Sinatra Kidnapper and Movie Producers Need to Get Real

* Knowing Barry Keenan as I did during our high school years and subsequently witnessing firsthand his utter disregard for the inviolability of friendship while planning, recruiting and carrying out a crime that caused an impact on so many lives, it should have come as no surprise to read the story regarding Keenan’s attempts to rehash for cash the kidnapping he perpetrated 35 years ago [“Sony’s Deal With Sinatra Kidnapper Raises Questions,” The Biz, Sept. 4].

Without minimizing in any way the pain and suffering of the Sinatra family or the personal responsibility of my former husband, Joseph Amsler, it is Keenan and Keenan alone who, like a tattered Phoenix, rises from the ashes to wreak havoc once again on those who suffered the fallout from his wicked scheme.

Speaking for myself and my son, who spent his formative years visiting his father in prison, we think it’s about time for Keenan to get real. With a track record like his, trying to sugarcoat the Sony movie deal with altruistic motives is not only hypocritical, it’s downright absurd.

In the end, Hollywood’s own special kind of open-door policy will probably win out and the movie will be made. All we can hope for is that Mr. Sinatra’s legal challenge holds fast, ensuring that any profits from a motion picture will not go to the kidnappers.

If he truly is feeling charitable, let me remind Keenan that charity begins at home and that he is welcome to start with one of those he helped wreck 35 years ago. However, as Sinatra’s attorney said, “I’m skeptical.”

BETTE AMSLER

New Haven, Conn.

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Bette Amsler is the ex-wife of Joseph Amsler, who was involved with Barry Keenan in the 1963 kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr.