Horace M. Derwent was a successful accountant, inventor and entrepreneur who owned the Overlook hotel from 1946 through 1952, when he sold it to a group of California investors. He allegedly acquired controlling interest in the hotel some years later, via behind-the-scenes back channeling, allowing him to conduct unsavory business there well into the 1960's without affecting his public profile. Derwent had deep connections with organized crime, and more than one mob killing took place at the Overlook under his watch.