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The Franklin Files -> Johnny Gosch Investigation -> Paul Bonacci
Post Info TOPIC: Paul Bonacci
Shadowman


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RE: Paul Bonacci
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Q. Do you know Paul Bonacci?
 
A. Yes, I do.
 
Q. Can you tell us how you came to know Paul Bonacci?
 
A. In 1991, I believe it was -- let me check my notes, I wrote it down -- yes, it was in 1991 and it was the spring of 1991, I was at my office and suddenly people called me on the phone and said that there was a news release that was being generated by NBC in Des Moines, Channel 13, saying that there was a young man in prison in Lincoln, Nebraska that had given information that he was part of the Johnny Gosch kidnapping. Well, immediately everyone wanted statements from me. The FBI showed up at my office, practically pinned me on the wall, wanted to know what this was all about. And I had no clue, I did not know anything about it. The whole climate of Des Moines was just crazy when this happened. Because everybody had been wanting to see Johnny's case solved. Well, Later that night I got home and I waited all night long. My husband never came home. He didn't walk in the door till 6:00 a.m. And I said, where have you been? Surely you've heard the news. And he said, yeah, I heard it. But he says, I've known about Bonacci for almost two years and I didn't tell you. And I couldn't believe it. I later found out years later that he came to Lincoln, Nebraska after Paul had confided in his attorney, you, that he had knowledge of the Gosch case. You called our home. My husband took the call, never told me. And he came to Lincoln and subsequently went to the prison but he brought another woman with him and introduced her as Noreen Gosch. Someone who masqueraded as me. And we have, you know, witnesses to prove that. Why he did this I'm not quite sure. I do know that he went to the prison to talk to Paul. At length. And then kept it from me for all that length of time. And instructed you to never call our home and to only contact him through a certain number. So when all this started to come about, and I'm digressing now back to when Bonacci surfaced in my world, which was in 1991, I went to the prison to meet him myself that fall. With a private investigator Roy Stephens. And I took along the same NBC reporter that first released the story so he could videotape everything that was said. And during that time during our visit at the prison Paul admitted to me what happened, how Johnny was kidnapped, where they took him, how he was used, where he went on from there. How he was used for pictures, pornographic pictures, many aspects of what I did not know. The TV station ran that as a series. That attracted the attention of America's Most Wanted. They came in and filmed the entire the story and all of what Paul had to say. In the mean time I was able to have a private investigator begin to check out many of the details that Paul had given me. And Paul is telling the truth. He was the first one to ever come to me and tell the truth about what happened to my son.
 
Q. Noreen, how do you know this isn't just one more story? Why do you believe him rather than somebody else?
 
A. Because we've had the time to check out many of the things that Paul told us and we found them to be true, to be accurate. Because I have interviewed other young men that have given me the very same sorry. And because I have talked to my son myself one time.
 
Q. When did you talk to your son?
 
A. March of 1997.
 
Q. So you knew as of March, 1997 your son was alive?
 
A. Right. I had begun to, between 1992 and 97 I had started to give up hope that he was alive. At that point I began to pursue more of the who did it part. The criminal aspect of it. Because I felt that there was no more news on Johnny and I wouldn't have known what he would look like because he obviously aged if he was alive. And in March, in the middle of the night there was knocking on my door. And I went to the door and I looked out and there was a young man out there. And there was someone with him, he had someone with him. I don't know that person's name, they didn't give it to me. And I let him in and we talked for a little over an hour, hour and a half. And he began telling me what had happened to him. And he told me the exact same story that Paul Bonacci had told me in prison. I know that Paul's telling the truth. And I know that my son fell victim to the very same organization that affected and almost destroyed Paul's life and the lives of many other young people.
 
Q. Is this the first time you've told this story publicly?
 
A. Yes. And that's because I'm under oath. Otherwise I never have shared that I actually talked to my son.
 
Q. I understand. Do you have any how do you know it was your son?
 
A. My son has a very large birthmark on his chest. And I asked to see it.
 
Q. And was it there?
 
A. Yes. Yes, it was my son.


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Shadowman


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Q. Did you have any other reason to know it was your son?
 
A. He looks like my son. He was able to recall family events. He was able to recall things about his brother and sister growing up that not another soul would know. It was my son. He was, he told me that he was not able to talk freely in the sense that he could come out with his story because there are people that would want to see him dead. And he said, mom, do something. He says, I know about all that you've been doing. I know what you've done in this country. Now he said, please, help me. So I can have a life and the other kids can have a life. And I didn't know where to start at first. Because no one believed us. No one believed Paul at that time. People wanted to forget about Johnny Gosch because it was an embarrassment to Des Moines, Iowa, it was an embarrassment to the police, the FBI, all of them that basically didn't do their jobs. And it was embarrassing for them to see a mother still out there trying to find their son and working three jobs to keep it going financially. And the exact law enforcement agencies you would expect to help didn't. They gave up on it.
 
Q. Now, when Paul and you met and you videotaped and he described various details, did he tell you he was a young boy at that time who was the one to attract Johnny then for the kidnapping?
 
A. Yes, he did. When we first met and we were seated at the table at the prison, Paul took one look at me and as soon as he knew who I was he broke down and started to cry. And he said, I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry. And I looked at him and said, I don I blame you. I don I hate you. Just tell me what happened. And then that's how he told me of the kidnap plan and how it evolved and where he was on the street to attract Johnny to the car. And then what happened to Johnny as far as being drugged and transported to another area. And then he described the events of the first time Johnny was molested. And, yes, it was hard to hear. But at the same time for the first time I was hearing truth. And it was coming from a young man who took such a big step to go public to help me.
He didn't have to do that. He could have gone on with his life and died with that secret. And Paul made the moral decision to go forward to help me --
 
Q. Do you know how –
 
A. -- to help other kids.
 
Q. Do you know how old Paul was at this time of this?
 
A. At the time of the kidnapping I believe Paul would have only been about 14 or t5(sic) years old. He was very young himself. He was only a couple of years older than Johnny.
 
Q. I just found that out. He was used to attract the boy?
 
A. Yes, he was.
 
Q. Did he have a name for how they operated this system, scavenger hunt or whatever?
 
A. Well, he used terms like that. And then he described the car that they used and the driver of the car, a man by the name of Emilio who has a dozen aliases for last names, always drove around with at least license plates in his trunk and would put a different license plate on to always throw off police or anybody that might be trying to record who, what car was at a certain site. Paul also told me that they stayed in a motel not far from the kidnap site the night before the kidnapping, somewhere probably Des Moines or West Des Moines.
 
Q. When you met with your son did he verify these things?
 
A. Yes, he did.
 
Q. Before you met with your son were you satisfied or convinced that Paul was telling the truth because of your independent investigation?
 
A. Yes. I believed Paul right from the beginning. From the day at the prison when the man talked to me. And then in the ensuing months I was able to verify much of what he said. So then it became completely confirmed in my mind. And then when America's Most Wanted entered the case their investigators also worked with our private investigator. And John Walsh of America's Most Wanted happens to be a very good friend of mine, and he told me that he saw this as probably the only real break we've ever had in your case.
 
Q. Now, America's Most Wanted, as I recall, did a number of programs on this?
 
A. Yes. They did the first initial one in November of 1992, it aired shortly before Thanksgiving. And at that time it broke the phone bank. They had more phone calls generated in coming in off of this case than they've ever had. Then they did two more follow-up stories in months to come.
 
Q. Is it not true that America's Most Wanted as part of their programs put out information requesting certain people to come forward if they had information on this?
 
A. Yes, they did. During the course of the story being relayed they asked that if there were any other young victims of this type of organization that would compare with what Paul had said, would they please come forward?
 
Q. Did Paul describe to America's Most Wanted a particular type of identifying mark some of the kids had?
 
A. Yes. We, at that time Paul described it and it was shown on America's Most Wanted. The shape of the mark that they put on the boys, a brand, if you will, they branded them like cattle.
 
Q. And where did they put this brand?
 
A. Some had it on their shoulders, some on their hips. Some on their calves of their legs.
 
Q. And if you know, do you know if in fact some children came forward with that particular brand and contacted America's Most Wanted?
 
A. Yes. About a month and a half after that show aired I received a letter from a young man that said his name was Jimmy and he related in his letter similar experience of everything that Paul went through. And he continued to write to me. I had no way of contacting him. But in my, finally he called me on the telephone and I said, can we meet somewhere, would you come to Des Moines? III meet you somewhere else if you feel safer. And that went on for about two months. And then in the middle of the night one night the phone rang. And there was a blizzard going on, it was very cold and snowing. And this voice said, well, I'm here. And I said, who's here? He said, it's Jimmy and I'm in Osceola, come in on the train. That's where our nearest train station is. And he said on the way here someone stole my coat. So I went down to the storage room and I got some warm clothes and I got in the car and I drove to Osceola in the middle of the night to meet Jimmy. And we sat until dawn in a little restaurant that stayed open all night. That's when he poured out his whole story of what had happened to him. He had knowledge of Johnny. And the activities that the boys were all involved in. That corresponded to what Paul had said but it picked up the years; that Paul was in prison and went up to present day.
 
Q. And is it not true that he had the brand?
 
A. Jimmy had the brand on the calf of his leg.
 
Q. And is it not true that you had America's Most Wanted film that?
 
A. Yes. America's Most Wanted interviewed and filmed the brand on Jimmy. His face was blocked out because he was terrified of having his face shown in the country. Then -
 
Q. And is it not true that they in fact had a doctor examine him to verify this occurred years before and not put on recently?
 
A. Yes. That was one thing that's determined, that it was an old brand that had been there for a long, long time, that it was not a new brand that he applied just to come in and fake a story. One thing I'd like to mention if I may, during Jimmy's story, he told me that Johnny and several other kids had broken away from the main group that had been using them and abusing them. That they had stolen a car in which they traveled to get away. And Jimmy took them to his father's home. And his father did not know they were in the basement. And Jimmy was bringing food down to them. And one night Jimmy's father noticed a lot of food was missing out of the refrigerator so he followed his son to the basement and found my son and two other boys in the basement. He still did not know names. And so Jimmy gave me his father's phone number. And his name is Richard Gibson in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And I called him. He's an accountant, a CPA, very nice man. He told me that he gave shelter and food and warm clothes to my son for a period of three days. And then the boys moved on. And it was later when he saw another rebroadcast of the America's Most Wanted that he realized that the boy, one of the boys in his basement was in fact my son.
 
Q. You understand this is, all sounds like an incredible tale?
 
A. Yes, it does.
 
Q. Do you have any other compelling reasons to suggest that I or anyone of the general public should believe this story?


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Shadowman


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A. The only thing that I can add to that is that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. This really did happen. There was a giant cover-up. There's reasons why they did not investigate Johnny's case because it would have led to other bigger things. And the people that would say they don't believe it better hope to hell that no one ever takes their child for the same reason because they will be in the same boat I am. Dedicating better part of two decades trying to find their child.
 
Q. It's my recollection, though I wasn't physically present, it's my recollection that America's Most Wanted on the day that Paul Bonacci got out of jail took him and went on a trip where he claimed certain things would be if they go and look in different states, four or five state regions.
 
A. They went on about five state region. One of the states they were in was Colorado and they did in fact find some of the locations where they kept the kids and places where they would put the kids in the basement. And lock them up so they couldn't get out. And so that if they had visitors to the upper level of the house no one would know the kids were down there. There's one other thing I would like to add when we're talking about the America's Most Wanted story, just prior to the America's Most Wanted story going on the air, we're talking within a week or two of air time, the FBI in Quantico, Virginia contacted America's Most Wanted and told them to kill the story. They did not want the Johnny Gosch story broadcast. And John Walsh, the only reason the story went on is because John Walsh is a personal friend and he stood up to them and he said this story goes. This woman does notlie. I've known her for years. We are going with the story. You can fire me afterwards, we're doing the story. And they did the story. But the FBI tried to kill this story.
 
Q. Do you know why?
 
A. Well, of course. It would have opened up the biggest scandal to the United States, bigger than the Iran-Contra story. Bigger than President Clinton's infidelities.
 
Q. Isn't that story going to be aired at two specials very shortly?
 
A. Yes. I have a one hour special coming up with the national network. We have investigated, we have talked to so far 35 victims of this said organization that took my son and is responsible for what happened to Paul and they can verify everything that has happened. And this story will be broadcast in the next few months. We're still working on some of the details.
 
Q. ABC News?
 
A. Yes. And it is our hope following this story that we will be able to get senate hearings, because it goes that high and that deep.
 
Q. Did you want to tell more about what it involves?
 
A. What this story --
Q. Under oath?
 
A. -- involves is an elaborate function, I will say, that was an offshoot of a government program. The MK Ultra program was developed in the 1950s by the CIA. It was used to help spy on other countries during the cold War because they felt that the other countries were spying on us. It was very successful. They could do it very well. Well, then there was a man by the name of Michael Aquino. He was in the military. He had top Pentagon clearance. He was a pedophile. He was a Satanist. He's founded the Temple of Set. And he was also a very close friend of Anton LaVey. The two of them were very active in ritualistic sexual abuse. And they deferred funding from this government program to use this experimentation upon children. Where they deliberately split off the personalities of these children into multiples so that when they're questioned or put under oath or questioned under lie detector, that unless the operator knows how to question a multiple personality disorder they turn up with no evidence. They use these kids to sexually compromise politicians or anyone else they wish to have control of. This sounds so far out and so bizarre I had trouble accepting it in the beginning myself until I was presented with the data. We have the proof. In black and white. And ABC has been working on this story for over a year. They do not pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a story that is fake. They have a reputation at stake. When I came to them with my story and told them Johnny was alive and they began investigating they had no idea that they were going to step into this whole other realm of why these kids were taken. They were not just taken to be used by some pedophile, they were taken to be used by professional pedophiles. People that have the money to buy what they want, take the kids wherever they want. And by splitting the children's personalities they could then train each one of the personalities to do a different function. And the rest of the personalities within that host personality would not be aware of it or remember it.
 
Q. You know, don't you, that Colonel Aquino was drummed out of the military?
 
A. He was. But then there were no charges actually filed against him that stuck. He was drummed out but that was about it.
 
Q. Well, that's --
A. I know that Michael Aquino has been in Iowa. I know that Michael Aquino has been to Offutt Air Force Base. I know that he has had contact with many of these children.
 
Q. Noreen --
A. I've had the death threats as I spoke out over the years and up till recently, I've had death threats. I've had many things happen to me. And I've had people call me and say drop this search for your son or you'll be a dead woman.
 
Q. You realize this is an incredible tale?
 
A. Yes, it is.
 
Q. Difficult to believe.
 
A. Uh-huh.
 
Q. Some would say impossible.
 
A. They might.
 
Q. But you believe it's true?
 
A. I know it's true.
 
Q. And you believe Paul is telling the truth?
 
A. I believe Paul's telling the truth. And I believe my own son was telling me the truth when he came to my home and poured his heart out as to what happened to him and said mom, do something. Help us all. Help us bring this story out. Nobody believes us. The suffering that the families have gone through, I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm one of the fortunate ones that have survived with some degree of physical health intact. Emotional balance. I've seen so many of the parents and the siblings of these missing and abused children take their own life. Disappear into the drug world. Any kind of substance abuse. Broken homes. Sexual and physical abuse of other children in the family. Because of the rage that comes up. The devastation goes on and on and on from what these people have done.
 
Q. Noreen, I have no further questions. You have any other thing you want to say?
 
A. I do, I have one other thing to say.
 
Q. Go ahead.
 
A. June 13th of 1984 1 was contacted by a man in Des Moines, Iowa by the name of Sam Soda. He was a private investigator. He told me, and I taped the conversation, he told me that there was going to be a second kidnapping in Des Moines. That it would be the second weekend of August, it would be another paperboy, and that it was already in the works. And I asked him why he was telling me and he said, well, you seem like the type that would do something about it. So I took my tape recording and I went to the Des Moines Police Department. They laughed at me. They wouldn't even listen to my tape. So then I went to the TV stations and I played it for them. As a matter of record. So it was on record. The other person I told was Karen Bums with ABC 20-20, because 20-20 came to Des Moines to do our story. The second weekend in August came and, sure enough, Eugene Martin was kidnapped. From the south side of Des Moines just as the informant had said. That man still walks the streets. The Des Moines police were not all that interested in why he was giving me the information. What they did to me instead was put a gag order on me so I couldn't talk about it at that time. They had forewarning that Eugene Martin was going to be taken and they did nothing. It was a planned kidnapping just as my own son's was.
 
MR. DECAMP: No further questions, Your Honor.
 
THE COURT: You may stand down. All right, Mr. DeCamp.


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MR. DECAMP: Your Honor, the next witness I would like to call is a man named Russell Nelson.
 
THE COURT: Mr. Nelson.
 
THE CLERK: Sir, would you state your full name and spell your last name, please?
 
THE WITNESS: Russell E. or Eric Nelson R-u-s-s-e-l-l, E-r-i-c, N-e-l-s-o-n.
 
THE CLERK: Russell Eric Nelson, N-e-l-s-o-n.
 
RUSSELL NELSON
Called as a witness, being duly sworn, testified as follows:
 
DIRECT EXAMINATION
 
BY MR. DECAMP:
 
Q. Russell, may I call you by your nickname?
 
A. Yes.
 
Q. What is your nickname?
 
A. Rusty.
 
Q. Rusty Nelson. Where were you born?
 
A. Newman Grove, excuse me, Newman Grove, Nebraska.
 
Q. Where did you grow up?
 
A. Newman Grove, Nebraska.
 
Q. Until what age?
 
A. Just before my 18th birthday I moved to Kansas City to go to school.
 
Q. How old are you now?
 
A. 35.
 
Q. Where do you live now?
 
A. Well, right now Portland, Oregon.
 
Q. And is it true that you came here on a travel pass issued by the parole or probation authorities in Oregon?
 
A. Yes.
 
Q. And when did you arrive here?
 
A. Late yesterday afternoon, yesterday evening.
 
Q. And did you come back here at my request to testify?
 
A. Pretty much between that and the fact that I wanted it brought out.
 
Q. I want to take you back to when you were in Nebraska. Did you ever hear of anything called the Franklin Credit Union?
 
A. Oh, yes.
 
Q. Did you know people associated with it?
 
A. Yes.
 


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Q. Have you ever read a section of an affidavit or an affidavit from Police Chief Wadman -- do you know who Police Chief Wadman is?
 
A. Oh, yes.
 
Q. Who is he?
 
A. He's police chief Omaha, Nebraska, or was.
 
MR. DECAMP: Your Honor, if I could read a section of an affidavit with your permission, Your Honor.
 
THE COURT: You may.
 
Q. (By Mr. DeCamp) Are you aware, Rusty, that a number of the young people involved in the Franklin scandal -- have you heard of the Franklin scandal?
 
A. Oh, yes.
 
Q. A number of the young people involved there, including Paul Bonacci, Alisha Owen, Troy Boner, a number of children all identified you or a person named Rusty Nelson who was involved with Larry King and was a photographer, are you aware of that?
 
A. Yes.
 
Q. I'm going to read you a statement that Police Chief Wadman made under oath, to the Nebraska senate committee, legislative committee, looking into matters there. Police Chief Wadman said: We had a situation where we were advised that there was a possibility of child pornography involving --no, it came in as child pornography case. What happened is that there was a photographer who was taking photographs of young women, and in the course of that set of circumstances, a mother with her daughter called and filed a complaint with the police department, and the complaint involved a situation where her daughter was approached by the photographer to be photographed, and the photographer extended an invitation to this young woman's mother to come with her. They went to studio, photographs were taken. In the course of that the mother became concerned over the photographs and some of the photographs that she observed at that photo studio and then filed a complaint of concern that this was a possible pornographic situation. We investigated -- we investigated it, found the photographer to be, you know, legitimately involved in the photography business, legitimately involved in conducting the photographs and getting signed releases and having a photography studio and so on. The only involvement is that this individual had subleased his studio or apartment from Larry King, and that was the extent of our investigation into pornography related activities involving Mr. King in any direct way. This was in response the legislature questioning him about whether you were in any way involved with Larry King. Would that be an accurate statement there by Chief Wadman?
 
A. I believe so.
 
Q. Did you in fact not function as a private photographer for Larry King?
 
A. Yes, I did.
 
Q. Mr. Wadman stated the only contact you had was renting an apartment from him?
 
A. I didn't rent the apartment, it was given to me.
 
Q. Who was it given to you by?
 
A. Larry King. I had free reign for a lot of things for Larry's.
 
Q. How did you come to know Larry King?
 
A. I was taking pictures at a bar called Max's on 79th Street after drag shows. It was something to do that wouldn't cost me much if any money to go in to do. It was fun. One of the people there, name was Ron, trying to remember what his last name was, escapes me now. I had gotten to know pretty much everybody who was the regulars and I had said to him that, you know, I was having some financial problems and, you know, I needed to- find a decent job, this and that and the next thing. And he goes, well, I know somebody who probably be able to use a good photographer, III talk to him, see what we can set up for you the next day or two. All of a sudden here's Larry King, I had no idea who he was, this, that and the next thing. And so I went and next thing I know I'm on a private jet to Washington, D. C. And, you know, just being lavishly spent money on, clothes.
 
Q. How old were you at the time?
 
A. Oh, probably 24, 25.


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