The Sand Key Pirate

Researching the history of Sand Key I found details related to many of the keepers who lived there from the mid 1800s to the 20th century. One keeper was in fact a known salvager who had a history of profiteering from shipwrecks. It was known that he made his career from salvaging the goods from any ship that broke apart on the reef. Amazingly, it seemed that the frequency of shipwrecks on the reef increased as he became keeper. The US lighthouse service received complaints from many shipwrecked victims indicating he was diverting the light so that they would steer into the reef instead of protecting against such an occurrence. The Navy arrested him and he was found guilty of profiteering as a modern day pirate. Needless to say he was ousted from the lighthouse service.