Poison on the nightstand
Hodgson’s story
Perhaps the most important guest to Wolfie was Hodgson, the second person to die in the North Flagler Drive house. He came into Wolfie’s life not long after Annabelle died.
Described by one relative as handsome and bright, he came from a Virginia family that is descended from Frances Hodgson Burnett, the early 20th-century author of the famous children’s books “Little Lord Fauntleroy” and “The Secret Garden.”
“He was smart and intelligent and interested in everything,” Wolfie told The Palm Beach Post.
Hodgson also struggled with drug addiction. He was arrested nearly 40 times in Florida from 2001 to 2014 on charges ranging from drug possession to car theft, even assault. Some police reports cited Wolfie as the victim.
Wolfie, who never had children of his own, told The Post he considered Hodgson like a son. And despite warnings from Hodgson’s family about his addiction, Wolfie said he tried to help him get clean.
He said he brought Hodgson with him to Europe to keep him off drugs. Wolfie said he forbade Hodgson from using drugs at his houses or bringing friends there while Wolfie was away.
Still, Hodgson caused chaos at a time when Wolfie was defending himself in bitter court challenges to his late wife’s estate.
In June 2010, Hodgson was accused of stealing checks, credit cards and a Rolex watch from a house Wolfie owns near Flamingo Park in West Palm Beach.
“Wolfgang stated that Joshua is basically a junkie who steals to support his drug habit, that he wanted to pursue criminal charges against him because ‘enough is enough’ and he needed to go to jail,” read a police report. But a few weeks later, Wolfie backed down because Hodgson, who faced five years in prison, promised to enter rehab.
The following spring, a confidential informant made a sinister accusation to Palm Beach police: Hodgson tried to poison Wolfie at his North Ocean Boulevard home by filling an empty water bottle with “a toxic degreaser” and placing it on Wolfie’s nightstand.
“Hodgson has been constantly supplying Von Falkenburg with crack/cocaine and keeping him ‘high’ in order to use his money and his rental property located in West Palm Beach,” said a March 2011 Palm Beach police report, quoting the informant. Police said Wolfie “reiterated” what the informant told them.
“Hodgson, who is known as a habitual drug user, recently had a local drug dealer move into Von Falkenburg’s rental apartment, which they are both using ... for drug dealing and prostitution,” the report continued, citing the confidential informant. “When Von Falkenburg realized what was going on with his rental apartment, he began an eviction process.”
Angry about Wolfie’s eviction plans, Hodgson gave Wolfie drugs and got him high, the informant told police. Later that night, Wolfie was lying in bed when he saw a plastic bottle that looked like cranberry juice. Wolfie began to drink it but “immediately knew it was something bad and spit it out,” the police report said.
The next day, police conducted “a taped controlled call” between Hodgson and Wolfie. In the call, Hodgson admitted he put degreaser in the bottle but left it on the night table by mistake.
Wolfie told police he didn’t want to pursue criminal charges. The police report noted “that Von Falkenburg appears to be of sound mind and fully aware of his actions.”
Police returned to the oceanfront mansion three months later after a 911 call about a fight. They arrived to find the bedroom door pulled off the rail and Wolfie being treated by paramedics for cuts to his lower left leg.
Wolfie said “that Hodgson and him have been living at the house for over the past year and that they have been in an intimate relationship together,” according to a police report. Wolfie also told police “that Hodgson has a bad drug problem and his anger is a result of the drugs.”
Hodgson was charged with domestic battery against a person over age 65. Wolfie posted his bond.
In September, police said Hodgson stole Wolfie’s credit cards and went on a spending spree at Walmart and CVS. Hodgson was arrested again on charges of grand theft and credit card fraud.
When asked by The Post why he kept taking back someone who’d committed crimes against him, Wolfie replied: “He’s like my own son. I couldn’t say, ‘Stay away.”’
Friends who knew Wolfie when Annabelle was alive remember him as playful and mischievous, an amiable guy who easily struck up conversations at parties or on the beach.
“He’s a little devil because he loves to tease and probe people,” said Robin Sweet, who said she hasn’t spoken to him in years. “He’s not hurtful in any way, but he likes to pull people’s chains and see their reactions.”
In 2001, Wolfie wore a full gorilla costume at a CityPlace charity event where Annabelle helped raise $25,000 for the Mountain Gorilla Conservation.
“He had the head on the whole time and only those of us who knew him knew who it was. He was dying because it was so hot, but he woudn’t take it off. He was so cute,” recalled Levey, the couple’s friend.
But that warmth can turn icy without warning, according to people who’ve spent time with him in the years after Annabelle’s death.
Gayle Alexander, who said she worked as Wolfie’s business manager for about 10 years, said he uses his wealth to manipulate people.
“There is a side of him that is gentle and generous, like he wants to help you. He dangles that carrot in front of you and from then on, you are following that carrot,” she said.
Alexander is among the latest in a long line of associates, residents and neighbors who have gone to court to settle disputes with Wolfie.
After Wolfie fired Alexander in 2016, she went to work for Palm Beach real estate broker Earl Hollis. Last year, she helped Hollis sell Wolfie’s house in the 1100 block of North Ocean Boulevard for $10.6 million.
A few months after the sale, Hollis accused Wolfie in a lawsuit of cheating him out of a $256,000 commission, half of which Alexander stood to gain.
Wolfie argued that his listing with Hollis had expired before the house was sold. Court documents indicate Wolfie also may have felt he had overpaid Hollis years earlier on a different sale.
“I’ve been in business 60 years. This is the strangest one I’ve ever had,” Hollis said.
Hollis described Wolfie as “charming as hell” and “terribly intelligent” but also “very moody ... hot and cold.” He added: “He’s not a very rational person. He doesn’t like to pay anybody. When he says something or even signs something, he doesn’t want to do it.”
Tim Gannon, a co-founder of the Outback Steakhouse restaurant chain, said he had a similar experience.
In March 2011, he bought a home in the 1300 block of North Ocean Boulevard from Wolfie for $5.5 million. That same day, Wolfie bought a house two blocks to the north from Gannon for $3.2 million. Gannon, in an interview with The Post, said he “swapped” the homes because he needed more space.
The house Wolfie was selling “was in horrible condition. The roof leaked. The floors buckled. Water stains on the wall. There were 4 feet of weeds in front of the house,” Gannon said. As part of the deal, according to Gannon, Wolfie agreed to give him $100,000 for repairs. But at closing, he said, Wolfie changed his mind.
“He said, ‘I’m not paying the money,”’ said Gannon, who never filed a formal complaint in court. “I had a decision to make. I had to give up the $100,000.”
Gannon said, “A lot of people are dismissive about him: ‘Oh, that’s Wolfie.’ I’m not. To put it blankly, he’s just a guy who doesn’t belong on Palm Beach.”
The only home on Palm Beach that Wolfie still owns — the house Gannon sold to him — has a famous part-time renter, Ethel Kennedy, who used to spend time about a half-mile down the road at the Kennedy compound that once served as the winter White House for her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy.
“Ethel loves the house,” Gannon said. “It’s like a little palace with chandeliers and high ceilings. But I don’t think she has any dealings with (Wolfie).”
A woman who answered the phone at the home said Kennedy had no comment.