American Hostage is an Amazon original and Criminal Content production. This podcast is based
on a true story of a hostage crisis that took place in Indianapolis in nineteen
seventy seven. Listener discretion is advised Episode eight, Live on national television.
Death It's either slow or sudden. Maybe our loved ones are prepared. Maybe
they have a chance to sit by our bedside, holding our hand as we
go gently into the good night evers. Very well, are we rolling?
Or I'm gonna show you all something. Maybe a couple million people witness your
murder on live television, just seconds before they cut to a soap commercials become
you now live from downtown Indianapolis, where a hostage price continues to unfold.
It's not often we find ourselves turning the spotlight to Indiana, but you really
can't ignore what's happening there today. To read that tall reading, Okay,
to turn the cameras on all three chet holding Oh, I want on national
television. I've been called a kidnapper and extortions, the thug and everything else.
I want it on all three national channels. I've got friends all over
the country. I have been advised to let our viewers know that we do
not have a seven second delay on our channel. This broadcast is life to
the second. Have. Given the volatility of the matter at hand, you
may be exposed to graphics, sounds, and imagery. Recommend those of you
with small children escort them out of the room. You'll read it. Sick
February tenths Okay, cameras, I want them to see this guy. God
damn it, I want you god Ax, get out of the way.
Where's mister Heckmann? Right over here? Tony? Come here, friend,
you're hell of a man. Baby. Where's my brother, Jimmy? Today
marks day three of Dick calls imprisonment of the Hands with Tony Carrizo. They're
joined at this conference by local radio man Fred Heckman, who appears to be
there for moral support, but it's not clear whom he is supporting. Come
here, friend, Hi, baby, hither, Look where we are?
Look how far will you come? Look at what this man made me do?
Just look at what he made me do, jim they're really going through
with it. We've got Cliff down there, don't we Yeah, Cliff and
Fred? I can see Fred Roy. Why aren't you down there? Galliger
kicked me out. Guess he's still met about that swack hole. Now,
you guys be good and quiet. We're gonna let this gentleman read that.
How's stick gonna read that with the noose around his neck? You'll find a
way, Jim, Barbara, you they said I could find you back here.
I I didn't want to watch home along. Okay, Um, come
on in, Barbara. Thanks, they got damn made me near me.
He's always goddamn Braden's out. Now I'm the only motherfucker mean enough to withstood
this without happening goddamn or a heart attack. Hold on, hold on,
wait, wait, wait, where's Keith Gallagher? Where is he? There?
He is? Chief? Oh, I got in them bottles upstairs as
gasoline. I just wanted a Friday the sun of a bitch, but I
had a rig pal. Don't you shoot yourself? Believe Tony. Okay,
read it, Dick, February tenth, nineteen seventy seven. This statement is
being made, mister crits old hold it. I want this goddamn being illegal,
all right, then I'll read it. February tenth, nineteen seventy seven.
I want a glass of water. This statement is being made. To
try and state the items that mister Chrissus eludes and I don't like that word.
I charged and they admitted it eludes to being illegal and non not to
go acts of the Hall Group number one, this least negotiation, approved the
Critsus site and had a definite interest in building there. Give me a drink,
it down, Give me a drinking now, sober friends. I had
six drinks in nineteen seventy six and I haven't had any this year. And
I don't miss them a fucking bit. Bred Heckman, a noted radio personality
in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, is very close to the action today, but
curiously does not appear to be reporting. Information on his involvement of the crisis
is still incoming, but he appears to be a stable presence during all the
chaos. Oh my god, look at his eyes. Don't forget his eyes.
Watch for Leo's hand. Why, because Leo's calling it. You've got
a handkerchief in his jacket pocket. If he pulls out the handkerchief, mars
handles up. If Marx hand goes up, they kill the cameras, jam
the shotgun, and shoot Tony in the back of the head. Oh my
god, boy, can they jam the shotgun in time? I don't have
a good answer for that question. Oh my god. Number two restaurant.
I went up there to borrow money to build a ten thousand foot restaurant that
would have rows between a million and two million bucks a year. And these
motherfuckers shouted to somebody else and unlet's see who guaranteed me one hundred thousand dollars
a year rate plus they we're saying over a million dollars and I, oh
my god, I can't watch this. I can't watch him. Friend's too
close to all this. Yar, Fred knows how to play it. No,
Jim, I want you to call down to the station and have him
move back right now. I can't do that part. You get him to
move back right the hell now? He is too close to that shotgun.
Jim, ma'am, don't you touch me. I know that it's just a
situation to you people, but that is my husband. If you're not calling,
then I'm calling there. I'll go down there the second. Here's what
I could do. I can get on the horn and tell through his ear
piece to move back. But we'll try to do anything we can right now,
not to set Tony off. Can you tell him to move back?
Fred, here's the priority. Get on the horn or whatever and tell them
to move back. Okay, who this goddamn thing ought to go off?
Some seem good enough to die? Creg cred Fred boy Peterson. Look if
you and hear me, okay, can give me a quick finger up to
the camera. Heckman is making some kind of hand signal there. Okay.
Now look, can you scoop back a bit? Your wife saying you're a
bit too close? Yeah, a little more to left, and he's stepping
away from Caritzus grt. Where are you going? I just didn't want to
be in your way. You're not in my way, Fred, this is
our moment. You come on up here now? Can you come right next
to me? Bathe okay. Caritus is not happy that Heckman has tried to
distance himself. He is now making Heckman stand right next to it. One
tends not to disagree with the man holding the gun. Don't you say get
away from that? You gotta let Fred handle friends. Jill. They get
all my hard work and try to give it back to me. Seeing that
the land I was allowed to have was the land where all the hob shit.
Pardon my friends, ladies and gentlemen. I cursed like that because it's
good for my answer number seven, mister Bronson Hall. This gentleman's father also
states that he personally takes responsibility for these improprieties. I'm gonna frame that,
all right. Where's my lawyer, where's my attorney? Bring him up here.
I'm the guy who was called a kidnapper, an extortionist, a man
who had failed, and they were gonna foreclose in my property. They haven't
got enough money to settle with me, but they're giving me five million dollars.
Come here, baby, this is my lawyer, and you got me
five million dollars and immunity. Immunity. You hear that someone has bumped into
Christa take don't push me. You don't push me. You step back,
motherfuckerperial he's touching the pushing off it. You're all seen it. Look look
marks Ham is off. Oh my god, they didn't kill the feet.
Who are watching? Oh my god, he's reaching. He's reaching to the
jackets. He's gonna shoot. My god, come the feet, what are
you doing around? Just give a se he just tripped. I saw it
happened. He's got two left feet. Let me look at him? What's
that? I said, he's got two left feet. Look how big as
shoes are? Look at that? What's wrong with you? Man? It's
unclear what happened there, but I'm thankful that Heckman was there to de escalate
the situation. Heckman has successfully conquered this clear to us now that there is
some kind of bond between the human right. All right, this here is
Fred Heckman, and I I have to say that this gentleman, this gentleman
right here, mister Fred Heckman of WIBC. He hadn't put my interview on
that radio station, I'd still be a common goddamn kidnapper, That's right.
I don't know how I'll ever thank him. And now I'm not kidding anybody
either. Fred say hello, Hello, have you ever been on TV?
No? I have not got a better face worth than me. I'm lucky
the cameras still rolling with this ugly mug. Now, I gotta thank some
people. There are people who stood by me through all of this, and
I'm eternally grateful Fred, my brother, Jimmy, my lawyer. But I
want to think the people who called into the interview yesterday, because they showed
the world just I understood a man could be and a man isn't anything if
he isn't understood. This world has so many good people. You just have
to ask to be understood. A surprising display of remorse and emotion here from
Coritus. He really does seem to be softening it. This world is a
hard man, but there's good people in it. I know that much.
And I haven't ever been good. But I minded my own business and work
my ass off. I worked my ass off and that's good enough for a
second place. Oh wow, I think Fred just saved his life. Things
are calming down right, right, Roy, I need I need a call
wish and they should have cut the feet. They should have cut the feet.
Wait, wait, wait, I want everyone who called me to know
damn won't appreciate it because I do, and they were sympathetic. I'm grateful.
No oh no, oh god, no oh god. Hey, you
call Cliff Anderson right now and have him get a message to Gallagher Stack.
What's wrong. He's crying, he's swinging, he's going into a depressive state.
And I'm sorry for everyone who got hurt. From this. He's gonna
kill Hall. He's gonna kill him. Call him now, call him right
down. I'm sorry, call this all right, all right, because I
embarrassed him, because I bade him nothing. Cliff, you get to Chief
Gallagher right now. You force all those cameras off. You gotta swing your
body into the And I never like notoriety, and I don't like it now.
But to my aunt's in Ohio, and my cousins and some damn good
Greek friends in the state of Order, and some people I was in the
army with the New England. I want him to know that God, I
was right. I was right. Just went the way because I was right.
Tony back, I don't care what you have to do. Do it
now here that Fred? You got someone in your ear? Fred, Fred,
Yes, yes, I do. Get it out, okay, Tony.
Not just get it out, look, Tony, it's just people making
sure I don't do anything stupid, Okay, people making sure I don't get
in the way. They're nervous about me being here. Get it out.
Look here, it's out. It's out. It's a shame when you can't
trust people, friend, it's a goddamn shame. Tensions are once again rising
here. Caritzas has turned his anger on the one man who seems to be
on his side. What's I felt we're doing over there? Right? Well,
hey, what are you doing? Run around like that? Get away
from those cameras. I just need to talk to Fred. You need to
get back behind the line. I just need to talk to Fred. Up
to him right after you talked to him after Okay, you hear me,
you talked to him after. I'm done. Now I'm trying to wrap all
this goddamn shit, Tony. You're making Fred uncomfortable. Look, Tony,
I know him. Okay, that's Cliff, Cliff, Cliff Anderson w IBC.
That's right. Tony Coritzis appears to be getting more emotional. This is
clearly a critical moment for him. It's a tense situation, to say the
least. And I'm passion to plead from WIBC newsman. Fred Heckman does seem
to be calming and listen to me. Okay, we've been through all of
this together. We've gotten through this together because you put your trust in me.
I got you everything you need. It didn't I, Tony, Oh
my god, Oh my god. I made it so easy. Didn't then
I could just pop his head right off right here and now, Tony I
said, you can trust me, but it be so easy, Fred,
you'll lose everything I already lost because of this sucker. What's the good new
having a friend if you can't trust them. It appears as though Curitzis is
turning on Heckman Now. I'm not sure how, but Heckman ha sparked a
new fury in I'm unsure how this will resolve. What if you don't want
to be my friend, Fred? What if I want I did all this
wrong, and you're saying what you're saying because you feel like you have to.
Curritzus has dropped his prepared remarks. I'm not sure what he might do
next. If unnerving is what it is, I can't tell what he's thinking.
Hal looks like he may be on the brink of collapse. This has
been an arduous three days for him. One can't even imagine what he's been
through. Our hearts are with him and his family. Haul is closing his
eyes. It's like he's bracing for something. I knew Dick Hall. I
knew his family, his friends. I'd been to his bank, dozens of
times over the years for various reasons. I knew he was a good man,
but sometimes I wondered if people were tuning in because they wanted to hear
the gun go off. They wanted to witness the shot heard around the world.
Well, banker or no banker, I wasn't about to let that happen.
Heckman is sliding right up to corretchus. Now, Courtchius appears to be
surprised by the moon. I think he's whispering something to corintzis to quiet for
any of the field might to pick up. But mister Heckman is saying something
to mister Courrichis, Tony. I want you to look around. There's a
hundred guns in this room, and they'd go right through me to get to
you. So now I'm risking my life to make sure you keep yours.
I'm here because I care about you, because i'm your friend. Now,
if there's another way for me to demonstrate that, you just tell me.
You just tell me, Tony, because I'll step right up to that plate.
I am right here for you, buddy. I'm here right to the
end. Tony. You take a breath, Okay, Tony, I said
you could trust me. I've got you everything you needed, didn't I Tony
bail all right, I've Haddie. Let's get at it here. Where's it
cooled? Fred? You come with me now. It's hard to say why,
but for some reason, the main trio of Exuancharriza's in the hall are
being led out of the limelight and back into the apartment film There seems to
be a lot of confusion. It's impossible to see where they're going or why.
For that matter, we really don't know what's happening. We're gonna try
and get a closer look. One thing gets clear. Whatever they've decided to
do, they are not going to have any video open that Charrizza's attitude has
swung wildly from positive to negative during this press conference. I am completely unsure
of what's going to happen inside that building. That Critis does still the hostage,
he would be doing it off camera because we have no updates on the
status of what's going on inside that room. There has been a gunshot.
That was another shot fire. There were there's been two shots fired. Cryptis
appears to have fired the gun several times. We're fearing the worst here.
We're fearing the worst. We've heard. Two gunshots been about three seconds apart
from each other. Kret Heckman might be dead dead. When the media hypes
a hostage situation up to the national stage, why would someone want to tune
in because they want to see the victim live. I'm not so sure for
listeners just tuning in. Curtis appears to have fired the gun several times as
a show of seriousness. We can report to you that the hostage has not
been shot. Thankfully, no one has been. Hard Courts shot off to
bullets to prove that there were bullets inside the gun. Apparently the hostage is
alive. After Hall is alive. He's done, I mean, they're done.
He did it. Oh my god, he didn't. Good mister Peterson,
thank you. Yeah, yes, ma'am. I'm just glad it swung
this way, very good. Barb. That is a hell of a man
you got there. I have never been this man in my life too.
I don't think anyone could blame you. Oh all right, Dick, don't
squirm, don't squirm, all right, don't move. I'm sorry, it's
coming up. All right, you're free. Oh my god, all right,
Tony how about you give me the gun now, I got five million
dollars coming to me, five million dollars immunity. I'm going to home,
Tony, Yes, sir, detective alone, sir, how can I help
you? Can you put your hands behind your back for me? Tony?
See what now? Can you put your hands behind your back? Well?
What? What? What are you teaching me to dance? What is this
shit? Tony? You're under the kidnapping. This is cap cock sucking the
right girl, I got immunity. This is not the right to an attorney.
He fashes you. It's just fuck. I'm gonna stick by attorney.
So far up your ass. This is horse, go pack. Why are
you just gonna stand there? You gonna stand there and let me fash ruin
our country? Fred, Fred, get my attorneys. Fred, you tell
him I need him. I need him. Baby, we need to review
my paper. Or if you tell him, Fred, you tell them.
Okay, horsh it. I was made an American promise. They're retracting on
an American promise. Cursus is currently being processed by the Indianapolis PD. We
aren't nature of all the charges, but we can assume that there will be
many Somewhere in the middle of the whole thing. They took a national poll
of how many people related to Tony Curitzis get call. It's being checked out
at the hospital as we speak, but authorities say he's expected to make a
full recovery. Seventy percent of the country related to him, the man with
a gun. But I mean, let's be honest about it. Does anyone
really root for the banker? Longtime listeners of WIBC will no doubt recall the
events of last February when a gunman named Tony Kuritzus paraded Indianapolis streets with a
shotgun tied to the neck of a mortgage man named Dick Hall. The hostage
situation was a media sensation and only came to its conclusion through the combined efforts
of the Indianapolis Police Department and the FBI. Today, the trial of Tony
Kuritzis is set to come to a close, with attorneys making their closing arguments.
They'll keep you updated on that news and more. Good morning, I'm
Fred Heckman, and this is the news of the day. Friday, October
twenty first, nineteen seventy seven. Honey, I don't know about fish tonight.
How about we try that new Italian place down over on Broadway's right,
that's right. We now receiving news that the verdict has been read. What
is this. It's Tony's trial, Tony, and the verdict is that Tony
Kuritzz has been found not guilty of all charges. I repeat, Tony Kuritzz
has been found not guilty for the alleged kidnapping an assault of Richard Hall just
eight months ago by reason of insanity. We'll see if they'll let court if
she said by reason of insanity that's what she said. Oh god, no,
I don't don't believe that. That doesn't make any sense. You said,
he was saying, He said, he was saying, why are you
laughing? Oh my god, He's an amazing son of a bitch. Fred
Baby, it's Tony. I'm out, Hell, I'm free. They got
me free. Good David, How you been failed? Yeah? I just
I just saw the report there, Tony. I just got back in the
country. Oh, bank in the country. Where are you well off too?
I'm so here at the court. How but I got so excited.
You're the first person I wanted to know. I owe it all to you,
Fred, that jury acquitted me because they knew I was right. They
knew it. That's great, Tony, Fred. I'm taking you out.
Oh you dat or pot? When are you free? I'll tell you what?
How about tomorrow night? Yes, sir, tomorrow night will be Ain't
okay? You like steaks? Fred? Yes, I do. We're getting
steaks, Bunny Matre. You glad at how it all worked out, Fred.
The rules of life are complicated, especially when you're a reporter. People
you idolized suddenly aren't so impressive. Why because you meet them and they always
disappoint One thing I'll say about Tony kuritzis he never let me down. But
somewhere by the people for the people, became twisted by the media, that
noblest institution which was meant to connect us and unite us as a nation.
It was a circus, of course, and you either watched it with fascination
or became part of it. Was America watching the media cover hostage crisis?
Or were we the hostages the willing participants? For me, it took almost
three full days of a hostage crisis to realize that America was the biggest hostage
of them all. American Hostage is an Amazon Original and criminal content production written
by C. D. Carpenter, directed by Sean Christiansen, produced by Adam
Volerich and Brendan Hubbard. Executive produced by John Hamm, Shaun Christiansen, and
Gabriel Mason, Starring John Hamm, Carla Gugino, Joe Perino, Dylan Baker,
and Becky Ann Baker, with additional performances by James O'Connor, Christina Brucado,
Mara Casson, Michael Dreyer, Shawn Christiansen, Ryan Willard, Nancy Nagrant,
Frank McElroy, Nick Massidy, Eric Slick, Robert Rowe, Chris Davis,
Adam Volerich, C D. Carpenter, Sound design by Brandon Jones,
composed by Darren Morsey, Editing by Thomas Beach, Shawn Christiansen and Adam Volidge.
Recording and engineering by Dave Williams, Mixing, mastering and additional editing by
Nick Missidi I d Reads by Natalie Prass for Amazon Music. Executive producers are
Morgan Jones and Dave Easton. Senior producer is Eliza Mills. Special thanks to
Jacob Braunstein, Phil Sanchez, Chris Davis, Jack Parker, Marcelino Valpondo,
Stephanie Walknein Blad, Norman, Vanessa Rebert, Sam Petherbridge, Cale Bittner,
Alice Zoe, Trevor McNeil ty, Jacobsen, Rich Sherman Marshall, Louie w
IBC, WISH TV, and Creative Artists Agency