Richard Muti - The Charmer: The True Story of Robert Reldan - Rapist, Murderer and Millionaire — and the Women who Fell Victim to his Allure

THE CHARMER

The True Story of Robert ReldanRapist, Murderer, and Millionaireand the Women who Fell Victim to his Allure

The True Story of Robert ReldanRapist, Murderer, and Millionaireand the Women who Fell Victim to his Allure

RICHARD MUTI
CHARLES BUCKLEY

THE CHARMER

Copyright 2011 Richard Muti and Charles Buckley

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, except for passages excerpted for the purposes of review, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information, or to order additional copies, please contact:

TitleTown Publishing, LLC
P.O. Box 12093 Green Bay, WI 54307-12093
920.737.8051 | titletownpublishing.com

Edited By: Katie Vecchio

Cover Design By: Erika L. Block

Interior Layout and Design By: Erika L. Block

PUBLISHERS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:

Muti, Richard.

The charmer : the true story of Robert Reldan -- rapist, murderer, and millionaire -- and the women who fell victim to his allure / Richard Muti, Charles Buckley. -- Green Bay, WI : TitleTown Publishing, c2011.

p. ; cm.

ISBN: 978-0-9837547-7-0

1. Reldan, Robert (Robert Ronald), 1940

2. Serial murderers--New Jersey--Biography.

3. Rapists--United States--Biography.

4. Serial murder investigation--New Jersey.

5. Trials (Murder)--New Jersey.

6. Heynes, Susan, d. 1975.

7. Reeve, Susan, 1953-1975.

8. Inheritance and succession--New Jersey.

9. Limitation of actions--New Jersey.

10. Reeve, Arthur, 1927

11. Reeve, Barbara.

I. Buckley, Charles (Charles R.), 1933- II. Title.

HV6533.N5 B88 2011

364.152/3209749--dc23 1112

Printed in the USA
first edition printed on recycled paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to police officers, investigators, FBI agents, prosecutors, and the medical examiner, who persevered in their relentless pursuit of Robert Reldan until they took this dangerous criminal off the streets for good.

Preface
Bob sports that collegiate look.

Chapter 1
He had the look of someone who could kill without remorse.

Chapter 2
Be quiet, Im almost finished.

Chapter 3
The young man has no sense of values.

Chapter 4
I find it hard to believe Bobby could have committed this crime.

Chapter 5
Proceeding on the assumption she has been either abducted or murdered.

Chapter 6
Help me, please. Help mehes a maniac.

Chapter 7
He has the same kind of piercing eyes.

Chapter 8
To his horror, he saw a hand protruding above the weeds.

Chapter 9
A danger to any young, attractive woman walking alone.

Chapter 10
Ive got to have the ring. Ive got to have that ring.

Chapter 11
The thing Im trying to find out is, is my son a killer.

Chapter 12
Im an investigator for the Buzzard.

Chapter 13
He moved his fingers across his throat in a cutting motion.

Chapter 14
There was no way her Bobby would ever want to harm her.

Chapter 15
Bring on the Tsoris Morris.

Chapter 16
I paint, I sculpt, I make furniture.

Chapter 17
His charm had already won him two hung juries.

Chapter 18
One juror, a woman, cast an unwavering not guilty vote.

Chapter 19
A be careful what you wish for scenario that could backfire.

Chapter 20
Does anyone besides me know how dangerous this fucking guy is?

Chapter 21
If you convict this bum, there will be another $900 to follow.

Chapter 22
He looked like an attorney, or one of our clients.

Chapter 23
I couldnt stand by and watch them lie me into prison.

Chapter 24
She had a loaded shotgun, 20 inches long, and sawed off at both ends.

Chapter 25
As far as I am concerned, hes fired.

Chapter 26
Taped to the inside of one of those files were two razor blades.

Chapter 27
Those are willow leaves embedded in the body.

Chapter 28
Money from a double-murderer to educate young men and women.

Bob sports that collegiate look.

It is not a monsters face that looks up at the reader, there on page 31 of the Fort Lee, New Jersey, high school yearbook, class of 1958; rather, the young man appears as carefree as any 17-year-old should be. Yet, at the time this photo was taken, Robert Reldan already had a troubling juvenile record, including the assault and robbery of a woman in New York City, and he had done time in a reformatory. His classmates surely knew his history, yet whoever wrote Reldans yearbook entry was kind.

Bob sports that collegiate look, the blurb below his picture reads, a reference to what a later generation would call preppy. He is an amateur pilot, it says, and intends a stint in the Air Force. The only glimpse into future reality is a remark about Reldans acid sense of humor. Although young Robert had athletic ability, especially in basketball, school activities are sparse. Understandable, when the youths extracurricular interests lay elsewhere.

It is a handsome face with an engaging smilea smile that promises a charming personality and inspires trust. A smile that would, over the next 20 years, cause unsuspecting women to drop their guard and place themselves under the power of one of New Jerseys most ruthless criminals.

Robert Ronald Reldan was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 2, 1940, the first child of William and Marie Reldan. Three years later, a daughter, Susan, was born into what was, by all appearances, a hardworking, middle-class American family. The Reldans operated the Sweet Sue Coffee Shop, a bustling establishment one block from New York Citys Fifth Avenue and its fashionable department stores. Marie doted on Robert, her only son, but the relative who would figure most prominently in Roberts life was his Aunt Lillian, Maries sister.

Lillian Vulgaris was an aspiring actress, but, like most newcomers to that profession, she needed to support herself with less glamorous work until her big break came along. Brother-in-law William Reldan was happy to give her a job waiting tables in his coffee shop. While not beautiful, Lillian did possess an attractiveness and warmth that made her popular with patrons of the Sweet Sue, among them an older manColonel Ferris Booth.

Ferris Booths father was a financier and early investor in IBM and Hotpoint Appliances. He made millions on those and other shrewd investments and would leave a fortune to his son. Lillian Vulgariss big break came sooner than expectednot on Broadway, but when she caught the eye of Ferris Booth. The two were married and enjoyed a loving relationship for 10 years. When Booth died suddenly of a stroke in 1956, 40-year-old Lillian inherited $50 million. By the time she, herself, died 51 years later, Lillian Vulgaris Booth, a shrewd investor in her own right, would quadruple her wealth, even while donating millions to hospitals and churches, a retirement home for aging actors, and other charities. Having no children of her own, she lavished attention and financial favors during her lifetime on nieces and nephews. Her particular favorite was Robert Reldan, whom she called Bobby.