| Bronfman kidnapping | |
|---|---|
| Location | Purchase, New York, United States |
| Date | August 8, 1975 After 11:30 PM |
Attack type | Kidnapping |
| Weapons | Gun, handcuffs |
| Victims | Samuel Bronfman II |
| Perpetrators | Mel Patrick Lynch, Dominic Byrne |
| Motive | Extort money ($4.6 million ransom demand) |
| Inquiry | FBI |
| Verdict | Guilty of extortion |
| Charges | Kidnapping, Extortion |
In 1975, Samuel Bronfman II, the 21-year-old heir to the Bronfman family trust then worth $750 million ($3.78 billion in 2021), was kidnapped after a gathering in Yorktown Heights, New York, and held for ransom. His kidnappers were caught and the ransom recovered, but the defendants' attorneys mounted a defense that argued Bronfman had been a co-conspirator, and the abductors were only convicted of extortion, not kidnapping. The defense attorney confessed in 2020 that he had been aware the defense was a lie and that Bronfman had been an innocent victim.
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