Arthur Seale (born 1947), of
Hillside, New Jersey
Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 21,404, reflecting a decline of 343 (−1.6%) from the 21,747 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...
, and his wife Irene were responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Sidney Reso, the Vice President of International Operations for
Exxon
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
on April 29, 1992, in
Morris Township,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. The case garnered national notoriety.
Childhood
Seale's father was a Hillside police officer. He attended A.P. Morris Elementary, and
Hillside High School. Seale graduated from
Admiral Farragut Academy
Admiral Farragut Academy, established in 1933, is a private, college-prep school serving students in grades K-12. Farragut is located in St. Petersburg, Florida in Pinellas County and is surrounded by the communities of Treasure Island, Gulf ...
in 1965.
Career
In the 1970s, Seale was a police officer for the township. He also worked as Head of Security at Exxon Corporation at the
Florham Park, New Jersey
Florham Park is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 11,696,[Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of C ...]
, they left town owing creditors and moved in with Arthur's parents in
Lebanon Township, New Jersey
Lebanon Township is a township located at the northernmost point of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 6,588, reflecting an increase of 772 (+13.3%) from the 5,816 cou ...
.
Kidnapping and murder of Reso
Sidney Reso was kidnapped in the early morning hours of April 29, 1992.
Prior to the abduction of Reso, Irene frequently jogged in his neighborhood, in order to monitor his daily routine. She learned that he would usually pull out of his driveway in the morning, getting out of his car to pick up the daily newspaper from his driveway on his way to work. On April 29, Irene jogged past Reso's driveway, and deliberately kicked his paper away, so Reso would be forced to walk a longer distance to pick it up. She then entered Arthur's white van, with him in the passenger seat, and drove to Reso's driveway. As Reso got out of his white 1988
Volkswagen Quantum
In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity ( physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantizat ...
wagon to retrieve his paper, Arthur got out of his own vehicle and took Reso in at gunpoint. When Reso saw a wooden box in the back of Arthur's van, he tried to break free. During the ensuing struggle, Reso was shot in the arm, then bound, gagged, and placed in the box, whereupon the kidnappers drove off. An hour later, a neighbor noticed Reso's car still in the driveway with its engine on and called the police. After being unable to find him in the surrounding area, the police concluded that he had been taken for ransom.
The next day, police received a phone call from a woman claiming to be Reso's kidnapper, directing them to a letter in a highway street sign. In it, the kidnappers claimed to be members of the
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
Environmentalist group who were furious at Exxon after the
Exxon Valdez oil spill
The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. ''Exxon Valdez'', an oil supertanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company bound for Long Beach, California struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, west o ...
three years earlier, as well as the 1985 deliberate
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
The sinking of ''Rainbow Warrior'', codenamed Opération Satanique, was a bombing operation by the "action" branch of the French foreign intelligence agency, the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), carried out on 10 July 1985. Du ...
that killed Greenpeace photographer
Fernando Pereira
Fernando Pereira (10 May 1950 – 10 July 1985) was a freelance Portuguese-Dutch photographer, who drowned when French intelligence (DGSE) detonated a bomb and sank the ''Rainbow Warrior'', owned by the environmental organisation Greenpeace on ...
. The note demanded $18.5 million in used $100 bills for Reso's release. The money was to be put into several
Eddie Bauer
Eddie Bauer, LLC is an American clothing store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Eddie Bauer sells its merchandise via retail stores, outlet stores, and online and via phone, with a call center in Groveport, Ohio. Its flagship store is ...
laundry bags and dropped outside a restaurant on River Road. Although the FBI had the money ready and waited outside the restaurant for over an hour, the kidnappers never showed up.
For the next few weeks, the FBI and investigators received several confusing phone calls and letters leading them to various points throughout
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
and
Somerset Counties. One of the calls claimed that the kidnappers were aware of their presence in the ransom deal, and had therefore taken Reso out of the country. However, investigators noticed that the letters were placed in points that only someone with a strong knowledge of Morris Township would have been aware of. They began to suspect that the kidnappers were not members of Greenpeace at all. Another such indication came after the investigators traced the kidnappers' calls; all had been made from nearby payphones. In response to one of the letters, Reso's wife Patricia made two public appearances on TV, pleading for her husband's safe return.
During the investigation, the FBI followed up on several clues, including one eyewitness seeing a white van near Reso's home on the morning of his abduction, a blonde woman seen jogging frequently in the area, and hair belonging to a
Golden Retriever
The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...
found in one of the letters. They would later learn the van belonged to Arthur, the jogger was Irene, and the Seales did indeed own that kind of dog.
On the night of June 18, the FBI received another call from the kidnappers for a ransom drop. However, the agents arrived at the drop-off location too late; the chief then received a call from the kidnappers trying to work on an alternative plan. During that call, an agent noticed a man picking up a public phone wearing latex rubber gloves. Suspicious, she took down his license plate number as he drove off. The FBI learned that the car belonged to a nearby rental-car agency. Despite the fact the agency was already closed, the owner agreed to meet up with them, whereupon the FBI learned that the car had been rented to someone named Arthur Seale. Seale arrived in that car soon after, while the agents were still present, and was arrested. Irene was also arrested when she arrived at the shop within minutes.
Imprisonment
Seale pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of Sidney Reso. He is serving a 95-year sentence, in a Federal Prison in
Fairton, New Jersey
Fairton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Fairfield Township, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Vineland- Millville- Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area for ...
, for kidnapping and murder. He earned his doctorate in consulting
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
from
Capella University
Capella University is a private for-profit, online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school is owned by the publicly traded Strategic Education, Inc. and delivers most of its education online.
Capella has 52 degree progr ...
while in prison. He also gained some degree of praise and recognition for his work with other inmates, as well as for his articles on prison reform and prisoner rehabilitation.
After Irene pleaded guilty, she cooperated with police in exchange for a reduced prison sentence. She testified that, after abducting Reso, she and her husband confined him to a pine box in a metal storage facility, giving him very little food and water, and no medical treatment for his bullet wound. Three days after the kidnapping, Reso died from heat and exhaustion. The couple dumped his body in
Bass River State Park. It would be discovered on June 28. Irene was sentenced to 20 years in prison; she was released in November 2009.
References
External links
A Simple Man of Simple Tastes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seale, Arthur
1946 births
Living people
American kidnappers
American people convicted of murder
Hillside High School (New Jersey) alumni
People from Hillside, New Jersey
People convicted of murder by the United States federal government
Admiral Farragut Academy alumni