The Crime Book

187

According to reports, John Paul

Getty III, seen here after his ordeal,

tried to speak to his grandfather to

thank him for obtaining his release, but

the elder Getty refused to take the call.

See also: The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping 178–85 ■ The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst 188–89

KIDNAPPING AND EXTORTION

remove his other ear unless they

were paid $3.2 million (£7.9 million

today) within 10 days. Meanwhile,

another package arrived at the

offices of newspaper Il Tempo.

Inside were photographs of Paul’s

scarred face.

Reluctant acquiescence

The photos prompted a response

from J. Paul Getty. He contributed

$2.2 million (£5.4 million today)

• according to his accountant, this
  was the maximum amount that
  was tax deductible – and loaned
  his son the remaining money,
  charging 4 per cent interest. Chace
  handed over three sacks of cash on
  12 December. Two days later, Paul
  was released outside Lagonegro in
  southern Italy and picked up by the
  police. He was malnourished and
  weak from the blood loss caused
  when his ear was severed.
  Police arrested nine men, with
  links to the Calabrian Mafia. Seven
  received sentences of between four
  and ten years, while two were
  released. Only $85,000 (£210,000
  today) of the ransom was found.

Scarred for life

A year after his ordeal, Paul

married a German photographer.

They moved to New York and had

a son, Balthazar Getty, who became

an actor. Paul never recovered from

the psychological trauma of the

kidnapping and descended into

alcoholism and drug addiction. In

1981, at age 24, he suffered a stroke

brought on by a cocktail of drugs. It

left him paralyzed, almost blind,

and practically speechless. His

mother cared for him after his

stroke, but she was forced to sue

her ex-husband, Paul’s father, to pay

for his treatment and care. Paul and

his wife divorced in 1993, and he

died at his home in London in

2011, at age 54. ■

Ransom rules

Different countries have varying

policies about the payment of

ransoms. The UK will not pay

ransoms to terrorists because it

believes it would encourage other

abductions. The US has a long-

standing policy against paying

ransoms for hostages on the

grounds that it puts its citizens at

greater risk and funds terrorism.

The US government will prosecute

a US public company or private

organization that buys the

freedom of an employee in this

way. However, it does permit

families to negotiate on their

own. The French, Italian, and

Spanish governments have a

long record of directly paying

ransoms, although the Italian

government made a notable

exception by refusing to

negotiate in the kidnapping

of former prime minister Aldo

Moro (see pp.322–23).

Israel has a different stance.

It is prepared to negotiate for

the release of captured citizens.

For example, in 2011, more than

1,000 Palestinian prisoners were

exchanged for a single abducted

Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.

Gershon Baskin, an expert on the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, helped

mediate between Israel and Hamas

in the 2011 deal to release Shalit.

I can afford to say

what I wish.

John Paul Getty

186-187_JP_Getty.indd 187 13/01/2017 15:19