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children, and

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animals. Listener

1:05

discretion is advised.

1:07

And we are Crimes

1:10

and Consequences, a hardcore

1:12

true crime podcast. Hey

1:14

Shannon. Hey Tanya, how are

1:17

you? I'm doing good. If I

1:19

was doing bad, does anybody really

1:21

care? It's a bare shit in

1:23

the woods kind of question. Yeah.

1:25

Little bit. Little bit. But I

1:27

do get it. Why bother complaining?

1:30

Why bother? And really, it just...

1:32

It was time. It's that energy

1:34

I had just for an example

1:36

I told Brooke the other day

1:38

my daughter I said you know

1:40

what broke when I was going

1:42

through stuff as we do and

1:45

I would think about oh just

1:47

rage and things that I hated and

1:49

justice that I needed to see and

1:51

passed off it she's going through some

1:54

stuff of heartbreak and betrayal and then

1:56

I would think of you and then

1:58

that would make me happy. Like it

2:00

would bring me out of that hate

2:02

and rage and then I realized, wow,

2:05

I think I'm going to use my,

2:07

any time I start to get in

2:09

a way that I can feel like,

2:11

oh, I'll think of Brooke. Because all

2:13

that energy can go to her and

2:16

I'm a big believer in sending good

2:18

and bad energy, so I want to

2:20

send all this, she lifts my spirit.

2:22

So to give her an example. Oh,

2:25

yeah. I know. Our girls, right? What

2:27

we won't do. We heal ourselves. My

2:29

God, that's some work right there.

2:31

Amen. Amen. Oh my God.

2:34

So. On God. That's, I

2:36

told Brooke, I would start

2:38

saying, on God. On God.

2:40

A little realist says that.

2:42

On God. So I have an interesting

2:45

story today. It's kind of similar

2:47

to things that have been happening

2:49

in the news. But before I

2:51

get into it, I just like

2:53

to remind everyone to hit the

2:55

subscriber follow button on whatever app

2:57

you're listening to. So I'm going

2:59

to tell you a story about

3:01

a man named Sydney Joseph Riso,

3:03

and he was born February 12th

3:05

1935 in New Orleans, Louisiana. It

3:07

was always destined to make something

3:09

of himself from the day he

3:11

was born. He was a pride

3:13

and joy of his family growing

3:15

up and he had three siblings.

3:17

Growing up in New Orleans, the

3:20

Rieso family, they were devout Catholics.

3:22

Sydney didn't only have brains, but

3:24

he was also the star of his

3:26

high school football team. So he was

3:29

also an athlete. Sydney went

3:31

on to graduate from Louisiana

3:33

State University after he spent

3:35

his college years studying in

3:37

the petroleum engineering program. Before

3:40

Sydney had even graduated college,

3:42

he had met and married

3:44

his wife Patricia and Patricia

3:47

gave birth to their first son in

3:49

1958, which was only a year

3:51

after he graduated college. Oh, right

3:53

out the gate. Get at the

3:55

family going. Nice. They're ready. And

3:57

Sydney started his career at Humboldt

3:59

Oil. as a junior engineer, Sydney

4:01

and Patricia's relationship was described to

4:03

a friends and family as one

4:05

of the rare ones. The couple

4:07

truly were right or die for

4:10

each other and were completely committed

4:12

in choosing to love one another

4:14

every single day. The couple went

4:16

on to have four more children

4:18

and as a family of five,

4:20

they were thriving. That was until

4:22

the family experienced their first tragedy

4:24

when their son Gregory died at

4:26

the age of 27 from AIDS.

4:29

For a few months, Gregory was

4:31

dying in the hospital in

4:33

Houston with his mom by

4:35

his side. His father, Sydney, who was

4:37

in New Jersey at this point for

4:39

work, would fly down every weekend

4:42

to support a son. In 1992,

4:44

Sydney and Patricia had been married

4:46

for 36 years. Wow. So as

4:48

we know, now, 57-year-old Sydney was

4:51

always destined to make something for

4:53

himself and he did just that

4:56

because at the age of 57,

4:58

Sydney held the title of President

5:00

of Exxon International, the oil company.

5:03

Some in the business would argue

5:05

that he was the most important

5:08

person in this massive corporation and

5:10

he had powerful influence over the

5:12

oil industry in 1992. Sydney was

5:15

making really good money too. He was

5:17

clearing about half a million dollars a

5:19

year in salary before stocks and bonuses.

5:21

Oh my gosh. He ran his back

5:24

in 92. So this is a gas

5:26

ton of mine. He ran all of

5:28

Exons oil and gas activities

5:31

and subsidiaries that were

5:33

outside of the United

5:35

States. He was responsible

5:37

for over half of

5:39

Exons worldwide assets and that

5:42

was a huge responsibility.

5:44

Sydney Patricia and their children

5:47

lived in a sleepy little

5:49

cul-de-sac and a nearly

5:52

$700,000 home. Their beautiful home

5:54

was perfectly placed amongst the trees

5:56

about 250 feet away from the

5:59

road and it's a time of the story

6:01

it was late April so the trees

6:03

bushes and flowers were just starting to

6:05

bloom not fully shielding the home from

6:08

the neighbors on the morning of April

6:10

29th caddy Benson who was a neighbor

6:12

of the resos was putting out her

6:15

recyclables at 715 when she noticed a

6:17

woman with blonde hair walking down the

6:19

street in her direction she'd never seen

6:22

this woman before and since they lived

6:24

in a cul-a-sac this was odd. It

6:26

wasn't typically for people who didn't live

6:29

down there to be walking that way.

6:31

I kind of understand. I live on

6:33

a street, like on a court, and

6:35

I have a called a sack, so

6:38

not a lot of people walking by.

6:40

I mean, I don't live down in

6:42

the cul-de-sac area, but I mean, you

6:45

wouldn't know. Yeah, come out. That's not

6:47

a lot of traffic from the neighborhood,

6:49

and there's not like a lot of

6:52

people out walking past my house. So

6:54

I get it. About 15 minutes past

6:56

my house. About 15 minutes later at

6:59

730 minutes later at 730. and was

7:01

getting into his car to head to

7:03

the office that day. Sydney had a

7:05

typical routine, like his morning routine, just

7:08

like most of us. He would go

7:10

back and forth between driving himself to

7:12

work and having his driver take him.

7:15

Every day that he drove himself, he

7:17

would drive down the long driveway, stop,

7:19

and just reach down and grab the

7:22

paper from the end of the driveway

7:24

without even getting out of the car.

7:26

So he'd like open up his door

7:29

and grab it. That morning, April 29.

7:31

The paper wasn't in the normal spot,

7:33

so Sydney had to park his car

7:35

and walk to go get it. By

7:38

8am, another neighbor, whose husband also worked

7:40

at Exxon, was on her morning walk

7:42

when she noticed Sydney's car idling in

7:45

the driveway. This was obviously strange since

7:47

Sydney was nowhere to be found, and

7:49

she called the Exxon offices right away

7:52

to see if Sydney was already at

7:54

the office. And he wasn't, so his

7:56

secretary immediately called his wife at home.

7:59

Patricia went to check out the scene

8:01

for herself and walk down the driveway.

8:03

When she got down there, she saw

8:05

Sydney's car idling. just like the neighbor

8:08

had said. The driver's side door was

8:10

slightly open and his briefcase and coat

8:12

were still on the passenger seat. She

8:15

pulled the driver's side door open further

8:17

with a tissue from her pocket and

8:19

turned the car off before calling police.

8:22

At this point, police knew immediately that

8:24

there was foul play involved in an

8:26

investigation was opened. Because like Sydney was

8:29

nowhere to be found. Yeah, and he's

8:31

a million. He's Exxon. I mean, this

8:33

is like one of the big rulers

8:35

of the world. So right. One of

8:38

them's missing. Yeah, exactly. About 26 hours

8:40

later, both Patricia and the Exxon office

8:42

in Florham Park where Sydney work had

8:45

received messages from a group who was

8:47

calling themselves the Rainbow Warriors. At first,

8:49

police weren't sure if this was a

8:52

prank or if it was serious because

8:54

news had broken out. about this pretty

8:56

quickly and it could have been some

8:59

random people doing things like to just

9:01

you know be funny. Yeah, right. While

9:03

the thought of it being a prank

9:05

was quick, the reality of the situation

9:08

came forward even quicker. The Exxon office

9:10

had received a random call that there

9:12

was a letter taped to a lam

9:15

post at Livingston Mall. They called police

9:17

and sure enough when the police arrived

9:19

at the mall there was a letter

9:22

right where they said it was. That

9:24

letter was where investigators found out that

9:26

Sydney had been kidnapped and they were

9:29

making demands. They also provided proof that

9:31

they had Sydney in their custody. The

9:33

proof was that the kidnappers included his

9:35

credit card with the letter. The card

9:38

that they had attached was his company

9:40

credit card from Exxon. The next day

9:42

May 1st, investigators received another call with

9:45

instructions on how to find another letter.

9:47

This letter was hidden behind a rock

9:49

in Lewis Morris Park, New Jersey. This

9:52

letter had further instructions of what they

9:54

had to do to be able to

9:56

get Sydney back safely. In the second

9:59

letter, they indicated that they want 18.5

10:01

million dollars in 100 dollar bills. Oh

10:03

my gosh. This was the largest

10:06

ransom asking in history.

10:08

At this time investigators

10:11

were still operating like they

10:13

were an echo terrorist

10:15

group. So let's quickly

10:17

discuss the history of the

10:19

name Rainbow Warriors. Okay. This

10:21

so-called group. The environmental group

10:23

Greenpeace owned a ship called

10:25

the Rainbow Warrior that was

10:27

sunk in 1985. In the

10:29

ransom letter, the kidnappers had

10:32

identified themselves as an environmental

10:34

group, but they described themselves

10:36

more like an eco-terrorist group.

10:39

This led police to believe that

10:41

this was an attack against

10:43

the oil industry and Exxon

10:45

Mobil Corporation specifically. In the ransom

10:47

letters, the kidnappers wrote multiple paragraphs

10:49

about the world's impact on the

10:51

environment and that their goal was

10:53

to have large corporations donate to

10:55

and commit to the end of

10:57

what the Rainbow Warriors were calling

10:59

destruction of the environment. The kidnappers

11:02

stated that in return for the

11:04

release of Sydney they would need

11:06

assurance that no one would interfere

11:08

with the delivery. If there was

11:10

interference, the Rainbow Warriors threatened

11:12

that Sydney would be the first

11:14

of their examples. they planned to

11:16

set. At this point, the FBI

11:18

was involved in the case. After

11:20

the second letter, investigators made a

11:22

plan with the kidnappers to exchange

11:25

the ransom money and Sydney. Their

11:27

plan was that one of the

11:29

investigators, Ed Peterson, was going to

11:31

pose as an Exxon executive, who

11:33

was the public information officer. Ed was

11:35

going to be the one who was

11:37

taking all the calls made to the

11:40

Exxon office, which were actually being rerouted

11:42

to another office, Ed was at. to

11:44

organize the meeting as well as the

11:46

one to go to the meeting. The

11:48

kidnappers directed Ed to go to a

11:50

phone booth in a place called Villa

11:52

Restaurant in Summit New Jersey. They

11:55

instructed Ed to just wait there

11:57

for a call and have the

11:59

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13:11

With pressure and fear building, a

13:13

manhunt to find Sydney ensued. On

13:16

the night of June 18th, 1992,

13:18

a phone call came into what

13:20

the kidnappers believed was the Exxon

13:22

Office phone number and Ed answered.

13:24

The kidnappers gave very clear instructions

13:27

of what the plan was for

13:29

the meet-up. They were to be

13:31

driving the family Subaru station wagon.

13:33

They wanted the $18.5 million and

13:35

used $100 bills, and they wanted

13:37

the bills equally divided into 10

13:40

different Eddie Bauer laundry bags. The

13:42

two delivery people were going to

13:44

be a family member of the

13:46

Rieso family and an Exxon spokesperson.

13:48

The kidnappers basically started the evening

13:51

the evening by leading investigators from

13:53

one phone booth to the next.

13:55

Driving the station wagon was an

13:57

FBI agent who looked similar to

13:59

Renee Riso, Sydney, and Patricia's daughter.

14:01

Ed Peterson went with her posing

14:04

as the spokesperson. They were also

14:06

leaving notes under benches and such

14:08

that were giving other directions. The

14:10

kidnappers repeatedly reminded investigators that they

14:12

were being watched during the delivery

14:14

process and that it was crucial

14:17

for them to follow all instructions

14:19

to a T. and to drive

14:21

at normal speeds. In these notes

14:23

the directions were very specific with

14:25

exactly how many miles to drive

14:28

and landmarks that they would pass

14:30

or could use to help them

14:32

ensure that they were in the

14:34

right place. They ended up on

14:36

a stone driveway to a plant

14:38

for an engineering corporation called Colleen

14:41

Sanderson. On this driveway there was

14:43

a phone booth. They needed to

14:45

be there before 10 p.m. to

14:47

wait for the call. The agent

14:49

standing in was Renee Riso needed

14:52

to be the one to answer

14:54

the phone so that she could

14:56

answer questions and then receive further

14:58

instructions. When that call came in,

15:00

the agents were wired in all

15:02

of the FBI agents, which there

15:05

was over 250 of them on

15:07

this investigation. I know. We're able

15:09

to hear the call and be

15:11

on standby for further instructions. Basically,

15:13

they had FBI agents watching phone

15:16

booths all over the area. that

15:18

could potentially be the one that

15:20

the kidnappers made the call from.

15:22

So as soon as the investigators

15:24

at the phone booth, the kidnappers

15:26

sent them to, started to receive

15:29

a call, other agents were alerted,

15:31

and when the phone call ended,

15:33

the agents were alerted as well.

15:35

The agent that was at a

15:37

strip mall called Chester Mall in

15:40

Chester New Jersey saw man approach

15:42

a phone booth and make a

15:44

call at the exact time that

15:46

the other agents were receiving the

15:48

call. The man at the Chester

15:50

Mall also ended the call at

15:53

the same time. The ransom call

15:55

ended. I know, and if that

15:57

wasn't enough, after hanging up the

15:59

phone... the man at Chester Mall

16:01

slyly removed latex gloves and slipped

16:03

them into his pocket. Oh, this

16:06

smells like chicken dinner, winter, winter,

16:08

winter. Yes, yes, exactly. So the

16:10

agent that was at the Chester

16:12

Mall was a woman and she

16:15

knew that she probably had to

16:17

kidnap her under her surveillance.

16:19

She ran the plates of the car that

16:22

the man got into and it

16:24

was registered to a rental car

16:26

agency in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The

16:29

man-hunt continues. So investigators

16:31

decided to abort the mission that

16:34

evening and wait until the kidnappers

16:36

went to return the rental car,

16:38

and at that time, on June 19, 1992,

16:41

they arrested him. In the trunk of the

16:43

rental car was all types

16:45

of evidence that indicated this

16:47

suspect was most likely involved

16:49

in the kidnapping of Sydney.

16:51

Shortly after they made the arrest

16:53

at the rental car place, the

16:55

kidnappers accomplice came to pick him

16:57

up. and they arrested her as well.

16:59

So who in the hell are these kidnappers?

17:02

Yes. It turns out they were actually

17:04

a husband and wife team, not

17:06

an echo terrorist group

17:08

called Rainbow Warriors. Their names

17:11

were Arthur and Jackie Seal. Both

17:13

Arthur and Jackie had good

17:15

upbringings and during their childhoods

17:17

the couple's families were considered

17:19

rich for their time. In

17:21

1967 the pair got married

17:23

and Arthur joined the police

17:26

force in 1968. Both Jackie

17:28

and Arthur were well educated.

17:30

They had two children, Courtney and

17:32

Justin. Arthur was a retired

17:34

police officer who was off from

17:37

work on disability. Arthur also actually

17:39

worked as head of security at

17:41

the Exxon Mobil office in

17:43

Florsham Park in 1982 and was

17:46

promoted to security manager before

17:48

resigning in 1984 to pursue

17:50

starting his own furniture company

17:52

in the Carolinas with his

17:55

wife Jackie. Arthur was only on the

17:57

police force for six years and during those

17:59

six years he was fined three times

18:01

and suspended twice for insubordination and

18:04

pulling out his gun when he

18:06

shouldn't have. Oh, yeah. Wow, yeah.

18:08

While the disability claim was legit,

18:10

it was also the most beneficial

18:13

situation for both the force and

18:15

Arthur. So this is when Arthur

18:17

became a $60,000 a year employee

18:20

working as head of security at

18:22

the Exxon office and the family

18:24

settled in Chester New Jersey. Neighbors

18:27

always recalled them as living a

18:29

quiet life. Jackie worked as an

18:31

office manager at a wine cellar.

18:33

That sounds like fun. Yeah. That's

18:36

constable. I know, right? Like my

18:38

wine cellar. And her boss at

18:40

the time would describe her as

18:43

an honest hard worker. In 1986,

18:45

they moved to Hilton Head, South

18:47

Carolina. I've always wanted to go

18:50

there. Yeah, I meet you. Mm-hmm.

18:52

To preserve their dreams as a

18:54

family. The seals is purchased a

18:56

$500,000 interior design company and a

18:59

38-foot sloop, which is the type

19:01

of sailboat that they named Galen.

19:03

I know, right? That sounds nice.

19:06

That sounds really nice. They bought

19:08

a home within a resort on

19:10

Hilton Head that was one of

19:13

the most expensive ones on the

19:15

property. Neighbors in Hilton Head recall

19:17

Arthur really... taking a liking to

19:19

sailing and working on improving his

19:22

sailing skills while they lived there.

19:24

Man, it would be so fucking

19:26

cool, right? Oh my gosh, if

19:29

that, you know, I just, I'd

19:31

love a little time to get

19:33

back in a watercolor painting, let

19:35

alone sailing, I'm feeling, I know.

19:38

I think of the wedding crashes.

19:40

When they... That movie was funny.

19:42

Awesome. It was... reported that he

19:45

would often take gallant on frequent

19:47

trips to Florida. Unfortunately the business

19:49

was not successful and they ended

19:52

up leaving town in the middle

19:54

of the night to attempt a

19:56

fresh start in veil Colorado. Talk

19:58

about going to rich places. No,

20:01

and other. Yes, I mean ping

20:03

pong leaving under the the veil

20:05

of darkness. Yeah, in framing it

20:08

as a new opportunity. They left

20:10

a trail of lawsuits seeking over

20:12

$715,000. The seals were also being

20:15

sued by Bill and Sally Hunter,

20:17

who they had bought their store

20:19

from. Porter Thompson, an advertising account

20:21

executive that worked with the couple,

20:24

said that Arthur and Jackie were

20:26

an outgoing and ambitious couple who

20:28

really wanted to give it their

20:31

all and take a real shot

20:33

at this business. Upon moving to

20:35

veil. The seals were somehow able

20:38

to purchase a $500,000 home, but

20:40

this was short-lived because Arthur and

20:42

Jackie had no real job prospects.

20:44

Other than issues with not having

20:47

a job, the family was having

20:49

issues amongst themselves as well. Police

20:51

were often called to their home

20:54

and on three different occasions their

20:56

daughter Courtney, who was 15 at

20:58

the time, had attempted to run

21:01

away from home. Joe Veneman, a

21:03

police officer in veil. Recall that

21:05

Courtney expressed on multiple occasions that

21:07

she did not have a good

21:10

relationship with her father Arthur. After

21:12

their failure to start fresh and

21:14

veil, the family moved to Arthur's

21:17

parents' house in Lebanon Township, New

21:19

Jersey, and they were really hitting

21:21

rock bottom. They were three quarters

21:24

of a million dollars in debt

21:26

and had no job prospects to

21:28

say that they were in desperate

21:30

times would be an understatement. Everyone

21:33

who knew the couple was completely

21:35

shocked. The Seals drove nice cars

21:37

and sent their children to private

21:40

school. Arthur had told friends that

21:42

he was awarded a million dollars

21:44

in a settlement after he was

21:47

hit by another police officer's car

21:49

while on duty. However, the department

21:51

says that he retired in 1977

21:53

on disability and only received two-thirds

21:56

of his $15,000 annual salary. Oh

21:58

my gosh. An annual salary for

22:00

a police officer is $19,000. Yeah,

22:03

$7, that's wow. Peanuts! Peanuts, exactly.

22:05

It seemed that the pressure of

22:07

maintaining their lifestyle and being overwhelmed

22:10

with the financial hardship that they

22:12

faced, the seals were becoming desperate

22:14

and more extreme. That's when they

22:16

devised a plan. Arthur knew that

22:19

Exxon had paid a ransom in

22:21

the past, and so he was

22:23

going to copycat that plan, but

22:26

significantly up the dollar amount. This

22:28

whole plan was Arthur's idea, and

22:30

Jackie was just going to be

22:32

a participant to help make it

22:35

happen. Once Arthur decided on Sydney

22:37

as their target, he worked for

22:39

three months perfecting their plan. If

22:42

only he had put that energy

22:44

into finding a job. Arthur and

22:46

Jackie would conduct regular surveillance of

22:49

the reso-howam to figure out Sydney's

22:51

basic day-to-day schedule. During these three

22:53

months, Arthur spent a lot of

22:55

time researching how to avoid paying

22:58

taxes on the ransom money he

23:00

planned to collect. Like really dude,

23:02

you're gonna... How's the IRF's gonna

23:05

know about this money? Right, yeah,

23:07

you know, you know, you know,

23:09

a little big for the britches.

23:12

Yeah, I mean, I know you

23:14

can't put it in the bank.

23:16

I know, I know that bank's

23:18

gonna raise an eyebrow if you

23:21

go to deposit $18.5 million. Or

23:23

$9,999 every week. Yes. A hundred

23:25

years? Yeah. Right. This episode is

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25:44

Arthur finally decided on the final

25:46

plan of how he and Jackie would

25:48

kidnap Sydney. He built a coffin -like

25:50

box and put padlocks on it

25:52

for them to keep Sydney inside during

25:55

kidnapping and holding him

25:57

hostage. Then came the

25:59

morning of a... 29th, 1992. Jackie posed

26:01

as a runner in the neighborhood. That's

26:03

the woman that the neighbor saw. Yeah.

26:05

And after the daily paper was delivered,

26:07

she ran past and kicked it to

26:10

the grassy area next to the driveway.

26:12

Because Jackie kicked the newspaper, Sydney

26:14

needed to get out of the car

26:16

and walked to pick up the paper,

26:18

and he did just that. Suddenly a

26:21

white van pulled up at the end

26:23

of the driveway and Jackie hopped out

26:25

with Arthur still inside. She was holding

26:27

a gun and the couple instructed... Sydney

26:29

to get inside the van. Jackie fired

26:31

the gun and accidentally shot

26:33

Sydney when a struggle ensued.

26:36

When Sydney realized that not only did

26:38

they want him to get into the

26:40

van, they wanted him to get into

26:43

a wooden box. Once inside the box,

26:45

Sydney's eyes and mouth were duct

26:47

taped, as well as his wrists

26:49

were duct taped together. He

26:51

was restrained even further by rope

26:53

stretched across his body and tied

26:55

lattice style. Jackie would recall that

26:58

Sydney tried to reason with them, begging

27:00

them that he would cooperate, but just

27:02

didn't want to get inside that

27:04

wooden box and be restrained. Arthur

27:06

and Jackie really just completely disregarded

27:08

any pleas from Sydney, and from

27:11

the start it didn't seem like

27:13

they truly cared if he lived or

27:15

died. They just wanted this payout. After

27:17

kidnapping Sydney, Arthur and Jackie took

27:19

him to a storage facility in

27:21

Warren County, New Jersey. where they

27:23

kept the storage box in a

27:25

safe storage room. While it was

27:27

not Arthur and Jackie's intention to

27:30

actually kill Sydney, they found him

27:32

dead after not taking proper

27:34

care of him while they

27:36

held him hostage. Authorities continued

27:38

to work the scene wanting to figure

27:40

out how hot it was inside the

27:42

storage unit and the box itself to

27:45

try and find out more about

27:47

what Sydney had to endure before

27:49

he died. When they found him

27:51

dead, Arthur and Jackie moved Sydney's

27:53

body to the base river state

27:55

forest near the Garden State Parkway

27:57

and buried him. When investigators found

27:59

him... Sydney's body had already started

28:02

decomposing. Arthur had gone to school

28:04

in the area, so he was

28:06

very familiar with it and felt

28:08

comfortable hiding a body there. Without

28:10

the help of Jackie, who had

28:13

a very good memory of where

28:15

Arthur had chosen to bury Sydney,

28:17

they may have never been able

28:19

to find him. Wow. In court,

28:22

Arthur actually testified that Sydney died

28:24

in his arms. The couple had

28:26

arrived to check on him when

28:28

they realized he was dying. When

28:30

police arrested Jackie and Arthur. They

28:33

asked Jackie to be honest and

28:35

that they needed to know if

28:37

they were looking for someone that

28:39

was alive or dead. Jackie only

28:41

replied that they were looking for

28:44

someone who was probably dead. Turned

28:46

out that Sydney had actually died

28:48

only four days after he was

28:50

kidnapped and Arthur and Jackie decided

28:53

to continue on with their plan

28:55

despite knowing he was already dead

28:57

and would potentially be paid the

28:59

ransom for nothing. Arthur and Jackie

29:01

literally left no way for Sydney

29:04

to potentially be able to escape

29:06

or call for help. After transporting

29:08

and burying Sydney in the forest,

29:10

Arthur destroyed the homemade box that

29:13

Sydney was kept in. Jackie was

29:15

the first to cooperate with police

29:17

and the investigation. Not only was

29:19

she able to lead them to

29:21

the body, but she was able

29:24

to uncover the entire scheme to

29:26

investigators. She was also able to

29:28

give key details behind why the

29:30

first exchange went wrong and the

29:32

reason that the kidnappers never called

29:35

Ed at the pay phone at

29:37

the Villa restaurant. And it was

29:39

because Arthur was dyslexic and mixed

29:41

up the last four digits of

29:44

the phone number calling the wrong

29:46

pay phone without realizing it. Jackie

29:48

Seal took a plea deal and

29:50

she pleaded guilty to one count

29:52

of extortion and one count of

29:55

conspiracy to extort avoiding the kidnapping

29:57

and murder charges. She was sentenced

29:59

to 20 years in prison and

30:01

five years of supervised release. She

30:03

was also fined $500,000. Jackie spent

30:06

17 years in prison where she

30:08

taught Pilates to other inmates and

30:10

patients waited to be released. On

30:12

January 10th, 2010, she was freed.

30:15

Arthur, on the other hand, did

30:17

not take a plea deal from

30:19

the government. He ended up pleading

30:21

guilty to a seven count indictment

30:23

two days before his trial was

30:26

set to start. This indictment included

30:28

conspiracy to commit extortion, mailing of

30:30

threats, using a firearm during a

30:32

violent crime, using the mail with

30:35

intent to extort, use of telephone

30:37

with intent to extort, use of

30:39

telephone with intent to extort, Two

30:41

counts of travel with the intent

30:43

to extort. Who knew the days

30:46

were all crying. Wow, exactly. And

30:48

Hobbs Act extortion. Arthur was sentenced

30:50

to 95 years in prison without

30:52

the possibility of parole and five

30:54

years of supervised release. Oh, 95

30:57

with five years. Come on. I

30:59

mean, it's just almost like a

31:01

flick on the dick to add

31:03

that. You learned to make 95

31:06

years. I know, isn't it funny.

31:08

Yes. He was ordered to pay

31:10

$1.75 million in fines due to

31:12

the fact that both Arthur and

31:14

Jackie were unable to pay fines

31:17

at this time. They actually had

31:19

a negative net worth, so they

31:21

both appealed the fines. But in

31:23

addition to these fines, the Rieso

31:25

family also decided to sue Arthur

31:28

and Jackie for wrongful death. Despite

31:30

knowing that Sydney had passed away

31:32

and even despite moving and bearing

31:34

his body, Arthur and Jackie seal

31:37

continued to push that he was

31:39

alive and his family would get

31:41

him back safely if the ransom

31:43

was paid. Can you believe this?

31:45

That is just so diabolical. Right.

31:48

Did he give false hope? Are

31:50

you kidding me? That's fucking, he

31:52

fucked up. It's so fucked up.

31:54

In 2020, Arthur attempted to file

31:56

for early release on a release

31:59

called Compassionate Release, but the judge

32:01

had little to no sympathy. for

32:03

the killer and he was denied.

32:05

Yeah, zero compassion. Right. Can't get

32:08

what you didn't give. Honestly, yeah,

32:10

I think the courts intend for

32:12

him to just die. Yes. And

32:14

that is the end. I cannot

32:16

leave, like you said, this whole

32:19

planning, just search for a job.

32:21

You have the brains, obviously. Yeah,

32:23

they were well educated. Their families

32:25

were rich. I don't understand. I

32:28

don't know. You know, because I

32:30

think of someone who follows the

32:32

law or I think I like

32:34

someone who follows the law. Yes,

32:36

right. I don't think like a

32:39

criminal. So I'm just into that

32:41

frame of mind. Like as you

32:43

were telling the story, I would

32:45

think of the movie ransom, you

32:47

know, with Mel Gibson and Renee

32:50

Russo and you know, because of

32:52

the. little the ransom notes do

32:54

this bring this do five cartwheels

32:56

before you answer the phone with

32:59

his daughter you know come on

33:01

yeah and then um then it

33:03

came like I parlayed into the

33:05

other guys in the meeting room

33:07

at the end there in the

33:10

slow motion yeah Just, I don't

33:12

know, but yeah, the resold family,

33:14

that's terrible. And diabolical for her

33:16

really to, to kick that paper,

33:18

that, I mean, she was so

33:21

integral in getting him in that

33:23

van. Oh, yeah. It's Arthur's plan.

33:25

Right. But she is right hand.

33:27

She is the Bonnie to his

33:30

Clyde. Definitely. While she didn't think

33:32

it up, she got wholly participated.

33:34

So. That's what happens though, people

33:36

take plea deals. I'm sure finding

33:38

Sydney's body with part of it,

33:41

like she needed. Yeah, that was

33:43

very helpful. I know there's like

33:45

this, okay, she did good here,

33:47

but this is like, oh, hi,

33:50

but I don't understand how like

33:52

she tells them where the body

33:54

is, but then continues to tell

33:56

the family, oh, don't worry, if

33:58

you just get on with them.

34:01

That is, oh, such a betrayal.

34:03

Yeah, that was genius. Because the

34:05

Exxon Valdez, that wasn't that spill

34:07

was 89. So yeah, echo terrorists

34:09

just kind of go hand in

34:12

glove with this spinning. And Arthur

34:14

could see the big picture in

34:16

that. That's pretty impressive in a

34:18

dark way. Yeah, I agree with

34:21

you. I'm so glad that I

34:23

did not know what I'm thinking.

34:25

Where was I in 1992? Oh,

34:27

I was just getting out of

34:29

the army. I was, you know,

34:32

I'm sure I was, yeah, 92

34:34

was the year I honorably discharged

34:36

and, was I getting divorced or

34:38

married? I was getting married, that's

34:40

right. You didn't get divorced yet

34:43

because I knew your ex-husband, so...

34:45

Could be eight years later. That

34:47

didn't happen for a few years

34:49

back then. Oh, I loved when

34:52

you read us our horoscopes on

34:54

the way to bingo. That is

34:56

old. That lives rent-free in my

34:58

head. You got to tell that

35:00

story Shannon. Yes, we know. Her

35:03

ex-in-in-Her ex-husband and I were on

35:05

our way to go play bingo

35:07

in Ontario, Canada. which was a

35:09

hot place in the mid 90s.

35:12

I think you could smoke in

35:14

there. I was a wonderful smoker.

35:16

I could stay for hours at

35:18

the Bingo Hall. I just remember

35:20

where I got introduced to gravy

35:23

fries. They're the best. Yeah, so

35:25

the three of us are driving

35:27

to, you know, go play Bingo

35:29

and. We had bought a book

35:31

and it was all about horoscopes.

35:34

Your ex-husband was an Aquarius, I

35:36

remember. I read the, because they

35:38

had in the book like, oh,

35:40

you know, your sign and your

35:43

significant other sign and this is

35:45

the other one. Yes, the partnerships

35:47

between the signs and how they

35:49

work out. Exactly. And it wasn't

35:51

good. I was like, oh, sorry

35:54

guys. Yeah, it was such an

35:56

awkward silence. I think the last

35:58

even sudden was like these relationships

36:00

rarely last and then the silence

36:02

and then the apology. I think

36:05

I had that running joke where

36:07

I would call him my first

36:09

husband before we even spoke about

36:11

to war. My first husband, Nana's

36:14

first husband was an islander. Oh,

36:16

was an islander. Yes, he had

36:18

roots in Hawaii. Yes, yeah. Good

36:20

person. I was like, oh, sorry.

36:22

Apparently, you know, I didn't read,

36:25

I didn't read ahead. So it

36:27

was just, I was just happy

36:29

to be going to bingo. I

36:31

can even, at some level, I

36:34

knew this was first marriage in

36:36

a, you know, just learning life

36:38

experience way. So, yeah, whoops. Good

36:40

times, we gotta go to bingo

36:42

girl. I know, there's one right

36:45

down the street. That's right. Yes.

36:47

Oh, I've never, in all these

36:49

years I've lived here I've lived

36:51

here, I've lived here, I've lived

36:53

here, I've never gone, I've never

36:56

gone, I've never gone, I've never

36:58

gone. Let's wear wigs and go.

37:00

Oh my gosh. Yes, let's go

37:02

buy some wigs and we'll go.

37:05

Yes, I want to replace Bob.

37:07

It looks some anime play. Oh

37:09

my gosh, cosplay. You should fucking

37:11

go cosplay bingo. I love you

37:13

Shannon. So before I end this

37:16

podcast, just remind everybody to hit

37:18

subscriber follow. Yes. You want to

37:20

join our Patreon, which means you

37:22

could get one extra episode a

37:24

week. Members only, that's right. Members

37:27

only, you can join patron, patreon.com/T-N-T

37:29

crimes or you can go to

37:31

the Apple Podcast app if you

37:33

listen there and you can sign

37:36

up there. Just hit a little

37:38

button is so easy. It's so

37:40

easy and it's so fun. And

37:42

videos are coming, we're learning and

37:44

it's just for two gales. It'll

37:47

be a good 2025 for the

37:49

pad. So yes, very much excited.

37:51

I already wear my space buttons.

37:53

Can't wait to show you guys.

37:56

My real hair too. No way.

37:58

No way for my girls. my

38:00

gang so all right you and

38:02

I will talk to you my

38:04

dear I'll talk to you baby

38:07

love you love you