A Maplewood man was beaten, kidnapped and held for ransom for three days by four men until he was released to his parents by his kidnappers for $27,000, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
One of the suspected kidnappers is Todd Beckman, president and CEO of BAM Brands, which owns Tanco, Xist Fitness and Massage Luxe, according to the BAM website.
Beckman and three others were arrested Thursday and appeared Friday morning in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on a single kidnapping charge, according to the Post-Dispatch.
The Maplewood man was tased and pistol whipped while in custody. During some calls to his mother in Florida she could hear him screaming in the background. She was told to pay or she wouldn’t see her son on Thanksgiving.
There was no explanation for why the man from Maplewood was targeted.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment. Maplewood Police Chief Stephen Kruse referred questions to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Read the full story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Feds: St. Louis area businessman involved in kidnapping, beating of Maplewood man https://t.co/KvJRdikxbj pic.twitter.com/SDv3dvm5Tm
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch (@stltoday) December 2, 2016
Insane.