'Clark Rockefeller' must wait for his gold coins

November 6, 2008 11:26 AM Email| Comments (2)| Text size – +

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter must wait a little while longer to regain control of $280,000 in gold coins that the FBI confiscated during his arrest earlier this year on charges he kidnapped his daughter after a messy divorce.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Denner said today in Suffolk Superior Court that he was close to an agreement with prosecutors for the return of the coins, which were seized during Gerhartsreiter's arrest in Baltimore after an international manhunt.

"Essentially, it's his money and the government has no right to it,’" Denner said outside court after a hearing.

It has not been alleged that the gold is connected to any crime, and Gerhartsreiter can use the gold to pay his defense lawyers. Denner said that prosecutors want to document the coins in case there is a need to introduce them at trial.

Earlier this week Denner joined Gerhartsreiter’s defense team, which includes Boston attorney Stephen Hrones. Gerhartsreiter is a former German national who used a strong of aliases, including Clark Rockefeller.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office has labeled him a “person of interest’’ in the case of a California couple who vanished in the 1980s when Gerhartsreiter was renting an apartment in their guesthouse.

Under the Rockefeller name, Gerhartsreiter married Sandra Boss, and the couple had a daughter, Reigh, seven years ago. He is accused of kidnapping the girl during a visit supervised by a social worker in Boston on July 27.

Gerhartsreiter’s former wife is also laying a claim to the gold coins. Through her attorneys, Boss is asking a Suffolk Probate and Family Court judge to rule that Gerhartsreiter violated a custody agreement when he allegedly kidnapped their daughter and took her on the run for five days.
Boss wants 120 of the coins to recoup $80,000 in expenses, according to court filings reviewed by the Globe. A probate hearing has been set for Nov. 12.

Gerhartsreiter did not appear today in Suffolk Superior Court. He is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to custodial kidnapping, giving police a false name, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.