Smart Case, July 30, 2002

07/30/02 | Jolly Green

[Jolly Green]

Time Line
06/05/01	Tuesday	Ricci steals items from the Smart home while he is employed there as a handyman. Ricci is charged in July of 2002 of 1 count of theft related to the Smart incident.
05/30/02	Thursday	~ Ricci returns to pick up his Jeep at the auto repair shop before the shop has a chance to fully fix it He tells the repairman that it needed for an emergency.
06/04/02	Tuesday	~ Ricci is at work from about 9am to 5:30pm ~ Ricci claims he spends the evening with friends
06/05/02	Wednesday	~ 1:05am - 2 cars are spotted on the SLC Shriner's Hospital Parking Lot by a hospital security guard, two blocks from the Smart residence ~ 1:30am (approx) - Elizabeth is kidnapped from her home ~ 1:30am - Ricci claims to be in bed asleep with his with wife. ~ Ricci is scheduled to be off work all day today. ~ 7:21am - Rachel/Amber alert is issued and national media is involved. ~ 8:30am - Ricci and his neighbor talk about the kidnapping of Elizabeth, Ricci seems to know too much information about it. ~ Sometime during this day Ricci is visited by police in regards to Elizabeth's kidnapping as reported by Angela Ricci (Richard A. Ricci's Wife which is an ex-convict herself) ~ Ricci is seen by his neighbor digging a hole by his (Ricci's) trailer early in the morning. (heard the neighbor say this on TV)
06/06/02	Thursday	~ Ricci is scheduled to work from 9am to 5:30pm today, but instead works from 10:30am to 7:00pm ~ Police talk to Ricci this day about the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping. (The media is reporting this, so it could be wrong)
06/08/02	Saturday	~ Ricci returns the Jeep to the repair shop to get it fixed. The Jeep is muddy and the repair shop owner sees Ricci remove seat covers from the back of the jeep and place them into a plastic garbage bag that already contains other stuff in it. Also the repair shop owner said a muddy post hole digger was in the back of the Jeep, Ricci removes this also. Ricci has a man waiting across the street to give him a ride. Ricci takes the plastic bag and contents along with the post hole digger with him. Also there is 500 to 1000 extra miles on the Jeep since Ricci picked it up on May 30th, 2002.
06/14/02	Friday	~ Ricci is taken into custody for a parole violation, this being drinking while on parole and association with other ex-cons.
07/11/02	Thursday	Formal charges are filed against Ricci (2 counts of theft & 1 count of burglary) on the theft & burglary of the Smart neighbors home which occurred in April 2001, and 1 more count of theft for stealing from the Smart home on June 6th, 2001.
Special thanks to Brigette for starting this timeline.

[Jolly Green]

Wild-Eyed Speculation, Half-baked Theories and Myths
Theory(?)	Facts
Richard Ricci has been identified as the prime suspect in the case, though several of his "theme park" pals are under suspicion.	- Ricci is a 5-time loser, having been convicted of burglarizing a food bank and shooting a police officer. He has recently been indicted on three additional state charges including theft at the Smart residence and burglary of a Smart neighbor. Additionally, he has been recently indicted on three federal charges related to two bank robberies. - Ricci worked for the Smarts last year for several months and was paid with a white Jeep in lieu of cash. He had full access to the house and may very well have had a key to the Smart residence. Ricci and two others were fired when some items were stolen from the home. Ricci later approached Ed Smart and said he wasn't involved and wanted his job back. Ed Smart declined to rehire him. - Ricci lives in a trailer park in West Jordan that is now referred to as a "theme park" because of the large number of Ricci convicted felon friends living there. - Ricci has no credible alibi for the period during and shortly after the abduction. He is believed to have put an additional 1000 miles on the Jeep during a period when he claimed the Jeep was in Moul's shop. Moul also reported that Ricci removed several trash bags, the seat covers and a post hole digger and carried them across the street. - Ricci had both opportunity and motive.
Ed Smart and Richard Ricci were gay lovers. This is based upon Ed Smart's pleading before the media for Ricci to come clean, where he used phrases like "Help me, Richard".	This theory was eloquently refuted by Jengaio and it hasn't reared its ugly head recently.
Elizabeth Smart had a nose ring, must have been rebellious and ran away. Later, proponents shifted emphasis to "piercings".	Numerous photographs of Elizabeth Smart show no indication of a nose ring and the existence of a nose ring has never been reported by any credible news source.
Moul, the mechanic, lied to the grand jury and in TV interviews. Some of the scenarios: He knows more than he is telling; his eyesight is bad; he made it up; he is in cahoots with Ricci; he used Ricci's Jeep without Ricci's permission.	Moul has no criminal record and no motive. What's more his vehicle logs corroborate his testimony. If Moul had "borrowed" the Jeep, he certainly would have washed it to remove the bugs, mud and pine needles.
Elizabeth Smart's aunt, in a televised interview said the police "are working with us". Implications: This surely must mean that the Smarts and their influential friends and church must be controlling/thwarting the 100-man SLCPD/FBI task force	We will ask Jengaio to analyze the phrazing.

Motive	Possible Suspect	Details
Kidnapping	All	- The SLCPD has said there has not been any credible ransom demands. This may be due to the massive search and media blitz within 5 hours of the abduction i.e. the perps may have realized that their chances of getting caught were very high and they decided to get rid of the evidence.
	Ricci & cronies	- Ricci and his colleagues have recently been indicted for several Utah bank robberies, each producing only a modest amount of cash i.e. $1800 split 3 ways. It is likely that they were looking for a bigger "score".
	Unknown	N/A
Burglary	Ricci	- Ricci has five previous convictions for theft, burglary, and assault (shooting a police officer). He has recently been indicted on three additional state charges including burglary of a Smart neigbor while they were sleeping (a M.O. similar to the Smart kidnapping) and theft of the Smart home. He has also been indicted on three federal charges including two bank robberies. - The Smarts, like most people, wouldn't keep large amounts of cash around. It seems likely that a simple burglary would not produce much in the way of cash or jewelery. - The SLCPD has said some things were taken but haven't identified those items.
	Unknown	N/A
Burglary Gone Wrong	Ricci	- The Smart perpetrator may have been surprised by Elizabeth Smart and decided to remove the only witness.
	Unknown	Same as above
Sexual Predator	Ricci	- Fox News reported Ricci had attempted an "inappropriate relationship" with one of his old girlfriends 16 yr old daughters.
	Unknown	N/A
Revenge	Ricci	- Ed Smart wouldn't rehire Ricci even though Ricci claimed he had no involvement in the theft of the Smart house.
	Unknown	N/A
Runaway	Elizabeth Smart	Unknown possible motive
	Unknown	N/A

Significant Links
Date	Title	Comments
06/05/02	Police search for missing girl after alleged kidnapping	The man is described as white, with dark hair and wearing a tan denim-type jacket, a white baseball cap. He is about 5 foot 8 inches tall and was very soft-spoken, the sister told police.
06/06/02	Rachael Alert's initial test	The "Rachael Alert" notification went into effect at 7:21 a.m. Wednesday, about 3 1/2 hours after police were notified that Elizabeth Smart, 14, was apparently kidnapped at gunpoint from her home in an affluent Salt Lake City neighborhood around 2 a.m.
06/09/02	Still no key leads; vigil held	The younger girl has not been able to clearly describe the man, telling police only that the kidnapper carried a small black gun and was about 5-foot-8, white, with dark hair, and dressed in a tan denim-type jacket and white baseball cap.
06/09/02	Girl's family clings to hope Mom says, 'We won't stop until you're home'	Elizabeth's father said he still can't believe he slept through it all. "I can't understand how I didn't hear something," Edward Smart said. "When my kids get up at night I usually hear them." Some family members say Elizabeth's parents were too exhausted to be able to hear anything that night. They'd just buried Lois' father on Monday after a monthlong death watch. Elizabeth had played the harp at her grandfather's funeral.
06/16/02	Sister reported the abduction relatively quickly Wait was quite short for child, an expert says	Certified forensic psychologist Gerald P. Koocher said it is remarkable the child notified the parents as soon as she did. Koocher, dean of Health Studies at Boston's Simmon's College and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, pointed out that in other scenarios such as sexual abuse, a child will refrain from telling on or speaking about the incident for years if there is a threat to hurt other members of the victim's family.
06/19/02	Salt Lake police come under fire in kidnapping investigation	"We aren't telling you everything we know about the investigation, and we aren't going to until we're further along," Dinse said. Louis said there is no composite sketch of the abductor because the 9-year-old was unable to sufficiently describe his facial features.
06/26/02	S.L. police say convicted felon is at top of their list	Elizabeth's father, Edward Smart, said during his daily briefing with the media Tuesday he hired Ricci after he was referred to him by another contractor. But he was unaware of Ricci's criminal history. "I had absolutely no knowledge of his background whatsoever. I would never hired him had I known that. I would never have exposed my family to that, " Smart said. Ricci was at times "undependable," but "never in my wildest dreams would have imagined his background," he said. Smart also said that Ricci "seemed nice and could be very personable at times." Ricci left on good terms with the family, according to Smart. But he declined to comment on reports that Ricci had stolen jewelry from the Smart home. Police said Ricci was fired after the Smarts reported some items had been stolen from their home but he was later hired back because there was no evidence to link him to the theft. Smart also said he could not think of any reason why Ricci might want revenge on him.
-6/27/02	Angela Ricci Goes On the Record	VAN SUSTEREN: Why do you think as early as the 5th of June, which would probably be about 12 to 18 hours after Elizabeth disappeared -- why was your mobile home searched? RICCI: Because Richard is on parole. He did work for Mr. Smart, and he had also boughten (ph) a vehicle from him.
06/28/02	Items confiscated from Ricci's kin Tan cap, knife taken by police; relatives back him	At 5:30 p.m. June 8, Ricci took his car to Net Moul for minor repairs. Moul describes Ricci as an easy-going person who is normally pleasant to talk to. But not on that day. "He didn't even look me straight in the face. He was not in a good mood," he said. "He seemed more frustrated. I figured he must have had a problem. Something was up." The Cherokee was caked in mud as if it had been four-wheeling, Moul said. Newspapers lined the floor of the vehicle as if someone were taking precautions to keep it clean. But when he tried to joke about it with Ricci, he got no reply. Moul saw two seat covers lying behind the Jeep's back seat. Ricci put the seat covers in a plastic bag, grabbed a post-hole digger that was in the Jeep, and walked to the sidewalk in front of the auto shop near 3500 South and 4500 West, Moul said. Ricci waved to a man who was at the gas station across the street. Ricci told Moul the man was waiting to give him a ride home. The man was Caucasian, had dark hair and was about 5-foot-8, Moul said. Ricci went back to his Jeep and grabbed a second bag out of the vehicle and took it with him. The bag was full, but Moul said he couldn't tell what was in it. What also caught Moul's attention that day was the odometer. Ricci had picked up his Jeep May 30 after having a fuel line fixed. Between May 30 and June 8, Moul estimated between 500 to 1,000 miles had been put on the car.
06/28/02	Hair samples collected in missing girl case	Moul said Ricci was a regular customer who typically joked around, but seemed to be in a bad mood that day. "I was trying to play a joke with him -- I saw his car and said, 'What, you just come back from the mountain and play in some weeds?' but he did not respond," said Moul. "He didn't even look me straight in the face." Before returning the car, Moul said Ricci parked it across the street from the shop and removed covers from the rear seats. Ricci threw the covers into a large plastic bag, removed a post-hole digger from the Cherokee's hatchback and apparently disposed of the items, Moul said.
06/30/02	Handyman denies taking Jeep before girl abducted	The handyman being investigated in the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, 14, has denied removing his Jeep from a repair shop days before she was kidnapped, a senior law enforcement official said.
07/04/02	Police Plan to Interview Another Ex-con	Police indicated yesterday that they also planned to talk to 44-year-old John Russell Remington, who with Ricci and Young did repair work last year on a house about two blocks from the Smarts' residence. Remington has been in jail on aggravated robbery and bank robbery charges since November third. Remington's lawyer, Steve Killpack, said his client was in jail the night of the abduction, and had never worked in the Smarts' home.
07/05/02	Abduction Investigators Question Sex Offender	In all police are now questioning four ex-convicts in the case and a fifth man who may have been with Ricci when he returned the SUV to the repair shop.
07/08/02	Kidnap Cops Interviewing Repairmen	The men are: Richard Ricci - who has already denied involvement and has been under heavy media scrutiny; Douglas Rex Young, called "an associate" of Ricci's, who is being held on a parole violation and was interviewed on Tuesday; and John Russell Remington, who has been in jail since November on bank robbery charges.
07/11/02	Richard Ricci Formally Charged	While police chief Rick Dinse says these theft charges show a "connectivity" to the Elizabeth Smart case, Ricci has not been charged with her kidnapping. "If I could’ve charged him I’d charge him. That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything linking him to the case, I’m not saying that. If I could charge him and prove it today we’d file on it today," said Dinse.
07/12/02	Father: 'I can't help but feel that he's involved'	Smart said he had gone "the extra mile" when he sold Ricci the vehicle, allowing him to pay it off while Ricci worked for Smart at $8 per hour over seven or eight weeks. But Smart ended the relationship a year ago when he discovered that money, jewelry and other items had been taken from the family's home. After the theft, "Richard came to me, face to face. He said, 'Ed, I want you to know that I did not take it,' " Smart said. "I said, 'Richard, I appreciate that, but I want you to know that I can't have anyone in my home right now, that with this violation and not knowing who took the items, I just can't have you back in my home."
07/15/02	Police at stalemate with adamant Ricci	Police, however, say Ricci, 48, has not provided a suitable explanation for why the Jeep Cherokee he was given in exchange for his work at the Smart home had an extra 500 to 1,000 miles between the time the vehicle was picked up from a repair shop May 30 and returned June 8. The shop's owner, Neth Moul, has told police and the Deseret News that Ricci picked the Jeep up May 30, but Ricci denies doing so. "He's saying he didn't, the shop owner says he did. Ricci just denies any knowledge of that. He doesn't know what we're talking about," Salt Lake Police Capt. Scott Atkinson said Monday. Investigators have called Moul a credible witness, noting he doesn't have any reason to lie.
07/19/02	Another twist in Smart story Police say Kearns woman's story is losing credibility	Ricci remains the key figure in the search for Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped more than six weeks ago. Police say there are holes in his alibi. But Ricci has maintained he had nothing to do with the girl's abduction. The biggest question for investigators is the whereabouts of Ricci's white 1990 Jeep Cherokee between May 30 and June 8. During that time, Ricci allegedly put between 500 to 1,000 miles on the Jeep's odometer.
07/20/02	Police Doubt Ricci Was Spotted in Wyoming	Police have said Ricci, 48, is on the "top of the list" of potential suspects in the 14-year-old's June 5 disappearance. Police say they cannot verify his alibi for that night -- that he was home with his wife -- and they are not sure where he was between May 31 and June 8. Ricci maintains his innocence in the abduction.
07/24/02	Katie Couric Boylan Interview on NBC	Complements of Neenah. See post #74

[Jolly Green]

Ping

[stlnative]

Sorry I don't have my ping list as I am on my laptop, and my desktop computer is down right now while I move it to another room in the house

***************************************************
Ok... After reading the July 29th thread. It got me thinking, so here is another theory.
***************************************************

Ricci is a drug user...

Ricci's wife is also a drug user...

Ricci has many ex-con friends, even some that are child molesters.

Ricci also has worked in many of upper class home in the Federal Heights neighborhood. So Ricci knows many upper class people from working inside these homes.

Let's say Ricci befriends one of these people that resides in one of thes nice homes, You don't have to be making a full honest living to live in one.

Let's say Ricci is hired to work on one these homes and the owner of the home happens to be a drug dealer on a large scale behind the scenes. Ricci may have became a trusted friend to this drug dealer, but maybe Ricci has sticky fingers after making a few drug runs for this upscale drug dealer. This upscale and behind the scenes drug dealer is well known in the community as he has some sort of business to be front for his drug dealing.

Maybe this upscale drug dealer knows the Smart family without the family knowing what his real business is. He is attracted to Elizabeth or knows of her and has seen her innocent beauty. But this guy has never acted on it. Maybe he finds out about Liz through Ricci. Maybe Ricci talked about her harp playing and beauty... when he went to pick up a fix or to pick up the drugs for a drug run. Ricci and this man would be fairly good friends through drug dealings.

We know that Ricci has sticky fingers, so maybe he screwed the drug deal over some how. Maybe Ricci did not pay off his debt to the drug dealer or he took drugs from the dealer or skimmed money or drugs off a drug deal.

The drug dealer tells Ricci to pay up or he is dead or maybe even threatens Ricci's family to Ricci's face. Being a con man maybe Ricci worked out a deal with the drug dealer to save his own butt or his family. Maybe the drug dealer tells Ricci to bring him Elizabeth as payment for Ricci's drug debt... Maybe he tells Ricci he just wants Elizabeth for few days and will let her go after he does what he wants with her. The drug dealer knows Ricci worked in the house, so Ricci could get in and out the house with Elizabeth.

Ricci knows that he can enter the house, but he plays it safe and brings in one of his ex-con child molester buddies to go into the house for him or maybe the drug dealer suggests that Ricci brings in someone else (maybe one of Ricci friends also knows this drug dealer and both Ricci & his friend screwed this drug dealer over)

Ricci has certain amount time to make good on his debt... The deadline just happens to come into affect after Ricci has dropped his Jeep off for repair. Ricci has to get the Jeep out, so he has his kidnapping partner's wife call in for the Jeep. The partners wife knows nothing about the kidnapping and Ricci just has her call the shop, to get Moul to release it thinking that Moul would be softer and more willing to release it to woman posing as Ricci's wife and saying their was a family emergency on her side of the family.

They get the Jeep and Ricci & his partner use it... Ricci sits down with his partner and tells him or draws him a layout of the house. Maybe Ricci knows that 2 girls shared the one bedroom in the front of the house... and maybe the bedroom in the basement was being built for Liz but was not completed yet.

The morning of June 5th comes, Ricci's partner has Jeep and picks Ricci up after the wife goes to sleep finally. They go to the in the area behind the house (why they needed a 4x4), Ricci's partner gets out and dresses like someone who would like in the area, Ricci's partner walks to the house and breaks in a take Liz. The kidnapper has her put on shoes as they have to walk back to the Jeep over rocks and rough terrian where Ricci is waiting in the Jeep. Maybe Liz gets to unrulely after she sees Ricci and the Jeep, so they hit her on the head with a rock or the handgun... They throw her in the back seat of the Jeep and tie her up.

Now what happened nexted could be anything.... ~ Maybe they hit her too hard on the head and she died or would not wake up. ~ Ricci partner takes Ricci back home and he is suppose to deliver Liz to the drug dealer, but something goes wrong. Maybe Ricci's partner decides to rape her before turning her over and he ends up killing her in a struggle. ~ Or Ricci & Partner or just the Partner deliver Liz to the drug dealer... and the drug dealer killed her and threaten Ricci and his family again if Ricci spilled the story to police. ~ Or the drug dealer still has her and again threatened Ricci and his family lives if Ricci spilled the story to police.

The point here is if Ricci did this kidnapping or took part in it, it could be possible that once he spills the story. The drug dealer will have Ricci's family killed and/or will have Ricci killed on the inside. Maybe Ricci's partner was killed when they delivered Liz to drug dealer and Ricci knows the drug dealer is serious about killing whom he may have to if they get in the way.

Now before you go knocking this theory down... It could be very possible that Ricci was willing to come up with Liz to pay off is debt to this person (drug dealer or whatever he is) Never think that someone high up in the community living in a nice home may not actually be a large scale drug dealer. They would also have up front business to help hide the cash flow or the drug dealings.

If you think about this theory it would explain alot of the reports in the media and what the police have said. Another thing is this drug dealer may not only be dealing drugs. He maybe also in the underground porno business and Elizabeth was something he wanted... Ricci may have had a bad debt, Liz may have been the payoff.

[stlnative]

Ricci's partner gets out and dresses like someone who would live in the area

[Jolly Green]

Whew!

All I can do is quote sandude from yesterday:

How refreshing to see someone that has not been sucked into the circus that this thread is becoming. Most of the posters just won’t be satisfied unless there is some grand conspiracy by influential people. While at times it has been "fun" to follow their baseless claims, I'm afraid that their rants have begun to sound like the spasms of a hopelessly broken record, playing the same song over and over and over and..... You know what I mean. Now those people would label me as a "Smart Family Apologist". I'd be happy to entertain their notions as soon as they can back up their wild theories with ONE SINGLE FACT. I see a grieving family who is desperate to get their beautiful daughter / niece / cousin back home where she belongs. As far as a law enforcement conspiracy, well it just defies logic. I'm not saying it's impossible, but once again their is no substantial fact to substantiate their innuendo. I, like you, will rely on theories that are at least plausible as to the KNOWN FACTS of this story.

sandude

Do you have that ONE SINGLE FACT?

[cookiedough]

This is not a bizarre theory. It makes sense that Ricci is not talking about the Jeep because he is protecting someone -- likely his wife and stepson. Obviously, he is not protecting himself, and IF the premise is correct -- that he did take the Jeep out of the shop -- there has to be a reason he's not talking, and that's a good one, even though it's not the only feasible one.

As for the person behind the scenes being a drug dealer -- drug dealers who live in exclusive neighborhoods are not terribly unusual. The neighbors are always surprised that the guy was not the upstanding citizen they assumed him to be, simply because he lived next door to them. The ordinary street dealer does not fall into this class of course -- most of them live in the slums. But someone much higher up the chain can live higher on the hog.

The purported drug dealer can be anyone who is involved in an illegal enterprise -- or even a legal one. There are plenty of men who are not pedophiles (restricting the definition of pedophilia to kids under age 12) who lust after nubile teenage girls. The vast majority of them don't act on it, because it is taboo -- but some do, and if they are wealthy, it's easier for them to get what they want.

IMO, it doesn't matter why the girls slept together. Each of my kids has their own room, but only two of those rooms are used for sleeping because they sleep together. We have a large family and my kids are used to having lots of people around. They do not like being alone at night, mostly because they are not used to being alone during the day.

The abductor's attire is bandied about as being that of the upper class, but that's a standard middle-class "uniform" too (the work "uniform" being a suit).

It is typical for drug dealers to issue terroristic threats against the loved ones of people who owe them money. The Mafia does that too.

There is an article in the "Special Reports" section of the Deseret News about child porn in Utah. (If not there, then in the Trib).

I think your theory works as well with the known facts as any other. It does hang together. The simplest scenario is still the most likely, but there are reasons for the cliche, "the truth is stranger than fiction".

I've been associated with cases in which the story is so strange that you'd swear I made it up if I didn't have trial transcripts and evidence to prove it. In these cases, everything looked believable on the surface, but turn over the rock and underneath was a maggot infestation.

[dalebert]

Smart case bump!

[stlnative]

No... But we know Ricci & his wife are drug users. We know that Ricci took the Jeep in. Why take it in for repair and weasle it back out without paying for the work that had been done if you have the money or had something planned before hand? There has to be a reason that suddenly popped up after he turned it in for repair.

I think the answer to this Case is more common than we think. Ricci is not talking and there is more to why he is not talking. Is he not talking because his life & families life was threatened? We know Ricci is a lowlife, but Ricci is not the type also to be in this on his own as we know Ricci really does not fit the description of the perp.

Ricci wife supposely won a 50,000 grand in a lawsuit. They have nothing to show for the 50,000 grand, they live in a cheap and older mobile home. So where do you think the 50,000 grand went? I say most of it was spent on drugs. Remember Ricci was released from prison in September 2000. He got married to Angela in February of 2002. But Ricci and Angela knew each other for a while before they got married (Angela said this on LKL). When did Angela get her settlement from a car accident? (we are led to believe that she spent some of it on Ricci for court costs and fines, but he was robbing banks in November of 2001)

I would say if Ricci is involved and took Liz, it is because he had a drug debt to pay off.

As far as what Sandude wrote, I do not think he was directing his comments to me. I am not someone that bashes this family, but it is possible that someone knows the family that had a score to settle with them or maybe someone simply had an attraction to their daughter. I do not believe that who pulled this off is some complete stranger to the family. (meaning someone that did not know about the Smart family pulled his off, this was not a random act like he Polly Klaas case. Someone involved knew or knew of the family.)

[whenigettime]

Bumping till I get time........

whenigettime

[Neenah]

Ping

[stlnative]

Thanks Cookie for the reply... If Ricci is involved in this (which it seems that he is, since he trying to hide where he was with the Jeep or that he even took it out of the shop). I bet that kidnapping was done over a bad drug debt that Ricci & probably his wife had.

Maybe Ricci delivered Liz to where she was suppose to end up or maybe something went wrong before right after they kidnapped her.

[stlnative]

what type of court fines would there be if he was put out on parole? I find it hard to believe that she would spend all $50 grand on Ricci without having a goodtime with it herself. I say most of it was probably blown of drugs and after that was gone, they go in too far with a dealer and owed him money a large sum. Ed has said that Jeep debt was paid of with sweat labor from R. Ricci.

[Iwo Jima]

Hello, and thanks for the ping.

[stlnative]

Newhouse adds after the money ran out Ricci was selling stuffed crocheted animals he made while in prison.


Can you just see Ricci sitting in his cell with his crochet hook and yarn making stuffed crocheted animals? BTW he must have been a trustee in prison to have a device to crochet with.

There are other hobbies that con's can do while in prison, like leather tooling and painting. But crocheting is odd, but then I have seen Firemen that Cross Stitch.

[Iwo Jima]

Your theory is intriguing, but I see no basis to assume that the mastermind is a drug dealer. I try to make as few assumptions as possible and only assumptions which are consistent with the majority of known facts, which to me would not justify an assumption of drug dealer. Of course, you are free to make whatever assumptions you wish to in order to test theories.

Here are some basic assumptions which I have made and conclusions which I have reached at this point. I think that most of them are consistent with the assumptions which you are making.

1. Ricci was involved in the abduction but was not the actual abductor and was not the mastermind. He was not present at the time of abduction or later events that night and was at home in bed asleep.

2. Ricci's involvement was primarily the provision of information about the house and the family. Or at least he thought that that was all that he would be required to do. He definitely knew that the "plan" involved entry into the Smart's home. I don't know if he knew that the plan was to kidnap Elizabeth, although I think it more likely that he did know. If so, he may have been the "manager" of this "project."

3. The mastermind did not participate in the actual kidnapping. He contacted one of Ricci's gang, maybe Ricci himself, to be in charge of the others including the actual abductor and to co-ordinate and direct their efforts, including the payoff.

4. The mastermind wanted Elizabeth for himself. He coveted her. His desires were not entirely evil in that he had genuine affection for her and thought himself in love with her. He never intended to kill her after a brief interaction with her. He wanted her for keeps and wanted her to love him.

5. The mastermind is a "respected member of the community" who sees himself as being so important and beyond reproach in his world that he acutally believed that he could do this and get away with it. He may or may not have a connection or relation to the family, but I believe that Elizabeth knew and respected him.

6. Ricci's car was used for some purpose connected with Elizabeth after the abduction. Ricci never intended to allow his car to be used or anything which could so connected to him. But something happened which required a four wheel drive, off road vehicle and Ricci's jeep was the only such vehicle that the bad guys had access to. Ricci was pretty mad when his car was used. He may have felt compelled by rapidly deteriorating circumstances to allow it OR he may not have known that it was going to be used until after the fact.

7.The police know who the ringleader is, but he is so important that they have to be ABSOLUTELY SURE AND HAVE AN AIRTIGHT CASE before they go public. So far, nobody is talking, but the police are working them.

8. The police do not know where Elizabeth is or what happpened to her and presume her to be dead.

9. The family knows that the police know but may or may not know themselves the actual identity of the mastermind. They do not believe Elizabeth to be dead, and are in conflict with the police about what should be done and how rapidly. The family wants action NOW even if that jeopardizes the investigation and prosecution.

10. The biggest mystery (along with who Mr. Big is) is who the actual abductor was. I do not have any infoamtion which allows me to make an informed guess. The description we have, such as it is, does not match anyone in the picture as far as I can see. Boylan's work with MK is very important in supplying this key piece of the puzzle.

I am sure that I am making more assumotions without explicitly realizing it, but these are the key conclusions which I have reached at this point based on what is currently known.

[Iwo Jima]

I tend to believe that if the intruder had been detected, he would have simply run away to the awaiting getaway car. Who was to stop him? Ed Smart? I think that it was known or reliably assumed that Ed did not have a gun and would not use it if he did. I don't think that the intruder thought that he could talk or shoot his way out. I do think that SOMETHING happened during the abduction which persuaded Elizabeth to go along without a protest. That whole bathroom visit is really odd. What is was that was said or done I can only imagine.