Thieving Erpenbeck Family Soap Opera

From the "American Greed" episode on the evil Erpenbeck clan

At first I thought the lying, thieving grandson, Bill, was just an anomalous evil seed because the "former friend" Glenn Feagan, described second generation Erpenbeck, Tony,  as the "salt of the earth"

Narrator: Erpenbeck family has been building trust along with homes for decades. Bill's grandfather was named 1965 homebuilder of the year by the Home Builder Association of Northern Kentucky. And Bill's father, Tony, followed in the same footsteps, slowly amassing his own repuattion on ehouse at a time.


Glenn Feagan: You'd expect Tony Erpenbeck not only to build your house but maybe get on the bulldozer and grade the yard when he was finished. And he's just the most down to earth, salt of the earth guy.  We always used to joke that he's the millionaire that drives the Chevette.
Narrator: But Chevettes are far too modest for the grandson, Bill Erpenbeck.

But the second generation Erpenbeck was a scumbag who seemed to figuratively try to make his daughter tack the fall for his company's corruption, and possibly quite literally take the fall from the top of the Marriott roof if she didn't comply.

However, later in the documentary, the supposed upstanding "salt of the earth" Tony tries to suborn perjury and make his daughter take the legal fall [possibly under threat of taking a literal fall off the roof of the tallest parking garage in the city] for his son's wrong doing:

Narrator: The elder Erpenbeck [ Tony] is asking her [ his daughter, Lori] to take the stand ... and the blame.  But Lori has finally had enough.  She agrees to wear a wire and two nights later meets with her father.  As they drive through the streets of Covington, Kentucky, five FBI vehicles follow, listening to the conversation on a transmitter.



Kevin Gormley: It was raining. Uh, it was just difficult to follow them. We'd hoped they'd stay in the area  and fortunately, they did.


Gormley: When Bill got in the car, it was just a tag team.  They're asking for her to take the fall.  To say it happened on her watch, that she caused it.

 

Tim Tracy: Quite frankly, from an investigative stand point, I don't think we could've written a better script ourselves.  It was just directing her to do nothing but lie.  Tony [the father] told Lori [his daughter]  'we need you to step up for the family. Bill can't go to jail, he has three children who need him  and you're single.' You know, more or less, throwing Lori under the bus.   It was very sad.

Narrator: Finally, the FBI determines they've heard enough and five cars swoop in and encircle the scene of the crime.

 Tracy: And I never forget, when I arrested Bill and went up to him, he got out and he started crying and says. 'I'm going away for thirty years.'

Narrator: Tony drives Lori to the Marriott Courtyard in Covington, where the stakes are raised. [You can't buy such publicity!] On the top level of the parking garage, Bill Erpenbeck is waiting.  

So, it's bad enough Tony tried to suborn perjury [and possibly murder his daughter in a Sophie's Choice of his own making] but then he explicitly tries to kill everybody involved in his family's court case. Tony is really starting to sound less and less like the proverbial "salt of the earth" and more and more like the sulpher of Tophet. Either his morality degenerated as his troubles mounted, or he was never as wholesome as his acquaintances thought he was.

Narrator: 69 year old Tony Erpenbeck one reined over the mighty Erpenbeck home building dynasty. But now, feeling that both his and his son Bill's lives are ruined, he wants revenge. In December 2004, Tim Tracy, the FBI special agent who arrested Tony Erpenbeck on the obstruction charges, receives news that he'll never forget.

Tracy: After Tony was sentenced for his obstruction charges, he was incarcerated in the Lexington Medical Facility. He had made comments to another inmate about killing Judge Spiegel

killing Kathy Brinkman

Tracy: and kidnapping my children.  

Narrator:  The inmate, John Collins, alerts the authorities and agrees to record further conversations with Erpenbeck.  Assistant US Attorney Rob Duncan prosecutes the case. 

Duncan: In the first recording, is Mr. Erpenbeck speaking with Collins about what he wants done, how he wants it done.  The second conversation is more of the same but there is more detail.  There seems to be a little bit more of a level of specificity. 

Narrator: In language too profane to repeat, Erpenbeck tells Collins he wants the bodies of attorneys Brinkman and Judge Spiegel mutilated with body parts cut or shot off. His plan for Special Agent Tracy's children is even more sadistic.  He says he wants the eight and twelve year olds buried alive in caskets with a pipe leading above ground for air and enough water and crackers to allow them to survive trapped and terrified underground for a full two weeks simply for the torture of it.  

Tracy: It's one thing to threaten me, I've had it happen a few times.   I'm armed, I can take care of myself.  To threaten your family is a different thing.  

Narrator: The inmate, John Collins, leads Erpenbeck to believe he's capable of carrying out the threats and Erpenbeck lets him know, he's serious.  

Duncan: They talked about price and $500 payment initially and then  an additional amount if it was carried out and completed. I think that is when Mr. Erpenbeck made the statement about "if it takes a million, it takes a million."

Narrator: Knowing it will become public, Tracy decides he needs to let his children know about the threats.  

Tracy: They were just amazed that someone could be that mean.  But I didn't tell them everything but eventually it was in the newspaper.  My oldest child read it and was pretty upset.  I mean, had he talked to somebody else other than Mr. Collins, who knows what would have happened.

Narrator: Fortunately, the only thing that happened is that on April 7, 2005, Tony Erpenbeck was indicted on seven counts relating to the plot [to murder everybody].  He goes on trial eight months later.

Duncan: His claim was, "I wasn't serious - that I was afraid of Collins - I was afraid of prison life." And that he never intended to carry out the threats.

Narrator: It could conceivably be a persuasive argument, until the jury hears the tapes.
Duncan: I think it resonated. Certainly, it resulted, at least in part, in his convictions.

Narrator: Tony Erpenbeck is convicted on four counts of solicitation, for threatening to kill a federal judge and a federal law enforcement officer, and for threatening to kidnap a federal officer's family members.   It extends his total prison sentence to twenty years.  

Getting twenty years for soliciting the murder of federal officials might seem harsh, but the Silk Road founder was given life in prison for soliciting the murder of some dirtbag extortionists, so the sentences don't seem comparable.  

Greenberg, Andy. “Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht Loses His Life Sentence Appeal.” Wired, Conde Nast, 3 June 2017, www.wired.com/2017/05/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-loses-life-sentence-appeal/.

They note that the deaths of Silk Road customers don't figure into the life sentence, so much as Ulbricht's alleged attempts to pay for the murders of a witness, an informant, and three others. (No actual murders occurred.)

I don't understand why Ross Ulbricht got life in prison for solicitation for murder - but a dude soliciting for the murder of his judge & prosecutor only got an additional 20 years to his original 70 month sentence 💁‍♀️https://t.co/dpaXyn6l62 pic.twitter.com/vdtsaT55h9

— 🎼AdagioForStrings🎻 (@adagioforstring) April 13, 2018