Letterman suspect has criminal past

CHOTEAU, Mont. – A painter accused of plotting to kidnap David Letterman’s 16-month-old son from the talk-show host’s sprawling ranch has a checkered past that includes allegations he stalked, raped and kidnapped a woman with whom he had a relationship, court records show.

The woman obtained protective orders against Kelly A. Frank, 43, and he was charged at least twice with violating them, according to the records. Court documents were not clear about the relationship. Frank has been divorced more than once.

He had been working as a painter on Letterman’s 2,700-acre ranch and was arrested Monday after an acquaintance told authorities Frank had confided his plot to kidnap Letterman’s son, Harry Joseph, and the child’s nanny, then hold them for $5 million ransom. Frank told the acquaintance he had a key to Letterman’s home and knew where the baby slept, authorities said.

Frank is charged with felony solicitation, felony theft for allegedly overcharging Letterman for painting work and misdemeanor obstruction for allegedly lying to an FBI agent who first questioned him about the plot.

Frank is being held on $600,000 bail and is scheduled to make his next court appearance Tuesday. Teton County authorities said it was not clear whether Frank had an attorney yet. He had not been assigned a public defender as of Friday afternoon.

After the Teton County allegations surfaced, authorities in neighboring Lewis and Clark County petitioned a judge Thursday to revoke Frank’s probation in a separate case involving the woman who alleged stalking, rape and kidnapping.

The woman told Helena police that beginning in the spring of 1997 and lasting for months, Frank harassed and stalked her, a nightmare that she said eventually included being raped and, on a separate occasion, kidnapped and driven from Helena to Seeley Lake, more than 100 miles away.

Frank eventually pleaded guilty to two charges in that case – intimidation and stalking. He received a six-month county jail sentence for stalking and a suspended 10-year prison sentence for intimidation.

In a statement issued by the publicist for Letterman’s production company, World Wide Pants, Letterman and Regina Lasko, Harry’s mother, praised the FBI and local authorities.

“We will be forever grateful for their tireless efforts and determination to vigorously pursue this situation,” the couple said in the statement.