Mohammed al Fassi

Mohammed al Fassi (1952 – Dec. 24, 2002), at times referred to as Prince al Fassi, was a Moroccan/Saudi businessman related by marriage to the Saudi royal family.[1] His sister was married to Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz, one of the brothers of Saudi King Fahd al Saud.[2]

Al Fassi's notoriety stems largely from his 1978 purchase (for $2.4 million in cash)[2] of the 38-room white-stucco Whittier Mansion on Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, which, soon after its acquisition, he had painted an unpopular shade of green. He further decorated the grounds of his new home by having the publicly visible statuary around the property painted in flesh tones, with pubic hair also colorfully painted,[1] raising the ire of many of his neighbors.[2][3] In 1979 the mansion was used as a filming location for The Jerk starring Steve Martin.[4] Within two years of its purchase, just after midnight on 1/2/81, the house was completely destroyed by a fire which was set by individuals burglarizing the house.[1] The crowd that gathered to watch the spectacular fire, was characterized by amazement at how the inside wood, under the copper roof installed by the so-called Sheik, did not allow the Beverly Hills Firefighters to enter from above. Afterward, when the fire was put down, the mansion was gutted. No one there cheered but may have been relieved that the awful edifice, which had exerted such a poor, kitch influence on the other owners of the nearby homes along Sunset Boulevard, was gone. Eventually in 2010, the home was replaced by two new homes, reflecting the other attractive homes in the area.[2]

Al Fassi soon relocated to Miami, joining other members of the Saudi royal family already there, and already provoking notoriety with helicopter commuting and large and unusual charitable contributions. Among his exploits there were disputes over fencing he erected on city property, the hiring of city police officers to serve as security guards, a lawsuit from a contractor for unpaid bills, and a dust-up over a proposed Big Ben-style clock to be built on Star Island in Biscayne Bay.[5]

Al Fassi had mixed success as an animal lover; he was known to have adopted scores of stray cats, and to have purchased live birds, fish, and even lobsters in order to set them free, but he was also charged with animal cruelty when investigators from the Greater Miami Humane Society found evidence of neglect.[2][6]

In 1991 Al Fassi was arrested in Jordan and hastily extradited to Saudi Arabia, where he was held without charges until his release to house arrest. His arrest stemmed from his having taken the side of Iraq in the Persian Gulf War. He made broadcasts from Baghdad denouncing Saudi Arabia for its participation in the war, for its human rights policies, and calling for democracy.[7]

Al Fassi died Dec. 24, 2002 in Cairo. According to Marvin Mitchelson, the divorce lawyer for his first wife, Sheika Dena al Fassi, he died of an infected hernia, and was survived by four grown children.[1]