< Back to Front Page Text size – +

Prosecutors: 'Rockefeller' deceived his wife over his true identity

Email|Link|Comments (11) March 13, 2009 04:51 PM

clark%20rockefeller%2017.jpg
(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Clark Rockefeller during an August interview with the Globe at the Suffolk County jail.

By Martin Finucane and Eric Moskowitz, Globe

The mystery man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller told his wife early in their marriage that he had a Social Security number but he never used it, and also told her to file tax returns indicating that she was single, according to Suffolk County prosecutors.

The 48-year-old Rockefeller, whose real name is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, told her she should file her returns that way because of his "incorporated status and … family situation," according to a court document filed by prosecutors that cited grand jury testimony by Sandra Boss, who has since divorced Gerhartsreiter.

Gerhartsreiter is heading towards a May 11 trial on charges that include the parental kidnapping of his daughter, Reigh Storrow Mills Boss, last summer. The case drew international headlines because of revelations that Gerhartsreiter had used several aliases over the years, had posed as a wealthy aristocrat, and was considered a person of interest in the case of the disappearance of a California couple. Gerhartsreiter is planning an insanity defense.

The document provides an intriguing window into the relationship between Gerhartsreiter and Sandra Boss, a high-powered businesswoman who now lives in England. Prosecutors also said Boss had told the grand jury about "a number of other items of false information that he had used to deceive her and others about his true identity."

Boss's experience with Rockefeller paralleled the experience of a private investigator who had been hired to look into Rockefeller's background, prosecutors said in the document. The private investigator, Frank Rudewicz, testified to the grand jury that his "deep background" check yielded "very, very limited information, none of [it] useful."

Prosecutors filed the document to support their argument that Rockefeller should continue to face a charge of giving a false name to a law enforcement officer.

At a hearing today, defense attorneys argued before Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frank Gaziano that Gerhartsreiter had been going by the name "Clark Rockefeller" for years and was known by that name, so he should not face the charge.

"Mr. Rockefeller had just litigated an entire substantial divorce matter that resulted in a foot-high stack of pleadings under the name of Clark Rockefeller. ... Clark Rockefeller, like it or not, was his name," said defense attorney Timothy J. Bradl.

But Suffolk prosecutor David Deakin said that just because Gerhartsreiter had begun the deception years ago did not make it any less of a deception when he gave the name "Rockefeller" to police.

He said the defense's argument was equivalent to saying, "If you lie long enough, it becomes the truth."

The document contained other new details about the case against Gerhartsreiter, revealing that he allegedly used $432,000 in cashier's checks to pay for the house in Baltimore where he fled with his daughter.

It also revealed that Gerhartsreiter, who was born in Siegsdorf, Germany, allegedly obtained legal permanent residency by marrying an American woman, promising her money that was never paid. She told officials that she had only met him on two occasions before their marriage.

Judge Gaziano took the motion to dismiss the false name charge under advisement. The next hearing in the case is slated for April 8.

11 comments so far...

can we please stop calling him a "mystery man." Refer to him by his real name. He is not Rockefeller.

Posted by Doodle March 13, 09 05:14 PM

I don't get how the court ask him for $500 million bail while he is only living
in a less than half million dollar house. Becuse of his last name maybe. I feel
sad for him but he should responsible for the murder if he did it. If he has mental illness how can he live such fancy life. Don't get any of it.

Posted by stephanie March 13, 09 05:17 PM

"She told officials that she had only met him on two occasions before their marriage."

WTF?

How whacked is SHE???

Posted by Jeff March 13, 09 05:25 PM

My heart breaks for his elderly mother and brother whom are still living, and know now what he did to them- and ofcourse has not contacted them to this day. What a cruel sociopath.

Posted by angelaone March 13, 09 06:36 PM

This guy is some kind of covert agent who messed up. How did he work on Wall Street with top securities firms with no social security number? What was his relationship to that couple in California- the man worked in a high security position at the jet propulsion lab. They found a body years ago, but conveniently the victim was adopted so there are no blood relatives-no DNA. And the remains were disposed of by authorities, even though the crime was unsolved. Even the California victim's adoptive mother thought her son was involved in espionage. No person can pull off the charade Rockefellar did for decades without help. I don't buy it that his Ivy-League educated wife agreed to forge tax returns and never saw the marriage certificate!? BTW the ex-wife works for some international corporation that does all types of 'consulting'. Hmmm...

Posted by Bambinosmom2 March 13, 09 07:07 PM

You are stupid to let her had the upper hand of you, you should just listen and
obey like I am doing, he and she is going to back fire you watch. I don't need
to do anything and my God don't need to punished them and his attorney are
already doing to themself, I am so happy for myself. You lost Karl.

Posted by stephanie March 13, 09 08:20 PM

@Jeff:

He married a woman he met many years ago and then divorced her shortly thereafter. His marriage to Sandra Boss was never a legal marriage.

Posted by Alex March 13, 09 10:07 PM

This man is a genius....albeit an evil genius.

Posted by Marc March 13, 09 10:18 PM

The most interesting aspect of this is that we may finally learn the full extent to which Sandra Boss is implicated in the charade. That's the real story here. 13 years is a long time to be wilfully unaware of the identity of one's "husband". Surely her complicity warrants a penalty? The "Rockefeller" name opened the doors to social and business worlds which she never would have had access to otherwise. To what extent did it play a role in helping her secure her current job? I'd be very concerned if I was a client.

Posted by Jen March 13, 09 11:50 PM

Stephanie:

Forgive me because I do not know much about you nor the Deutschlander.: Are you related to him? Please let me and the others who are devoid of the background information to this tale.

I am,

Peter Hunt

Posted by Peter Hunt March 14, 09 09:27 AM

Stephanie:
Rockefaker got $800k from Boss when they parted. Had they had a true marriage he couldve gotten ALOT of her fortune. But he knew it was a sham marriage and opted to take the settlement. Plus he didnt have to go to trial where he would commit perjury if he testified, and possibly go to jail for perjury.

He took $800k and got the cashiers checks to pay for the house. He converted most of the remaining $ to gold coins. Coins were seized during his arrest but have since been released so he could pay his defense attorneys. Eventually all the coins will be used up to pay attorneys. Also, the home MAY be able to be seized if the authorities can determine that it was an instrument of the felony of kidnapping. (Bought house to hide kid.) That depends on state law but is like when a drug dealers assets are seized or a bank robber's car (who usesd the car to get away).

Posted by Rockerfollower March 16, 09 10:56 AM