Philip Jett - Taking Mr. EXXON: The Kidnapping of an Oil Giants President

PHILIP JETT is a former corporate attorney now living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has represented corporations, hospitals, CEOs, celebrities from the music, television, and sports industries, and other noteworthy clients. He attended New York University School of Law, and following his legal career, began ghost-writing for business clients. His first nonfiction book, The Death of an Heir, was published in 2017 by St. Martins Press, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Ltd. He has two adult sons and often volunteers for childrens causes.

Please consider reading the authors debut book, The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty, published by St. Martins Press. Listed as one of the best true crime stories by The New York Times in 2017, it is a must read: In 1960, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Coors Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado, was kidnapped. The largest manhunt in U.S. history since the kidnapping of the Lindberghs baby swept across the continent without any success. A grief stricken wife and four young children waited for word as the weeks passed. Everyone wondered: where is the heir of the Colorado beer empire and his abductors? The Death of an Heir will unveil the mystery.

The rich are human, too. Thats the message to take from... Philip Jetts compassionate appraisal of the tragedy that shattered the family of Adolph (Ad) Herman Joseph Coors III.

The New York Times

The author puts his legal experience to good use with behind-the-scenes insights into investigative legwork while crafting a suspenseful true-crime narrative that reads like an edge-of-the-seat detective story.

Booklist

The Death of an Heir is an excellent account of a 57-year-old tragedy...

The Denver Post

Jetts amazing research and captivating narrative tell a remarkable Coors family story, occasionally whispered about during my time at Coors. An incredible and tragic story, brilliantly told.

Ralph Hargrow, former Chief Global People Officer, Molson Coors Brewing Company, Denver, Colorado

I am exceedingly grateful to my agent, Richard Curtis, of Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., New York, New York, and everyone at John Hunt Publishing Ltd., Alresford, Hampshire, United Kingdom, who gave this book a chance.

During my research, I interviewed several people. I appreciate their time and generosity. They spoke with me and replied to my messages without hesitation. They all are incredible people. Its because everyone was so wonderful and kind to me that it is difficult to name any one person above the others, but there were a few individuals who went above and beyond in my estimation:

Gail Chapman, former FBI Special Agent with the Garret Mountain Resident Agency in Morris County, New Jersey, and former case agent of the Reso case. Gail is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to this case. She gave of her time and knowledge until Im sure it hurt. Thank you, Gail.

Gary Penrith, former Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI field office in Newark, and his wife, Lynne. They welcomed me into their home for four hours and were exceedingly gracious. More than that, Gary remained interested and supportive throughout my writing of this book and prodded others to speak with me. It was my honor and privilege to meet and get to know him.

Richard Rich Riley, former Chief of Detectives with the Morris County Prosecutors Office. Rich spoke with me, answered every email, and even gave me a personal tour of all the sites in northcentral New Jersey mentioned in the book. He was so giving of his time. What a great guy.

John Walker, former FBI special agent in charge of the Reso case command post, who welcomed me into his home and reviewed his files with me.

And though I thanked them at the time, I will gladly thank these wonderful people once again:

Michael Chertoff, former U.S. Attorney, U.S. Court of Appeals judge, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.

Thomas Tom Cottone, former FBI special agent.

Barbara Cruikshank, former Exxon secretary and personal secretary to Sid Reso.

Sebastian Delia, Union County Jail employee.

Eagle County Colorado Sheriffs Department.

Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence; MSNBC contributor.

Kent Manahan, former anchor with NJNews.

James A. Jim Morakis, former Manager of Public Affairs, Exxon Company, International.

W. Michael Mike Murphy Jr., former Prosecutor with the Morris County Prosecutors Office.

Edwin H. Ed Petersen, former FBI special agent and former Director of Security for Major League Baseball.

Mark Prach, former Detective Lieutenant with the Morris County Prosecutors Office.

Sean Price, Membership/Web Coordinator, the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, Inc.

Thomas Schmid, Assistant Prosecutor, Morris County Prosecutors Office.

Vail Police Department.

Leslie Wilson, Federal Bureau of Investigation archives.

What a horrible crime. When Sidney Resos mother bore him, and while he was young, and later throughout his exemplary life, none could have imagined that he would die alone, with his eyes and mouth taped, hands cuffed, and legs strapped down with rope, lying inside a wooden box in his own waste, inside Secure Storage unit 619, in the small rural community of Hackettstown, New Jersey.

The entire kidnapping scheme was senseless and cruel. I feel pity not only for the Reso family, but also for the Seale children. What a terrible burden to bear.

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This is a work of nonfiction. I have stayed true to the facts uncovered during my exhaustive research while using literary techniques that I believe make the story more interesting. From time to time, I deduced scenes and dialogue from the materials I gathered to convey circumstances to the reader where details are unavailable. Despite some occasional liberties, the overall story reflects the information obtained by me from those materials and from individuals willing to speak with me. I have not created any characters or changed any names. I did not wish to disclose the names of some Seale and Szarko family members or reveal their locations, including the current name and location of Jackie Seale, nor did I reveal the names of the Reso children. And though I have more than three hundred photographs, including a few that are shocking, I selected only twelve photos that I felt illustrated the principal facts of the book.

Most of my extensive research centered on transcripts and records from courts, national and state archives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Morris County Prosecutors Office; from contemporary accounts in newspapers and magazines and archival photos; and from many other sources that I list in the Bibliography section. I also interviewed many retired FBI agents, detectives, attorneys, and Exxon employees. I am very appreciative of the individuals and agencies that responded; the story is richer because of them. I did reach out to friends and family of Sid and Pat Reso, but none responded, which is totally understandable. The same was true of the Seale family and those who had represented the Seales. After some correspondence with Art Seale from prison, he decided to decline an interview with me.

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The five most notorious kidnappings in U.S. history based on celebrity and expenditure of law enforcement resources are in my opinion:

1. Charles Lindbergh Jr. (a baby)
2. Patty Hearst
3. Sidney Reso
4. Adolph Coors III
5. Frank Sinatra Jr.

Only Hearst and Sinatra survived and none of the kidnappings were successful, other than perhaps Hearst, which was not purely for money like the others. If there ever has been a crime in the United States that doesnt pay, its kidnapping. With all the technology, cameras, surveillance, and improved methods of crime detection, kidnapping for ransom is virtually impossible in the United States. For the sakes of the Resos, Seales, and Szarkos, I wish Art Seale had understood that simple fact in 1992.