Life's Ransom in the Basement of Fame

Life's Ransom in the Basement of Fame


Underestimated are the challenges of fame. John Lennon co-wrote the lyrics for David Bowie's song of the same name detailing those challenges. Lines like “fame puts you there where things are hollow” and “to bind your time it drives you to crime” initially point towards alcohol and drug use. Good clean living personified in Robert Downey Jr.’s mug shot. Well, in order to deal with the pressures of celebrity status one feels they must “get a rain check on pain” seeking to delay the reality of the lows on the roller coaster ride of fame. Self destructive forces within those of notoriety are potent, but the forces at work outside can possess dangers of violence on the scale of Tony Montana’s fateful meeting with agents of the Colombian cartel in a Miami apartment in "Scarface".


Some individuals on the edge of sanity twist fanaticism into an actively toxic representation of the typically healthy and passive idol-fan relationship. Fulfilling the lyric he co-wrote “what you get is no tomorrow”, John Lennon died at the hands of an over-zealous and under-medicated fan. He’s not the only Beatle to make this abbreviated list as George Harrison was stabbed by an intruder in his home about a year prior to his death. Notably, Jodie Foster’s fame inspired obsessed fan John Hinkley to attempt an assassination on President Ronald Reagan seeking to win her attention. More recently in 2000, pizza delivery boy Dante Michael Soiu was convicted of stalking actress Gwyneth Paltrow. And earlier this year, Uma Thurman testified in a Manhattan courtroom that alleged stalker Jack Jordan was scaring her to death.


Its no secret that as the world has shrunk celebrity has grown. There’s no question that the Internet and reality television have revolutionized our world, made it smaller, fame seemingly more accessible. So much so that fans feel they really can reach out and touch celebrity. What happens when (not if) they do?


Paparazzi are the least of celebrities’ worries (Princess Diana notwithstanding) when one is targeted by an obsessive-compulsive like hunting knife salesman Gil Renard played by Robert DeNiro fiercely intimidating Wesley Snipes' character three-time MLB MVP Bobby Rayburn in “The Fan”. This one-time healthy fan-celeb relationship turned sour is absolutely based in reality as unbelievable as that seems.


The overall mental health of society is debatable. Your average US Weekly reader might pass a psychoanalytical test, but in every thousand-person poll no doubt there are anomalies. But investigating loner psychopaths proves fruitless toward understanding the niche market of bleeding affluence from the famous. The Charles Manson’s of the world are rare and unpredictable.


So what is predictable? A more pointed question is beyond the amiable entourage of agents, distant family members, and hangers-on or ‘Turtle’s, who targets famous individuals through drastically much more ruthless means for money?


The answer lies beneath; in the underground. Organized crime syndicates seeking to diversify their portfolio generating cash flow through racketeering and drug trade are not above dabbling in kidnapping and extortion to supplement their income.


And who’s more susceptible to fall prey to such organized attacks than the young or recently rich? Who possesses the naivete to overlook security needs (and shows a lack of maturity in flashing that ‘bling’) but those recently enriched athletes? Just like Denzel Washington’s character drug lord Frank Lucas in American Gangster adamantly avoids the spotlight to protect his underground guise only to be undone by sporting a new fur coat, a rare flash of wealth at a Joe Louis bout in Harlem; athletes are most vulnerable when they’re visible.


As lucrative endorsement deals accumulate based on the flash of athletes’ performance and style under the bright lights with the television cameras rolling, how have celebrated athletes fared when the spotlights go dim? And to dig deeper and analyze this dynamic from an international perspective, a new question must be asked: when an athlete finds success abroad, what dangers are unleashed upon unsuspecting friends and family back home?


The cost of fame in the sports world appears minimal to the casual fan. Yes, of course, privacy and personal time is at a premium for the successful athlete, but with a bankroll growing fatter as each endorsement contract is signed and each sponsored commercial airs on television, those of less than average morality and sanity won’t hesitate to seize a seditious opportunity.


Mafias and gangs have used group think to take advantage of those of destitution, motivating their pawns to do the most heinous acts. These organizations encourage and manipulate a natural jealousy which emerges among those from the hometown of the sports hero who finds success and moves away from home.


At times athletes are heavily involved in giving back to their hometown communities, but that doesn’t get the attention it deserves nor taken into consideration amongst thieves. Most actions are calculated attempts by organized crime operations to extort an exorbitant ransom either through identity theft, death threats, or the most odious: kidnapping a family member threatening torture and homicide.


On May 13th, 2008, UK-based writer John Leyden reported in The Register that Force India race car driver Adrian Sutil and famous friend F-1 racing star Lewis Hamilton were targeted in a computer blackmail plot in which a suspect only known as ‘Dieter’ was arrested near Munich, Germany. “Dieter” allegedly attempted to sell financial records of Sutil and email correspondence between the two racing stars on a computer “disc to Bild Motorsport Magazine for the Euro equivalent of 8,000 pounds,” according to The Telegraph. Apparently star athletes need more than McAfee Security software to protect their online activities.


Sutil’s Swiss banking records were not scrubbed from a computer that his father had disposed of, and the result was potentially disastrous if the information ended up in the wrong hands. This example is a mild appetizer to the full menu of methods for assaulting rich and famous athletes, but it’s informative to analyze it further.


Let’s start with Force India driver Adrian Sutil. What could he have done to avoid this? That’s up for debate as his father was ultimately responsible for not protecting that computer data more thoroughly, but how did 'Dieter' obtain these computer records in the first place?

A more insightful analysis can be drawn from asking what Lewis Hamilton could have done to avoid this unpleasantness. The answer is nothing. Should the youngest man to win an F-1 Championship avoid emailing friends? I mean, the source of this issue was in India, a quarter way around the world from Hamilton at home in the UK. This story barely has legs without Hamilton. Likewise, without the large target on Hamilton’s back, its doubtful “Dieter” makes this move and ends up behind bars in an attempt to pad his pockets.


If Hamilton’s indirect brush with a failed attempt at extortion is the antipasti, then the primi piatti or first course brings the story back to India. This time, a superstar in the sport of cricket finds himself as the mark.


Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a native of Ranchi, Jharkhand, captain of India’s national cricket team, and the 2008 ODI Player of the Year received a death threat a week ago. Senior Superintendent of Police Sampat Meena told reporters that the letter was sent to Dhoni’s family requiring that he deliver Rs 50 lakh (the equivalent of $103,091) at a furniture shop. Anurag Thakur of the Hindustan Times reported that on New Year’s Eve a second letter arrived in which the “notorious criminal Taslim threatened to blow up his house in Mecon Colony unless he paid” the ransom.


To provide a little back-story, in early December Dhoni applied for a license for a .9mm pistol to defend himself believing his current security to be lacking effectiveness. He even travelled to the airport unescorted. It’s safe to say that he won’t be travelling alone anytime soon. As Indian authorities investigate the death threats, they have bolstered his security to a team of more than thirty guards, and upgraded his case to category ‘Z’ which is the equivalent of ‘code red’ on Tom Ridge’s fear mongering color code.


This investigation continues in India, but the ultimatum delivered from a known, powerful criminal has struck fear in not only the star athlete himself, but his family and all those surrounding him. What possible cause might explain Dhoni’s predicament except that he was targeted for his fame by those seeking fortune.


For the secondi piatti or entree, let’s look at a criminal enterprise not prone to hesitation. In early December, the Associated Press reported that “the brother of major league catcher Henry Blanco was killed in Venezuela.” On December 2nd, two days after 39-year old Carlos Blanco was abducted from Guarenas, Venezuela, and a day after police found his bullet-filled body, Venezuela's Attorney General's Office released a statement inferring that the kidnappers were seeking a ransom from the successful younger brother, Henry. The ransom was set at 200 million Venezuelan bolivares (the equivalent of $93,257), and tragically Henry Blanco’s attempts at negotiating with the kidnappers failed.


As a back-up catcher for the Chicago Cubs, Henry Blanco made $3,175,000 in 2008. Plus he received a $300,000 buyout by the club in November making him a free agent. The news wasn’t hard to come by that Henry had received a big pay day. In fact, his year-end earnings almost doubled the previous highest salary of his eleven year professional career.


Blanco’s access to cash is common among successful athletes just as it is for hedge fund managers (that is, those who’ve survived the downfall of the financial sector). The difference? Fame.


Henry Blanco was the target. A free agent back-up catcher in the Major Leagues was the target, and the entire Blanco family paid a hefty price for this success in losing Carlos.


Could Blanco have afforded the ransom of just less than $100K? Yes. It raises questions concerning negotiating with terrorists and likely opens Pandora’s Box with respect to trusting a group of amoral killers to actually return his brother Carlos unharmed. This is not about second-guessing.


The real issue is this. The experience of being put in that position is not the making of an entertainment flick starring Mel Gibson you might find in the thriller or adventure aisle of your neighborhood Hollywood Video. It’s a reality altogether different from what is read or watched on television. Its pure horror and Henry Blanco lived it.


Examining these situations from Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton to Indian cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni to free agent back-up Major League Baseball catcher Henry Blanco provides a range of experiences among athletes targeted by criminals seeking to steal money through a variety of sordid means.


Additionally, there are many recent instances to draw from in the National Football League in the United States in which athletes were targets including the stick up of Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Phillip Buchannon, the shooting of Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Richard Collier, and the fatal wounding of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor. Plaxico Burress’ illegal possession of a handgun seems rather tame when juxtaposed with all of these examples. That is especially true in light of the police report that Burress’ teammate Steve Smith claimed he was robbed at gunpoint by his own driver not a week prior to Burress’ arrest.


The purpose of this discourse should not be confused. Turning to illegal means for defense should not be condoned. However, it should be understood. There is a definitive rationale for athletes arming themselves no matter what the circumstance: they are targets. Plain and simple.


An entire city, country, or, in some cases, the whole world will idolize a person for the image of who they are, what they represent, or what they’ve done in the field or on the court of play. An athlete may never be charged for a meal or drink again as a result of their accomplishments resulting in a championship for the home team, but what are the consequences of their fame?


Wearing a bull’s eye for the entirety of their playing career and perhaps the rest of their lives is a price that fans typically do not understand. That pressure can be more debilitating than that of the media markets of Boston, Manchester, Buenos Aires, Madrid, and New York City combined; an ACME-sized anvil resting squarely on the shoulders of one's favorite hero. Yet, its conceivable that many of these stories don't even make the news.


This new year, there is a new potential hero to follow in Henry Blanco: the only free agent back-up catcher to watch in the Major Leagues. Will he crumble and quit, or will he be a shining example of an athlete who weathers the storm, dedicates his play to his tragically lost sibling, and captures the world's heart? Or will fans forget his travails off the field as the mainstream media has let the story fade away?

It's no easy go for the famous athlete when trouble lurks around the corner. It's not easy.