Speaker 1: You know how some people just seem untouchable. Take Frank Sinatra,
Speaker 1: idolized around the world, the ultimate cool insider in Hollywood
Speaker 1: and Washington, DC for that matter, and even an insider
Speaker 1: with the mob. So what genius came up with the
Speaker 1: idea to kidnap his son was the ransom paid? I'm
Speaker 1: Patty Steele stealing Frank Sinatra Junior. Next on the backstory.
Speaker 1: We're back with the backstory. Late nineteen sixty three was
Speaker 1: kind of the end of the innocence in America. We
Speaker 1: were months away from the arrival of the Beatles, but
Speaker 1: we had just lost our young, incredibly popular President John F.
Speaker 1: Kennedy to an assassin in Dallas, Texas. Nobody could wrap
Speaker 1: their head around that emergence from the feel good nineteen
Speaker 1: fifties and the thrill of the Camelot story and into
Speaker 1: the JFK murder and the ramping up of the war
Speaker 1: in Vietnam. What else could happen? It was December eighth,
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three, just a little over two weeks after
Speaker 1: the JFK assassination, the world still reeling as the holidays approached.
Speaker 1: But in one Nevada motel room, things turn even more chaotic.
Speaker 1: A nineteen year old singer is about to be snatched
Speaker 1: in a bizarre kidnapping plot that seems straight out of
Speaker 1: an episode of Law and Order. Here's the thing, this
Speaker 1: kid isn't just any teenage singer. We're talking Frank Sinatra Junior.
Speaker 1: His dad was and is iconic, definitely one of the
Speaker 1: most famous entertainers in the world. And Frank Sinatra Senior
Speaker 1: was incredibly powerful. He was still at the height of
Speaker 1: his fame after years of selling tens of millions of records.
Speaker 1: He'd just started his own label, Riprise Records, and it
Speaker 1: was wildly successful. Plus, his flourishing acting career had won
Speaker 1: him an Academy Award in a Golden Globe. He was
Speaker 1: the leader of the rat Pack at this point in
Speaker 1: his career. Folks claimed that every woman wants to have
Speaker 1: him and every man wants to be him. On top
Speaker 1: of that, this guy hung with presidents, and he was
Speaker 1: worshiped even by Hollywood's elite. And one more thing, he
Speaker 1: was an insider with the mob, with powerful friends, including
Speaker 1: mafia chieftains like Chicago mob boss Sam g and Kanna.
Speaker 1: Sinatra's FBI files show he hung with mob bosses in Philadelphia, Detroit,
Speaker 1: and in New Jersey in addition to Chicago. And he
Speaker 1: famously introduced Gancanna to John Kennedy's campaign in nineteen sixty
Speaker 1: in an attempt to deliver Union votes for his presidential election.
Speaker 1: So here's the question. With that kind of power in play,
Speaker 1: who in the heck would be stupid enough or genius
Speaker 1: enough to kidnap Frank Sinatra's kid This is a crime
Speaker 1: that completely captivated the nation. It also embarrassed the FBI,
Speaker 1: and it could have ended in tragedy. Here's who Frank
Speaker 1: Sinatra Junior was in those days and how the whole
Speaker 1: thing came down. As you can imagine, Frank Junior, Sinatra's
Speaker 1: only son, grew up in the shadow of his legendary dad.
Speaker 1: He was born in nineteen forty four, when Frank Sinatra
Speaker 1: Senior was red hot already a huge star, but that
Speaker 1: had made his personal life really complex. Just like his father,
Speaker 1: Frank Junior's world revolved around music, movies, and fame. By
Speaker 1: his late teens, his singing career was under way, but
Speaker 1: he was trying to make a name for himself outside
Speaker 1: of his father's enormous shadow. Frank Junior was performing in nightclubs,
Speaker 1: working hard, trying to prove he wasn't just a Nepo baby.
Speaker 1: So in December of nineteen sixty three, he was in
Speaker 1: Lake Tahoe on the Nevada side, performing at Hara's Club Lodge.
Speaker 1: Frank Junior was staying at the motel at the lodge
Speaker 1: along with a friend and his trumpet player named John Foss.
Speaker 1: The two were relaxing by the fire and eating dinner
Speaker 1: in the room room on the night of December eighth,
Speaker 1: when there was a knock at the door. They asked
Speaker 1: who was there. The guy outside the door said he
Speaker 1: was delivering a package, so John Foss opened it. As
Speaker 1: soon as he did, two guys with guns forced their
Speaker 1: way in. They were Barry Keenan and Joe Ampseller, two
Speaker 1: twenty one year olds who thought they had set up
Speaker 1: the perfect crime. Keenan was the mastermind of sorts. He'd
Speaker 1: grown up in La gone to grade school with Sinatra
Speaker 1: Senior's daughter Nancy, and had been a pretty good student
Speaker 1: at UCLA. At twenty one, he was the youngest member
Speaker 1: of the Los Angeles Stock Exchange ever. But as happens,
Speaker 1: he made a bunch of bad business decisions. On top
Speaker 1: of that, he became addicted to painkillers like Perkinden after
Speaker 1: a car accident. His mounting debts left him desperate and
Speaker 1: he needed money. Aha, why not kidnap a rich guy's son,
Speaker 1: and not just any rich guy. Frank Sinatra all powerful.
Speaker 1: Of course, he'd pay anything to get his kid back,
Speaker 1: And Barry said, as soon as he got on his feet,
Speaker 1: he'd pay back any ransom he got. He said he
Speaker 1: knew Sinatra Senior was tough enough to get through the
Speaker 1: ordeal and get his son back. But Keenan had a
Speaker 1: problem due to a psychiatric issue. He heard voices, he
Speaker 1: later claimed the voices called themselves the Committee. They told
Speaker 1: him his plan was blessed by God since he was
Speaker 1: going to pay back the ransom, and that it would
Speaker 1: somehow bring the Sinatra family closer together. Okay, Back to
Speaker 1: the motel in Tahoe, Barry Keenan and Joe Amsler tie
Speaker 1: up John Foss and, after blindfolding Frank Junior, force him
Speaker 1: out of the room and into the trunk of their car.
Speaker 1: They speed off into the night, leaving Foss tied up
Speaker 1: and gagged, but pretty quickly Foss is able to free himself.
Speaker 1: He immediately sounds the alarm, and law enforcement and the
Speaker 1: FBI go on high alert. Frank Sinatra Junior has been kidnapped.
Speaker 1: The FBI gets involved almost immediately, but Sinatra Senior is
Speaker 1: all about action. He's not waiting for the cops or
Speaker 1: the FBI to act. He's flipped out now. His pal,
Speaker 1: mob boss samgian Kanna even offers two air quotes take
Speaker 1: care of things. Sinatra says, no, thanks, no violence, he
Speaker 1: just wants his son back. Hours later, the ransom demand
Speaker 1: comes in. Barry Keenan calls the Sinatra home and demands
Speaker 1: two hundred and forty thousand dollars that's close to two
Speaker 1: and a half million in today's money. At first, Frank
Speaker 1: Senior offers the kidnappers way more than they ask for.
Speaker 1: He offers a million bucks almost ten million today, but
Speaker 1: Keenan weirdly doesn't feel he needs that much and he
Speaker 1: sticks to his original demand. Sinatra Senior immediately tells his
Speaker 1: lawyer to get the money together and follow the kidnappers instructions. Meantime,
Speaker 1: the FBI is trailing them. The pair had made stupid mistakes.
Speaker 1: Keenan u a payphone to make the ransom call, so
Speaker 1: agents were able to track the location. Now the FBI
Speaker 1: is closing in for Frank Junior. The ordeal lasts about
Speaker 1: fifty four hours, with the kidnappers moving him from one
Speaker 1: hideout to another. He's blindfolded most of the time, but
Speaker 1: he stays calm. He later said it was obvious the
Speaker 1: kidnappers were in over their heads. Then suddenly they set
Speaker 1: him free. On December tenth. They'd drive Frank Junior to
Speaker 1: bel Air and tell him to walk around until he
Speaker 1: finds help. Frank Senior had paid the ransom, but ultimately
Speaker 1: Keenan and Amseller's amateur moves left a trail right back
Speaker 1: to them. Within days, the FBI arrested them, along with
Speaker 1: a third conspirator, John Irwin. They confess almost immediately Frank's
Speaker 1: not for Junior is safe, but there's more to the story.
Speaker 1: The trial that followed was wild. Keenan and his crew
Speaker 1: were convicted and sentenced to prison. Keenan, as the ringleader,
Speaker 1: was set life, but he was later released after serving
Speaker 1: less than five years because the courts agreed he was
Speaker 1: legally insane at the time, and there were rumors, some
Speaker 1: from the press that suggested the whole thing had been staged,
Speaker 1: that maybe Frank Junior had been in on the kidnapping
Speaker 1: to publicize his struggling singing career. Never any proof of that,
Speaker 1: which shows you what it's like to be stuck in
Speaker 1: your father's massive shadow. Even in court, the kidnappers testified
Speaker 1: that Frank Junior was not involved in the scheme, but
Speaker 1: the stories kept making the rounds, which drove Sinatra Senior crazy.
Speaker 1: In the end, it was pretty clear his son was
Speaker 1: just an innocent victim. Afterward, Sinatra Junior continued his music career,
Speaker 1: although he never quite got out of his father's shadow.
Speaker 1: He was a conductor and musical director for his dad
Speaker 1: and focused on preserving his father's legacy rather than trying
Speaker 1: to go it alone. What happened to Barry Keenan Well
Speaker 1: After his four and a half year prison stin he
Speaker 1: went on to become a really successful real estate developer.
Speaker 1: He did TV and podcast interviews about the kidnapping and
Speaker 1: became good friends with some show biz hotshots. Only in Hollywood, right,
Speaker 1: It definitely wasn't the perfect crime. It was a messy,
Speaker 1: amateurish attempt at a ransom scheme orchestrated by young guys
Speaker 1: who needed money and who underestimated the cops and the
Speaker 1: power of the Sinatra name, but it did captivate the world.
Speaker 1: The son of an American icon kidnapped at gunpoint, held
Speaker 1: for ransom, and sent home unharmed, a Hollywood thriller in
Speaker 1: real life, Sadly, Frank Sinatra Junior died of cardiac arrest
Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen at just seventy two years old while
Speaker 1: on tour in Daytona Beach. His kidnapper, Barry Keenan, committed
Speaker 1: suicide at the age of eighty two just three years ago.
Speaker 1: On Instagram, his friend TV star John Stamos said, he's
Speaker 1: free now. Maybe wherever he is, he sitt being pretty
Speaker 1: at the big table with a white Russian in one
Speaker 1: hand and a Cuban cigar in the other. But Barry,
Speaker 1: if you see Sinatra Senior at that table, run he's
Speaker 1: still pissed at you. Hope you like the backstory with
Speaker 1: Patty Steele. I would love it if you'd subscribe or
Speaker 1: follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and
Speaker 1: feel free to DM me if you have a story
Speaker 1: you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele
Speaker 1: and on Instagram, Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The
Speaker 1: Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis
Speaker 1: Duran Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.
Speaker 1: Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday
Speaker 1: and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with
Speaker 1: comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty
Speaker 1: Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The pieces of history
Speaker 1: you didn't know you needed to know.