GUEST: Before I existed, my dad was in prison
for a forgery and worked for this priest,
and was also in prison at the same time that
two men kidnapped Frank Sinatra, Jr.
And on behalf of those two men, the priest
wrote a letter to Frank Sinatra, asking forgiveness.
And this was the six-page rebuttal that was
written back to the priest.
And my dad worked for him, and somehow it
ended up with my dad.
APPRAISER: And that is your dad in that photo.
GUEST: Yes, ma'am.
APPRAISER: When did he get out?
GUEST: I think he was in there 11 months.
APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: I believe.
APPRAISER: So, he was, magically happened
to be there right when this letter's written
about a really historic event that occurred.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: In December of 1963, a couple of
drug-addled 23-year-olds in California had
this get-rich-quick scheme, that they were
going to kidnap Frank Sinatra, Jr.
And so, in December of '63, they hatch this
plot.
They take him at gunpoint, they kidnap him,
and they ask for $240,000 in ransom.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: I think it is the best Frank Sinatra
letter I have ever seen.
GUEST: Seriously?
APPRAISER: Because not only is it lengthy,
it's also about a deeply personal subject.
GUEST: Very much so.
APPRAISER: And, unlike many of the other letters
that are really famous from Frank Sinatra,
which he has full of barbs and, and has a
lot of grit to it...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: It's not quite as bombastic, 'cause
sometimes he was writing those knowing that
they were going to be known and made public,
and he got in some good jabs at the people
he wrote to.
But because this is such a deeply personal
subject, he's forceful, he's strong, he takes
offense to what the chaplain is saying to
him.
More than anything else-- and this is what
I thought was really fascinating about this
letter-- you have these two young men who've
kidnapped his son, taken him at gunpoint,
put him through this crazy ordeal, and he's
not so much upset about the fact that they
kidnapped him.
Most of the letter actually deals with the
fact that he's more upset about the fact that
their defense in this...
GUEST: Exactly.
APPRAISER: ...was that Frank Sinatra, Jr.,
was in on it, and that it was a hoax.
The people we're talking about are Keenan
and Amsler, Barry Keenan and Joe Amsler.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Joe Amsler's no longer with us.
Keenan is still alive.
He has given interviews since Frank Sinatra,
Jr., passed away.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And expressed deep regret that
he was never able to set the record straight.
GUEST: Correct.
APPRAISER: Because this story that Frank Sinatra,
Jr., hatched this plot to become kidnapped
to get headlines to try and help sell his
first record-- because he was actually at
a casino performing and was, he was 19 years
old.
GUEST: Exactly.
APPRAISER: Just beginning his career.
And that story dogged the family and dogged
Frank Sinatra, Jr., for the rest of his life.
GUEST: Exactly.
APPRAISER: There was a stigma.
People still believe that he had something
to do with it, and he didn't.
Keenan claims that it was their defense lawyers
who put that defense on.
The family really didn't comment publicly
about this, and this is probably one of the
most significantly emotional events in their
lives.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And the most poignant thing in
this entire letter, Frank Sinatra was a devout
Catholic, and he's writing to the chaplain
saying, you know, "How dare you.
The embarrassment that this has caused to
my family."
And my favorite part here is at the end.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Where he says, "Up to this time,
I have remained silent on the subject of the
manner in which the trial was conducted and
the harm done to my son by the claim of hoax.
But your letter, written in the name of God,
has caused me to break that silence."
And that is...
GUEST: Very strong.
APPRAISER: A strong-worded, yeah.
(laughs)
GUEST: Very strong.
APPRAISER: That is a Papa Bear father really
defending his son and his family's reputation,
and he basically tells him nicely to go pound
sand.
(Laughing) In my words.
Given that and the provenance on this, we
know that your father was there.
We have the original transmittal envelope.
And given the incredible personal content
in this letter, which is the only record I
know of that shows what Frank Sinatra, Sr.,
was thinking about it...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And knowing that Frank Sinatra,
Jr., really never fully recovered from the
event, have you ever had the letter appraised?
GUEST: In person, no.
I have written, and I've sent copies.
APPRAISER: Did you receive a value at the
time?
GUEST: Estimating between, I believe, $8,000
and $12,000...
APPRAISER: Yeah.
GUEST: ...is the last one.
And that's only been in the last, maybe, six
months.
APPRAISER: I would be really, really confident
at auction an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000,
and I really would not be surprised if it
definitely exceeded that.
I know we always like to set...
GUEST: Correct.
APPRAISER: ...relatively conservative estimates
at auction.
And given the fact that there's nothing like
this out there...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: Who knows what would happen on
the day, as we like to say?
