EP254: The Kidnapping of Sidney Reso

Crimes and Consequences

On the morning of April 29, 1992, Sidney Reso did what he did almost every morning: he took the long drive down to the end of his driveway to pick up the daily newspaper. However, this morning was different: the husband and father of five never made it to work that morning. Sidney was shot in the arm, bound and gagged, and thrown into the back of a waiting van at his home in Morris Township, New Jersey. Sidney’s kidnappers quickly contacted not only Exxon but Sidney’s wife, Pat. They asked for a notorious amount of money in exchange for the safe return of Sidney: $18.5 million in $100 bills. With a series of complex ransom notes, detectives worked against the clock in an attempt to rescue Sidney.
SOURCES:
1) YouTube--"Kidnapped: The Story of Sidney Reso"
2) The Seattle Times: Mystery: Powerful, Private Man Vanishes -- No Clues In Disappearance Of Key Exxon Executive
3) Obituary for Gregory Steve Reso
4) Find a Grave: Sidney Reso
5) The New York Times: Portrait of 2 Accused of Kidnapping: Ardent, Hapless Pursuit of Affluence
6) United States of America v. Arthur Seale
7) The New York Times: Kidnapped Executive Dies After 4 Days in a Locked Wooden Box
8) TIME Magazine: Four Days in Hell
9) NJ.com: Killer involved in 1992 kidnapping and murder of Exxon executive denied compassionate release