Montana man accused in Letterman kidnapping plot to be released

A Simms man accused of plotting to kidnap David Letterman's son and nanny in 2005 will be released on parole Thursday, a Montana Parole Board representative said Wednesday.

Kelly Frank, born in 1962, was sentenced by District Judge Marc Buyske to serve a total of 10 years in prison for felony embezzlement, poaching a deer and misdemeanor obstruction of a peace officer in September 2005, and to an additional 10 years in 2008 after escaping from a Montana State Prison ranch.

He pleaded guilty to the 2005 counts as part of a plea agreement that dropped two charges where he was accused of soliciting a kidnapping for an alleged plot to abduct Letterman's son Harry and his nanny from Letterman's Teton County Ranch, where Frank worked as a painter.

Attempts to reach Letterman on Wednesday were unsuccessful. Andrew Bardwell, the manager of his Deep Creek Ranch, declined to comment on the matter.

Frank was arrested in March 2005 after a man described in court documents as a longtime friend, Robert Gondeiro, told authorities he and Frank had discussed a plot to kidnap Letterman's toddler and nanny for a $5 million ransom.

Frank allegedly told Gondeiro that he had a key to Letterman's ranch house and knew a way to sneak in, according to court documents, and had taken photographs of the buildings and ranch grounds. The pair also allegedly discussed whether to leave a ransom note or call in the demand by phone, and whether to ask for cash or gold.

Attorney Jim Hunt of Helena, who represented Frank in the 2005 case, argued that his client wasn't serious about the plan.

The charges to which Frank pleaded guilty included a charge that he had overcharged Letterman as much as $1,500 for work done on the comedian's ranch between March 2002 and March 2005. A search of Frank's rental also turned up a poached four-point buck as well as three hunting rifles and a substantial amount of ammunition, court records showed, and he initially mislead an FBI agent investigating the case.

At his sentencing hearing in 2005, he reportedly expressed remorse, apologizing to Letterman's family the anxiety the situation had caused.

Frank escaped from the Montana State Prison ranch in June 2007 with another inmate, William Willcutt. He was recaptured six days later.

The two men absconded from the prison ranch between Deer Lodge and Anaconda while assigned to a crew moving irrigation pipe, The Associated Press reported at the time. A 1965 truck assigned to Frank was also found to be missing.

They were spotted four days later by U.S. Forest Service personnel as they were apparently bathing in a creek near a campground in the Swan Lake area, causing them to flee partially dressed. Willcutt was arrested the following day after entering a nearby home while its residents were in the yard. Frank, who was found without socks or shoes, was arrested two days later after apparently walking 10 miles to cross the Mission Mountains.

The parole board granted Frank's parole request in June, said Julie Thomas, a senior parole analyst. She said Frank had presented the board with a plan to move to Nevada, where he will be supervised by Nevada Parole and Probation. His release conditions include requirements that he refrain from possession of alcohol or entering bars, and submit to random breath and and bodily fluid testing for drugs and alcohol.

Frank is also restricted from entering Teton County, where he was convicted, and required to maintain a no contact order with the case's victims.

Frank became eligible for parole in May 2011, Thomas said, and would have ended his prison sentence without parole March 8, 2025.

Inmates typically become parole-eligible after serving a quarter of their sentence, Thomas said, though judges can impose conditions on parole eligibility at the time of sentencing.

Frank's criminal record also included charges of kidnapping and sexual intercourse without consent in Lewis and Clark County, and domestic assault.

In the kidnapping and rape case, where allegations were brought against him by an ex-girlfriend in 1998, he ultimately pleaded guilty to an intimidation charge and was sentenced to serve 10 years of probation.

Reach Staff Writer Eric Dietrich at 791-6527 or edietrich@greatfallstribune.com. He can also be followed on Twitter at @GFTrib_EricD.