The Fish That Ate the Whale (37 page)

“the head had been split”
: Black's suicide was said to be the model for the first scene of
The Hudsucker Proxy
, the Coen Brothers movie.

“It's a hell of a thing to do”
: This quote, as well as details regarding the suicide of Eli Black, come from Thomas McCann, our conversation and his book. Sources on Eli Black include Langley and Schoonover,
The Banana Men
; Chapman,
Bananas
; Koeppel,
Banana
; Jenkins,
Bananas
; Kinzer,
Overthrow
; Kilborn, “Suicide of Big Executive.”

More than five hundred people
: “Eli Black's Rites Attended by 500.”

The mystery was resolved
: See “Complaint Names United Brands Company,” which summarizes the charges against the company. Also Cole, “S.E.C. Suit Links a Honduras Bribe to United Brands.”

Ice-cream men
: I tried to interview someone from Chiquita for this book. My request led to e-mail exchanges with Andrew Ciafardini, manager of investment relations and corporate communications at Chiquita Brands International in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the end, my request was not granted.

More recently, Chiquita was accused
: See Gentile, “Families Sue Chiquita in Deaths of Five Men.”

 

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