Worst-Case and Other Scenarios

1992 Charles Geschke, then-president of Adobe Systems, is kidnapped at gunpoint as he arrives at work. FBI agents arrest the suspect who picks up the $650,000 ransom left by Geschke’s family. He leads them to a house where Geschke is found unharmed.

1992 Sidney Reso, an Exxon executive based in New Jersey, is kidnapped and shot in the arm. He dies five days later, bound and gagged in a storage locker. His body is later discovered in a shallow grave in a New Jersey state forest. The kidnappers turn out to be Arthur Seale, a former Exxon security official, and his wife.

1993 Kevyn Wynn, the daughter of casino tycoon Steve Wynn, is kidnapped from her home. She is found unharmed after Wynn pays more than $1.45 million in ransom. Three men are eventually convicted.

1993 Harvey Weinstein, CEO of a New York City formal wear manufacturer, is kidnapped leaving a diner. He is bound and forced into a small hole in the ground. After 13 days, he is rescued by police when his kidnappers take the ransom without releasing him. Police find him after interrogating suspects in the case. One of Weinstein’s employees and the employee’s brother and girlfriend are charged.

Sources: The Art of Executive Protection (Noble House, 1997) by Robert L. Oatman; news reports from The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal and USA Today.