Martin Bayerle

Last updated
Martin Bayerle
Born
Martin Gerard Bayerle

(1951-04-23) April 23, 1951 (age 73)
Queens, New York, United States
Education Geology, Brooklyn College, 1972
Criminal charges Voluntary manslaughter

Martin Gerard Bayerle (born April 23, 1951, Queens, New York) is an American treasure hunter and author, best known for finding the 1909 shipwreck of the White Star Liner RMS Republic. He was also featured in the History Channel show "Billion Dollar Wreck" in 2016.

Contents

Biography

Early life and education

Bayerle was born in St. Albans Naval Hospital in Queens, New York, and grew up in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. [1] His father, Gerard, was a lawyer and lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. His mother, Ruth, was a German immigrant who came to the United States following World War II. Bayerle lost sight in his left eye from a small explosives accident when he was 11 years old. [1] He first began scuba diving off the coast of New Jersey and New York at the age of 15 and went on to graduate from Abraham Lincoln High School in February 1969. Bayerle attended Brooklyn College in New York from 1969 through 1972 where he majored in geology. [1]

Early career

He taught scuba diving as a student and adjunct professor within the Adult Education Department; during his time there until he opened up a dive shop - Brooklyn Divers Supply Corp. – in 1972. [1] He began running dive operations to local shipwreck sites, such as the Mistletoe, Black Warrior, USS Turner (DD-648) , Oregon , and U-853 , among others. Brooklyn Divers was operated successfully until 1978, when the company’s source of supply and advertisements was abruptly cut off. Bayerle sued eight SCUBA company defendants for price fixing conspiracy under the Sherman Act and reached a six-figure settlement once the case went to trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York (Brooklyn Diver Supply Corp. v ScubaPro, Petersen Publications, Dacor, NASDS ... – and other major components of the sport SCUBA diving industry). [1]

Discovery and salvage of the RMS Republic

After closing his Brooklyn shop, Bayerle moved to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, where he obtained both a captain’s and pilot’s license. He then established Martha’s Vineyard Scuba Headquarters, Inc. (MAVIS) as a base for operations to locate the wreck of the RMS Republic. The Republic was the largest ship to sink in history at the time when it sank off the U.S. East Coast in January 1909 and was rumored to be carrying a large cargo of gold. After two and a half years of research, Bayerle discovered the wreck in 1981. [2]

Bayerle raised capital from investors, acquired the assets of the bankrupt Canadian offshore oil rig support company Wolf Sub-Ocean Ltd., and purchased a 285-foot Diving Support Vessel, the Oil Endeavor (renamed SOSI Inspector), to support the salvage operation. During this period, Bayerle also married his wife, Susan, and they had two children, Tessa and Grant.

In the summer of 1987, Bayerle launched a major salvage operation on the Republic in hopes of recovering the rumoured gold, drawing international media attention. He was featured on television programs such as CBS Evening News [3] ABC Evening News [4] (August 5, 1987, Wednesday, 05:51:00 pm, Headline: Massachusetts / Treasure Hunt, Duration 02:40, (Studio: Peter Jennings)) and ABC Good Morning America. [5] The 74-day salvage operation was covered extensively by publications including Forbes, [6] The New York Times, [7] The Times (London), [8] and the Los Angeles Times. [9]

Although the 1987 salvage operation successfully excavated the target area, it did not yield the gold. Instead, the crew uncovered the ship’s wine locker, where they found hundreds of pre-1900 bottles of wine and champagne. [10] Realizing they were in the wine locker rather than the specie room, Bayerle offered a £25,000 reward for the ship’s construction plans to assist with further excavation. The Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, Iowa. ‘‘Salvor Looks for Help’’ Aug. 17, 1987. 2A However, no plans were located, and the salvage effort was halted due to lack of funds. Despite extensive research and effort, the plans to the Republic remain missing to this day.

Post-salvage life

Following the salvage attempt, the 1987 joint venture disbanded and any artifacts brought up were sold at auction. Bayerle moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia, to live with his in-laws, the Youngs, on a small farm. [1] He finished his undergraduate education, earning B.Sc. and B.Sc.B.Adm. magna cum laude degrees from Fairmont State College and went on to start his M.B.A. education at West Virginia University. [1] He was accepted into the WVU College of Law in the fall of 1990 but would not complete his legal education there, however, as other personal events intervened. [1]

Killing of Stefano Robotti

On April 6, 1991, Bayerle shot and killed 38-year old Stefano Robotti, the 'lover' of his alienated wife Susan, near Clarksburg, West Virginia. [11] After a six-week trial, the jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter; Bayerle was sentenced to one to five years in state prison. He completed his sentence in two-and-a-half years. [12]

Post conviction and release

Upon his release, Bayerle continued school in Morgantown, West Virginia, to complete his M.B.A. education. There, he began an Internet service provider business that he ran for five years and established IDEA, the Internet Development and Exchange Association. [13]

Recent developments

Bayerle subsequently started an archival research company specializing in retrieving records from government archives. His old company, MAVIS, has since acquired legal title to the wreck of the RMS Republic and her contents, with the court also barring all future claims. [14] After acquiring ownership of Republic, on August 1, 2013, Bayerle published the bulk of his significant research into the mystery of RMS Republic by releasing a book titled The Tsar's Treasure: The Sunken White Star Liner With a Billion Dollar Secret. [15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fatal Obsession, August 22, 1993, Vol. 67 No. 22, A:1, A:12 by Mark S. Warnick.
  2. ↑ "RMS Republic - Press Clippings". www.rms-republic.com. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  3. ↑ "Salvage Operations / Titanic, Republic | Vanderbilt Television News Archive". tvnews.library.vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  4. ↑ "Press Clippings | RMS Republic". rms-republic.com. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  5. ↑ FortunaRising (2011-10-31). Capt. Martin Bayerle interview on Good Morning America - RMS Republic . Retrieved 2025-03-14– via YouTube.
  6. ↑ "RMS Republic - Press Clippings". www.rms-republic.com. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  7. ↑ "RMS Republic - Press Clippings". www.rms-republic.com. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  8. ↑ "RMS Republic - Press Clippings". www.rms-republic.com. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  9. ↑ "RMS Republic - Press Clippings". www.rms-republic.com. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  10. ↑ "RMS Republic - Press Clippings". www.rms-republic.com. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  11. ↑ "Man on Trial for Slaying Wife's Lover". Reading Eagle. Dec 11, 1991 – via Google News.
  12. ↑ Warnick, Mark (August 25, 1993). "Fatal Obsession (series)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette– via Google News.
  13. ↑ The Denver Post, Nov. 13, 1999, E-mail "spat' being settled at e-snail's pace, BIZ section, C-01, written by Andrew Backover
  14. ↑ "Martha's Vineyard Scuba Headquarters Inc. v The Wrecked and abandoned Steam Vessel R.M.S. Republic" (PDF). Rms-republic.com. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  15. ↑ Bayerle, Martin (2013). The Tsar's Treasure. Miami Beach, FL: Barnburner Books LLC. ISBN   978-0-9888760-0-2.
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