wreck than any other wreck in history. So far the recovery team has recovered approximately $1 billion in all-gold treasure. I also was involved in the 1715 Plate wrecks that sank on July 31, 1715, along the Fort Pierce and Vero Beach area. Several boats hit the shore there and broke into pieces. The treasure from these wrecks scattered all up and down those beaches. Salvage operations have operated there since the early 1960s. I'm also working on the recovery of a B-17 bomber that sat down on a frozen lake in Canada. In 1947 a B-17 on its way from Tuley, Greenland, to Goose Bay, Labrador in Canada, lost its way and landed on a frozen lake when it started having engine trouble. We have pictures of the plane sitting on the lake. Our team found the plane on the bottom of the lake. We'll try to recover this plane in the spring of 2002. The investor hopes to restore the plane and actually fly it. If you find a treasure and you want to contact me, you can email me at bhw608@hotmail.com, call me at (352) 294-4585 or write to me at 608 Whitehead Street, Key West, Fl 33040. TOMORROW: TREASURES OF THE
"EL CAZADOR"
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Check back each day this week for more about Dave Horan... Day 1 - Discovering the
Treasure Ship "Atocha"
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