In one of my favorite and funny UM segments:p , this is the one where the Minnesota corporate executive was kidnapped by an obese guy with a floppy rainhat and trenchcoat.

Is there any update on this, i know in the segment that the had a suspect but he was ruled out. (John Henderson was his name)

Statute of limitations run out on this case?

I fully believe it had to be one of the several employees that the corporate exec fired.

The executive was John Grundhoffer of First Bank Systems (now US Bank).

No one was ever arrested for this crime and there have been no further updates. I don't think there is a statute of limitations since it was kidnapping and he transported the victim across state lines so I'm sure it is a federal offense.

If this case is solved, someone is still facing some serious prison time.

They showed this one again today. I really get the feeling that it never happened. The only witness is a guy in the parking garage who saw the executive and another guy fighting and there was a gun involved. The witness did not identify the wrong man in the lineup, like the executive did.

After the scuffle in the parking garage there are no other witnesses to anything. The exec was in the garage a total of 3 minutes. He is the one who calls to report his kidnapping. Supposedly, he was kidnapped by a group called "parents against drugs". Yep, those parents who are against drugs are a violent bunch.

So anyway, the ransom is $3 million dollars, to be paid in $100, $500, and $1,000 bills. How ridiculous is that? He drives his own car through two states, and has "dynamite" cuffed to him.

Then, the kidnapper makes the exec get all wrapped up in a sleeping bag behind a "secluded" rest stop, and leaves. The exec frees himself in 20 minutes and runs to a nearby farmhouse to call for help. The kidnapper is never heard from again. Throughout all this, there are no witnesses.

So, what was the motive? It wasn't the money and it wasn't murder. I think it was publicity.

The exec had recently gotten publicity for cutting a couple thousand jobs. Either he liked the publicity and wanted more, or he had become very unpopular for being such a cold, heartless rich guy who could fire people without a thought, so he wanted to make himself into a sympathetic victim.

Something the segment didn't cover: the exec was kidnapped in his own car. They never made it clear if the kidnapper stole that car or if it was left where the exec parked it before walking into the woods to where the sleeping bag was waiting.

The FBI investigated this. I wonder if they ever looked at from the "it never happened" angle...

And... according to the Minnesota Independent, this happened during John Grundhofer's first year at the bank:

Grundhofer arrived in the Twin Cities in 1990 to helm what was then known as First Bank System. During his first year on the job he was kidnapped from a downtown Minneapolis parking lot. The bank executive was bound, stuffed in a sleeping bag and left in a remote wooded area in Wisconsin. Grundhofer escaped two hours later and ran to a nearby farm for help. A ransom was demanded but never paid. No one was ever charged in the kidnapping. “I have no idea why this took place this morning,” he told reporters at the time. “We’re very grateful to the good Lord for me being here.”

The turbulent beginning to Grundhofer’s tenure at First Bank System was only a portent of things to come. He mercilessly cut costs at the struggling company, including a 20 percent reduction in personnel, earning plaudits from Wall Street and the sobriquet “Jack the Ripper” back home. “I’m not an evil man,” he insisted to the Star Tribune’s Neal St. Anthony in 1993. “I like people.”

In 2000, after U.S. Bancorp had lost its luster with Wall Street, Grundhofer engineered a $19 billion sale to Firstar Corp., a Milwaukee-based bank run by his brother Jerry. Jack the Ripper retired in 2002, but he didn’t walk away empty-handed: He’s guaranteed a $2.9 million annual salary for the rest of his life.

http://minnesotaindependent.com/10083/the-crunch-jack-the-ripper-and-pizza-roll-inventor-among-top-forty-political-donors

From some guy's website, who offers personal security guards. Sounds to me like old jack the ripper still has a huge ego. Does he really need a security staff? Is he *that* important? He's right up there with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Margaret Thatcher?

Quote:

His clients are understandably reluctant to speak on the record about their security arrangements. One who will is John Grundhofer, chairman emeritus of U.S. Bancorp. Grundhofer learned the hard way about his need for executive protection in 1990. While CEO of First Bank System (U.S. Bank’s predecessor firm), he was kidnapped at gunpoint from a Minneapolis parking garage and held for ransom in Wisconsin before escaping. After that episode, he relied on guards provided by the bank. Since retiring in 2002, he has paid Avalon from his own pocket for security during visits to Minnesota from his homes in California, South Dakota, and Montana.


“In my view, anyone with resources should know there’s some nut out there who wants those resources,” Grundhofer says. “I’m sure that even now, in my old age, I’m on somebody’s list. And every Fortune 500 CEO is on somebody’s list . . . . When I travel, I want someone like Dan or his senior people around. Pros.”

I saw this today too and went looking for some information after the fact. It said that his car was spotted the same day in Sherburn, MN (by a police officer) and that it was found the day after the kidnapping in another parking garage about 3 blocks from the kidnapping site, and that it had been there since 10p the night of the kidnapping. So if he did stage this he must have had an accomplice... the man who was his witness in the parking garage? I don't know what I did think happened, but I did wonder why he didn't leave out the gate that was manned so there would be someone else who saw him. I don't know but if I was kidnapped I'd do whatever I could to get witnesses.

The thing that sutck out in my mind was how much the suspect that was cleared did look like the composite!! Sounds like it was just bad luck on his part but it was pretty amazing. Even better than the new guy in the Molly Bish case!

Well I for one do not think it was staged nor do I think John Grunhofer made it up. That is a lot of work for some "good publicity" and most higher ups make hard decisions about layoffs because that is what they do.

I think it was a disgruntled employee, I don't buy the drug angle.

I do wonder when people commit crimes in the Twin Cities they always seem to drive to Wisconsin! Drive west you fools then it's not a federal crime! Or go north!

I do wonder when people commit crimes in the Twin Cities they always seem to drive to Wisconsin! Drive west you fools then it's not a federal crime! Or go north!


I know, I don't get that either. Especially north would have been perfect, moreso back then, there was nothing up there! I remember when we used to drive from the TC to Duluth, I would get freaked out when I would stop at rest areas, thinking that if anyone wanted to do anything to me there would be no witnesses. I'm probably a weirdo but I would always wonder if any bodies were ever dumped up there... who knows when it would be found. There is a lot of empty space up that way.

But, perhaps this guy went to Wisconsin because he was from there. I think a lot of these guys to where they are familiar with the area. This guy must have known of an area that was secluded, though maybe he should have chosen somewhere that would not have made him get so out of breath. :lol:

fwiw I don't think he staged it either. I don't really know what the benefit would be. Maybe at the time people didn't like him but when I worked for Wells Fargo 6 years ago my boss had worked at US Bank under Grundhofer and she praised him, saying he completely turned that company around.

So, what was the motive? It wasn't the money and it wasn't murder. I think it was publicity.

I think that obese guy was about to commit extortion, but his plan went out of hand. He seemed to have freaked out when realized had lost his note and couldn't carry out his scenario. In my opinion he was oligophreniac or had some kind of other mental problems.

Well if that's the case then I wonder if he was working for someone else. Maybe they chose him because they thought he could do it, but if he got caught he might get some leniency for having a diminished mental capacity. Perhaps then it is the guy who resembled the sketch, who was questioned. Maybe he was hired by someone else. Not to be mean but he didn't seem super bright. It's just odd that Grundhofer thought he was the guy but the eyewitness didn't. I know that eyewitness accounts are notorious for being incorrect, and I think it's interesting that the guy who actually spent a lot of time with the guy did think it was him.

I thought the man who was identified as the suspect would have been easy to id in a line up, too. IMO, he had a very distinctive look, and the way his lower teeth were always visible when he spoke set him apart from just about anyone else.

If it was him, maybe that's why the exec was able to ID him, but the witness in the garage was not. The witness in the garage did not interact with him for any length of time. I don't know if the kidnapper even spoke to him.

I still can't get over the fact that the victim's car was found in a parking garage 3 blocks over from from the kidnap site, and had been there since 10pm, the day of the kidnpping. Do you remember where you got that info?

And the FBI must have dusted the whole car for fingerprints. The UM segment didn't say anything about the kidnapper wearing gloves or wiping down the car. Seems like if the kidnapper was such a bumbler, he would have left behind something from driving the car back to 2nd parking location.

Well I for one do not think it was staged nor do I think John Grunhofer made it up. That is a lot of work for some "good publicity" and most higher ups make hard decisions about layoffs because that is what they do.

I don't think it was staged for this reason.

If you were going to fake your kidnapping, wouldn;t you want to have a more believable description for you kidnapper?

I think having some heavyset belligerent guy in black fatigues with a foreign accent would go over much better than getting kidnapped by an overweight, bespectacled guy with a floppy hat?

1.One theory that i think hasn't been looked into is that the guy might be some type of Michael Moore-ish crusader, who didn't like what happened to thos people that lost their jobs and he wanted to send a message.

2. I also wonder if he might not be a direct employee but a relative of a layed off employee. Perhaps the husband of an ex-employee.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DC123EF930A15752C1A966958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/F/Finances

Here you go TracyLynn, that has a bit more information about what happened. Though I see this does describe the kidnapper as "educated". I don't know. I just can't get over that sketch, it looks soooo much like that guy! Yeah, I do wonder how they didn't find prints and stuff in the car, unless the fact that he was wearing gloves was just one of those things UM left out.

Was it ever mentioned what the guy's alibi was? And did anyone ever pick him out of a lineup? I don't think the guy they accused did it - don't know why, I just didn't get that vibe.

Wow! Good article! The sketch on UM definitely looks like the guy that was ID'd, but I can't say that I'd describe him as an educated businessman type guy. At the very least though, a businessman as the kidnapper explains why the whole job was goofed up from start to finish. Shoulda hired a professional.

Was it ever mentioned what the guy's alibi was? And did anyone ever pick him out of a lineup? I don't think the guy they accused did it - don't know why, I just didn't get that vibe.

I don't know what the guys alibi was, I already deleted the epi off the DVR! :( Grundhofer did pick that guy out of the lineup, the parking garage witness did not. Grundhofer spent a decent amount of time with the guy, the other guy saw him for maybe 3 minutes, the time UM said they were in the garage. :confused:

"This is Carl, and you are coming with me"

I always thought this was the strangest statement allegedly made by the kidnapper. Who is Carl?

I really had to chuckle while watching this episode. Imagine driving a car with dynamite dangling from your wrists...just bizarre. Everything fit as if it was a dim witted individual who believed he knew what he was doing. And the cheat notes...the kidnapper accusing the victim of taking his cheat notes...and whats with the phone call asking for $1,ooo. bills?

Because of the weirdness of this kidnapping, I believe it really happened. Due to the passage of time and the fact that the kidnapper was overweight, out of shape and out of breath, he is probably dead and we'll never get this case resolved.

I find TracyLynnS's theory impressive but I think the kidnapping actually took place. As others have said, the details are just strange enough to have the ring of truth. I always figured the culprit was a relative of a laid off employee trying to exact some type of revenge, either by actually extorting money (which failed), or he just wanted to put Grundhofer in his place by making him fear for his life and well being.

Did anyone else find it interesting/curious that Grundhofer himself wasn't interviewed for UM?

Justin,

Maybe Grundhofer decided not to appear on UM because he was afraid that such widespread national exposure would make him a much easier target for kidnappers who weren't such incompetent bumblers as the one who got him the first time.

Did they show a picture of Grundhofer on the UM segment? I don't remember. If so, than that would kinda negate my whole theory on why he didn't appear...

Justin,

Maybe Grundhofer decided not to appear on UM because he was afraid that such widespread national exposure would make him a much easier target for kidnappers who weren't such incompetent bumblers as the one who got him the first time.

Did they show a picture of Grundhofer on the UM segment? I don't remember. If so, than that would kinda negate my whole theory on why he didn't appear...

I don't remember if UM showed a picture of Grundhofer. I recall some newspaper headlines that may have contained a photograph but I think that is the only time they would have shown one.

I don't remember if UM showed a picture of Grundhofer. I recall some newspaper headlines that may have contained a photograph but I think that is the only time they would have shown one.


There have been lots of pictures of him over the years in the media here as this is where he is from. Based of the local investigation, there is no doubt it happened but it did seem to be amateur hour. If it was a staged "inside job" then it is even more bizarre since the demands were so weird.

My guess is that it was either a disgruntled former worker or customer who got screwed (denied a loan, etc.). The guy they interviewed in the story is a dead ringer for the composite but you would think if they had the goods on him he'd have seen charges already.

Here is a link (http://www.tcbmag.com/peoplecompanies/businessleaders/70979p2.aspx)to an article about a guy that helped provide security for Grundhofer after his abduction. If it wasn't real, then JG was extremely paranoid.

Justin,

Maybe Grundhofer decided not to appear on UM because he was afraid that such widespread national exposure would make him a much easier target for kidnappers who weren't such incompetent bumblers as the one who got him the first time.

Did they show a picture of Grundhofer on the UM segment? I don't remember. If so, than that would kinda negate my whole theory on why he didn't appear...

He ended up getting widespread national exposure anyway, even if not by face. If kidnappers then wanted to target him, finding a picture of him would not have been all that difficult, even in the days before internet.

No, that fact seems pretty suspicious to me. I like the "staged it all" theory (props to Tracy!: that never even crossed my mind) - except that as others pointed out, truth is stranger than fiction, and it is unlikely anyone other than the greatest authors in literary history could or would have come up with this doosy.

I think that this likely really did happen. i agree with mastermind that it just doesn't make any sense to make up a story with a description of the kidnapper such as this. Plus the fact that another eyewitness saw the kidnapper. I would like to see the eyewitness talk to a sketch artist and see what the composite looks like. He only saw the man for less than a minute of course (UM says that Grundhofer left the garage with the kidnapper less than 3 minutes after entering it to begin with).

Two things strike me as standing out here. The note does not match the main suspects handwriting. That could be as simple as someone hiring him to do the job and making out a list themselves of what he is supposed to do. However, this would be stupid IMO. If I were hiring someone to go through with something like this and I felt they were not bright enough to pull it off without a note, I sure as hell wouldn't put my own handwriting on the cheat sheet that could and obviously was found by the police. If the suspect were not hired by someone, he easily could have had a friend or family member working with him and have them write the note of course.

The odd amount of bills requested. This is definately a red flag here. We have an alleged kidnapper who by all accounts is not well versed in his kidnapping ventures. Plus, he had to stop and rest often while leading Grundhofer through the wooded area to the sleeping bag. Well, along with just being inexperienced or just plain dumb, perhaps this out of weight criminal was thinking at least of just how heavy the money might be. If he has trouble walking through the woods, that money would be a hell of a lot heavier in small bills than large ones.

Of course, nobody ever attempted to even get the money. To me this implies that either this was a hoax (which I don't believe), that the plan somehow began to unravel (perhaps there was something bigger that went wrong other than just dropping the note), that the kidnapper just plain chickened out after getting that far and was afraid he would be caught. Or that the plan was carried out simply to scare Grundhofer and it was never intended to actually collect the money.

Also, WTF does the "this is Carl" thing mean? Did he name his gun Carl? If I were on the case, I think I would go through company records of anyone named Carl that had been fired or layed off since Grundhofer came to power in the company. Might be a stretch, but given the other apparent blunders our kidnapper made, it is entirely possible that he gave either his own name, or someone else connected to the crime.

Another thing, the amount asked for. According to the info on the link in an earlier post, the amount was 3 million. Why not 1 million, 5 million or 10 million? Where did 3 million come from? Could there have been 2 others invloved besides the kidnapper and each wanted 1 million? Or could the kidnapper have felt that somehow, he was entitled to specifically 3 million for some reason? The amount just seems like it was pulled out of a hat to me.

Do they ever say why he didnt take part in the show??? I kept waiting for him to be interviewed.

Do they ever say why he didnt take part in the show??? I kept waiting for him to be interviewed.

Probably out of fear of possibly being targeted again. I am kind of leaning toward the whole "crusader" angle that someone brought up in an earlier post. Someone who was upset with all the jobs that Grundhofer cut (or maybe a relative of someone laid off) trying to act as some sort of arbiter of righteousness, who was clearly an amateur and had no idea what he was doing. Why ask for an odd assorment of bills (100's, 500's, and 1,000's) when a career criminal would most certainly have asked for small bills. Makes me think money wasn't the motive, it was just some guy with mental problems trying to make a point.