Hoping to strike it rich in 1963, three amateur criminals decided they'd snatch the son of a big-time celebrity — so they chose Frank Sinatra Jr., the son of "Ol' Blue Eyes" himself!
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Former high school classmates Barry Keenan and Joe Amsler — both 23 at the time — started out with their bizarre plan in late 1963. First, they tailed the young Sinatra from city to city. Then they struck on the evening of Dec. 8, 1963!
Photo credit: Getty Images
That was when Frank Jr. — just starting his career at the age of 19 — had finished a gig at Harrah's Club Lodge in Lake Tahoe. Frank's son was resting in his dressing room with a friend around 9 p.m. when Keenan knocked on the door, pretending to be delivering a package.
When Keenan and Amsler (seen here after the kidnapping) entered, they tied up Sinatra's friend with tape, blindfolded their victim and took him out a side door to their waiting car — where they stuffed the teenage Sinatra into the trunk!
Frank Jr.'s friend quickly freed himself and notified authorities. His superstar dad took advantage of his Washington connections and soon had the FBI's top agents at his mansion. With the boy's mom (and his ex-wife) Nancy at his side, Frank waited at home for the kidnappers to call and demand a ransom.
The FBI recommended Sinatra pay up, and then allow agents to track the money and find the kidnappers. On Dec. 10, the third conspirator, John Irwin, called and told the elder Sinatra to fork over $240,000.
The desperate dad gave the dough to the FBI. Agents photographed the bills and made the drop between two school buses in Sepulveda, Ca., during the early morning hours of Dec. 11.
But in a bizarre twist, one of the kidnappers suddenly got cold feet and released Frank Jr. early. He was soon found in Bel-Air and quickly back in the arms of his relieved parents.
Irwin then spilled the beans to his brother, who called the FBI. Hours later, Keenan and Amsler were captured, and most of the ransom was recovered. The defense actually tried to argue that Frank Jr. engineered the kidnapping as a publicity stunt.
The FBI responded with lots of evidence against the would-be criminal masterminds — including a confession letter written earlier by Keenan and left in a safe-deposit box!
Keenan, Amsler, and Irwin were all convicted. Two of them received life sentences, and Irwin got 16 years — but they were all released within five years. Keenan (pictured) was declared to be insane at the time, and went on to a successful career in real estate.
While the kidnappers were done in by an amateur performance, old pro Don Rickles stepped up to turn the incident into a proper joke. The comic declared that Frank Jr. was really set free because his abductors couldn't stand the sound of his singing from the trunk of the car!