Arrested philanthropist has Alzheimer’s
A prominent political fundraiser and philanthropist arrested last week on sex-related charges is said to be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
According to a statement released on Tuesday by Independent Stave, a Missouri-based barrel maker owned by the family of John Boswell, the 71-year-old Palm Beach Gardens philanthropist and GOP donor retired from the family-run business in 2017 and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Boswell is receiving treatment for the incurable disease that affects memory and behavior, according to the statement.
For Boswell, his Sept. 26 arrest for allegedly exposing himself to a worker cleaning the men’s bathroom at a Palm Beach County private club and blocking her escape is the second sex-crime case he has faced in two years. In January 2017, Boswell was charged with sexual abuse after he fondled a maid at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., who was attempting to make his bed, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Boswell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual abuse in the Washington case in April 2017 and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, six months probation, 30 hours of community service and ordered into therapy. His jail time was suspended, according to the Washington Post.
In the recent case, Boswell is accused of exposing himself to a woman cleaning the men’s bathroom at a private club on the morning of Sept. 24, according to a police report. The name of the club was redacted from police reports, and there is only a single reference to the location as a beach club.
The woman told police she tried to flee but Boswell moved back and forth in the doorway, blocking her effort to leave, according to the police report. After she threatened to call police on her cellphone and screaming for the general manager, the police report said Boswell left the bathroom. Boswell was released Sept. 28 on $3,000 bail after spending 15 hours in the Palm Beach County jail.
Although not a high-profile donor, Boswell’s decades of commitment to Republican causes and candidates earned him the honor of hosting President George W. Bush at a fundraiser at his Palm Beach Gardens home in 2008. However, the Republican National Congressional Committee abruptly canceled the event after learning of an IRS investigation into Boswell House Ministries, a nonprofit he founded.
Most recently, Boswell has donated to the campaigns of Gov. Rick Scott, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
Boswell’s fortune comes from his family’s barrel-making business in Missouri. Since 1912, the company, Independent Stave, has been making wooden barrels for wine and bourbon production, including the Kentucky classic Maker’s Mark. The company is run by Boswell’s son, Brad.
“We can speak to CEO Brad Boswell’s 15 years of strong leadership at ISCO and his commitment to maintaining a culture of integrity,” the statement released Tuesday read. “Throughout ISCO’s 100-year history, the company has earned a reputation for being trustworthy, respectful and fair.”
In the 2000s, Boswell and his second wife were known for their support of the Palm Beach Zoo, once filling a bathtub with bottles of champagne for a fundraiser.
Following a divorce, Boswell in 2007 married his current spouse, Holly Loveland — 30 years his junior — whose family served as headmasters at the King’s Academy for 42 years. The Boswells became benefactors to the private Christian school in West Palm Beach, from where Holly graduated in 1995. A major donation from the couple enabled the school to break ground last year on a 12,000-square-foot science and technology center on the school’s 60-acre campus.
On Aug. 13, the school celebrated the opening of the building, called the Boswell Science and Technology Center.