'Rockefeller' Impostor Enters Plea

By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press | September 30, 2008

BOSTON — A German citizen who calls himself Clark Rockefeller pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges related to the kidnapping of his 7-year-old daughter off a Boston street in July.

Magistrate Gary Wilson set bail at a sum befitting a true Rockefeller — $50 million.

Investigators say "Rockefeller" is really Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, who has been living under fake identities since coming to America in 1978. He also has been identified as a "person of interest" in the 1985 disappearance of a California couple.

Gerhartsreiter pleaded not guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to charges he grabbed his daughter, Reigh, during a supervised visit, shoving away a court-appointed social worker, then fleeing in a hired car. He also was charged with lying to police about his identity.