Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén
Hosted by Harvey Guillén
Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.
On his 38th birthday in January 1998, federal prosecutor Stan Alpert was kidnapped in Brooklyn by three young men and held for ransom. Kept blindfolded in a crash pad, Stan used his training to survive by memorizing details, acting likable, and earning his captors' trust despite horrific threats. After nearly 24 hours of bizarre interactions—including the kidnappers offering him underage sex workers and laughing at jokes—they released him in Prospect Park with a twenty-dollar bill for a cab. Although the FBI initially doubted his incredible story, Stan's meticulous memory and preserved evidence helped law enforcement round up the perpetrators, leading to long prison sentences.
Harvey Guillen opens with a reflection on birthdays and sets the stage for Stan Alpert’s extraordinary story.
The narrative moves to the night of January 22, 1998, detailing Stan’s late arrival and friends’ growing concern.
Stan is abducted in a Lexus, blindfolded, and introduced to his three kidnappers: Lucky, Sen, and Ren.
Kidnappers extract personal information, threaten his family, and Stan uses politeness and observation to survive.
Kidnappers Question Victim's Financesinsight
When Stan confesses he has $110,000 in his savings account, even his kidnappers are baffled by his poor financial strategy in 1990s New York.
Heightened Senses While Blindfoldedstrategy
Deprived of his sight, Stan counts his steps, notices the tenement smells, and tracks the sound of bridges and tunnels to figure out his location.
Bonding Over Jokes And Accentsstory
Stan takes a risk and joins in with a Jamaican accent during a joke-telling circle, which surprisingly impresses his captors and builds rapport.
Initial Skepticism From The FBIinsight
When Stan reports his bizarre kidnapping, the FBI agents initially disbelieve his wild tale about friendly captors and birthday offers.
The youthful kidnappers receive prison sentences ranging from 15 years to life, while Stan turns his ordeal into a book titled The Birthday Party.
“Stan Albert survived a kidnapping on his 38th birthday, a night so bizarre, so dangerous, so darkly absurd that even the FBI didn’t believe it at first.”
“He even brought back potential evidence, the $20 bill handled by the kidnappers.”
“The meaning, well, that took a while. It didn’t arrive in a crash pad or a Lexus or an FBI office. It showed up later, in the unexpected places survival leads you, in the people who cross your path because of the story you lived to tell.”
Kidnapped on his 38th birthday by criminals who think every federal prosecutor is secretly wealthy, a calm-under-pressure lawyer survives a chaotic 25-hour ordeal—part hostage crisis, part absurd comedy—by befriending his captors. Sources for this episode include: The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival by Stanley N. Alpert 48 Hours, “The Birthday Party” Try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE at https://ziprecruiter.com/KILLERS Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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