clark-rockefeller

Rockefeller Impersonator Faces Murder Charges This Week

Seth Abramovitch · 07/07/11 01:23AM

Look who's back in the news! It's Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, the psychopathic German flim-flam man who convinced all of New England society, including the woman who would become his wife and mother to his child, that he was an heir to the Rockefeller estate, as immortalized in the classic Lifetime movie, Mother, May I Sleep With Eric McCormack?

'Rockefeller' Goes Down

cityfile · 06/12/09 09:46AM

Remember "Clark Rockefeller," the con man who bounced around social circles in New York and Boston posing as a physicist, financier, art collector, cardiovascular surgeon, government official, and sea captain, among other things? Rockefeller—real name Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter—was convicted today of kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter during a custody dispute with his ex-wife, and he now faces more than a decade in prison. Unfortunately, the trial did not fully account for how he managed to convince people he was all those things when, to most normal people, he bears a striking resemblance to a serial killer from a made-for-TV movie on Lifetime. But at least he'll have a non-fake job—license plate maker, perhaps?— to add to his resume in the near future! [AP]

Why We're Obsessed With This Fake Rockefeller

Richard Lawson · 12/03/08 04:14PM

Forget cover girl Tina Fey and her scary scar story. The most interesting tale in this month's Vanity Fair is that of Christian Gerhartsreiter aka Christopher Chichester aka Christopher Crowe aka Clark Rockefeller. He's the mystery fellow who was arrested this summer after kidnapping his daughter, Snooks, whom he lost custody of during his messy divorce. Though he's a nefarious conman, he's also a brilliant one, with a fascinating story, as detailed by VF's Mark Seal. And we're kind of obsessed with it. It's a crazy, crazy thing.

The Fabulist Files

cityfile · 12/03/08 12:34PM

If you enjoy outrageous tales of imposters charming their way into high society—and you happen to have an hour or so to spare—Mark Seal's exposé on con man (and alleged kidnapper) Clark Rockefeller for the January issue of Vanity Fair is now online. [VF]

Rockefeller2

cityfile · 08/25/08 11:01AM

"Are you sure he's not a Rockefeller? The New York Times seemed to raise that question yesterday when it published a photo of impostor Clark Rockefeller on the front page of its Style section—and 14 pages later, a wedding announcement for actual family heir Clayton Rockefeller, who, in the accompanying photo, looks shockingly like the phony." [NYP]

Report: Kidnap Dad Busted

ian spiegelman · 08/02/08 03:29PM

Clark Rockefeller-the mystery man with no driver's license, social security number, or tax history, who kidnapped his daughter in Boston last week-has been caught, the Post is reporting. "Fugitive Clark Rockefeller was taken into police custody in Baltimore today. His kidnapped daughter is safe and sound and in police hands, law enforcement sources said. Details of his capture were not immediately clear."