The son, who observed his father's dedication, determination and continued disappointment in his honorable attempts at achieving success; the young man who grew to resent and despise the wealthy population whom he clearly blamed for the distress they consistently caused his father through their corporate manipulation; the young Walter T. Shaw, whose early exposure with organized crime led to a career that awarded him the lifestyle his father only could dream about. With that same determination, passion and drive he learned from his father, the young Walter soon became a ringleader and one of the most celebrated jewel thieves in history. The wealth and lifestyle the young Walter achieved from his involvement with organized crime, which he so wanted to share with his father, is ultimately what caused their separation and later Walter Jr.'s imprisonment. It is this man's great desire to give back to society his father’s legacy!

Walter T. Shaw maintains that it should have been his father who became famous. Although Shaw Sr. died penniless, he invented and patented numerous telephonic breakthroughs including the speakerphone, conference calling, call-forwarding and even the “Red Phone” used by the Eisenhower Administration to contact the Kremlin. However, as a systems engineer for Bell, the most powerful monopoly of that time, he was stopped from marketing his inventions.

Shaw Sr., desperate for money, turned to the mafia and designed the “black box” that allowed Mob bookmakers to make toll-free, untraceable calls. However, it was this device that landed Shaw Sr. in front of a Senate subcommittee and Robert F. Kennedy, for which he was later convicted.

Watching in anger as his father was under Senate investigation for organized crime, Walter T. Shaw, then 12, was comforted by an unlikely figure; New York mob boss Carlo Gambino. He whispered to Walter, “The only difference between us and these politicians, judges and senators, is they have a license to steal and we don't need one.”

Amazingly, Mr. Shaw never got credit for these innovative and remarkable inventions that have made our lives easier, nor was he compensated for them until now. A man that was robbed and restricted by the insatiable and unyielding power of corporate America; a man who had to compromise his high code of ethics to help support his family while corporate America dishonored him and bound him to a life of financial struggles; this man, whose brilliance and passion touches the lives of billions of people daily through telecommunication innovations, is the same man who died penniless. Corporate America has frequently profited from someone's inventions, as in Walter L. Shaw’s case, which have been taken and used by businessmen and large corporations to achieve profit and success for themselves, but not share their benefits with the creator.

Florida State Senator Dan Jenkins recently wrote a letter recognizing the contribution to society that the late Walter L. Shaw gave to the world through his inventions. Florida State Representative Stephen R. Wise was also instrumental in obtaining the proclamation which acknowledges Walter L. Shaw's incredible achievements.