#45 - The Botched Kidnapping of John Grundhofer

November 19, 1990. Downtown Minneapolis, MN.

John "Jack" Grundhofer, a powerful banking executive, professional cost-cutter, and pillar of the community, drives into work in his brand new Mercedes Benz much like any other day. What he doesn’t know is that lurking in the shadows of the underground parking garage is a man with a gun, an ill-thought-out plan, and a step-by-step list of handwritten kidnapping instructions.

What follows is one of the most bizarre, incompetently executed kidnapping attempts in modern American history, complete with imaginary activist groups, questionable ransom demands, a makeshift bomb, and a criminal mastermind who had no idea what he was doing.

Was this the work of a disgruntled former employee? A desperate amateur criminal? Or something even stranger?

Join Kyle and Nate as they attempt to get to the bottom of the legendary kidnapping of John Grundhofer, a story about hubris, the importance of planning, and how the ruthless pursuit of comically huge sums of money can only lead to one's own downfall.

SOURCES:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150710210656/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/23/us/several-theories-on-an-abduction.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bixLNESECoc

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/John_Grundhofer

https://horatioalger.org/members/detail/john-f-grundhofer

https://www.deseret.com/1990/11/20/18892094/chairman-of-minneapolis-bank-escapes-after-being-abducted/

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/11/19/Banker-escapes-kidnapper/5921658990800/

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-20-mn-4993-story.html

https://www.startribune.com/jack-grundhofer-who-built-u-s-bancorp-in-the-1990s-dies-at-82/600015712

EPISODE CREDITS:

Written & Researched by Nate

Hosted by Kyle & Nate

Produced by: Darnell Brown Jr. IV

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