On this day, Aug. 16, in 1993, clothing executive Harvey Weinstein was rescued by police in New York City after being buried 14 feet underground and held for ransom for nearly two weeks by an employee. Weinstein was chairman of Lord West Formal Wear, a large tuxedo manufacturer, when he was forced into a waiting car from a street near his home.
Lord West factory worker Fermin Rodriquez and four accomplices demanded $3 million from Weinstein’s family. But police caught all five, and one confessed the location of the crypt 12 days after Weinstein’s kidnapping.
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Detectives dug through soil and removed a steel door to finally reach the former Marine. When he saw his rescuers, he said, “Thank God you’re here, and I’d like to have a cigarette.”
– Amy Myers
