Who Is Ted Conrad? Get to Know the Bank Robber Behind 'My Fugitive Dad'
Thomas Randele/Ted Conrad and Ashley Randele
Thomas Randele was a warm, friendly family man and car salesman who lived in a Boston suburb and loved golf, NCIS, his wife and daughter and an iconic heist film. He was also harboring a decades-long secret: He was a fugitive named Theodore John "Ted" Conrad, wanted by the FBI for an Ohio bank robbery.
Randele's daughter Ashley Randele recalls how she and her mother, Kathy, learned about her father's secret identity and former life in the new podcast Smoke Screen: My Fugitive Dad, as well as why he robbed the bank where he worked, then walked away from his family, friends and everything he'd known to start a completely new life.
"I'm thrilled to be telling the real story of my dad, beyond the splashy headlines of a decades-old bank heist," Conrad's daughter Ashley, host of My Fugitive Dad, said in a statement. "Once I knew my dad's insane secret, I had to find why the incredible and loving dad I knew walked away from his parents and siblings. When we started this journey, it didn't make sense, but now it does."
Find out everything to know about Ted Conrad and the My Fugitive Dad podcast.
Related: How Did Mary Kay Letourneau Get Caught?
What is the podcast about Ted Conrad?
Sony Music
My Fugitive Dad tells the story about Ted Conrad. Hosted by Conrad's daughter, Ashley Randele, she examines not just the heist and its aftermath, but what led Conrad to leave his entire life in Cleveland behind.
Episodes are released weekly starting Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, through Jan. 8, 2024. Subscribers to The Binge can listen to every episode starting Dec. 4.
The episodes, respectively, are titled:
My Fugitive Dad: 1. Becoming Thomas Crown
My Fugitive Dad: 2. The Hunt
My Fugitive Dad: 3. The Last Randele
My Fugitive Dad: 4. A Ringer
My Fugitive Dad: 5. Tom's Very Last Round
My Fugitive Dad: 6. Settling Accounts
Related: Everything to Know About The Jinx — Part Two
Who was the real Thomas Randele?
Thomas Randele's real name was Theodore John "Ted" Conrad. Born in Denver on July 10, 1949, Conrad moved to Ohio with his mother and sister after his parents' divorce. Conrad was reportedly a bit of a genius, with his IQ clocking in at 135 as a teen. After high school, he attended New England College, leaving after a single semester to attend Cuyahoga Community College.
Conrad got a job at the Society National Bank headquarters in Cleveland in 1969, and investigators alleged to CNN that he would boast about how easy it was to get the gig and about how lax the security was at the bank.
He was a huge fan of The Thomas Crown Affair, a film in which a wealthy, bored man robs a bank and turns the heist into a game to play with investigators. On Friday, July 11, 1969, Conrad, whose job it was to package cash to be distributed throughout Society National Bank branches, entered the headquarters' vault. He filled a paper bag with $215,000—worth about $2 million today when adjusted to inflation—and walked out.
Related: The Best True Crime Documentaries
Sony Music
The bank didn't notice any money was missing for two days, during which time Conrad began his journey of settling into a Boston suburb and adopting his new identity of Thomas Randele. U.S. Marshal Peter J. Elliott, son of fellow U.S. Marshal John K. Elliott, believes his new moniker and location may have been inspired by The Thomas Crown Affair. Peter told The New York Times, "He was a darer, so to speak. After seeing that movie, I believe he thought, 'Hey, what if I do this and get away with this?' I really think it was a challenge for him to be able to do it."
In an interesting twist, Conrad was reportedly a huge fan of NCIS and crime shows, as well as a frequent donor to local police causes.
Both John K. and Peter J. Elliott worked decades to catch Conrad, but weren't able to identify him until after he died. John K. Elliott died in March 2020, a year before Conrad's own passing.
Related: The Best True Crime Shows on Netflix
How was Theodore Conrad caught?
Conrad was never actually caught until after his death, much to the chagrin of John K. Elliott, who pursued him for decades, leading his son Peter to take the reins of the investigation.
Conrad came clean to his daughter Ashley about his former identity and life in March 2021, while undergoing treatment for lung cancer, and beseeched her to not look into the case and stories about him—but she couldn't resist indulging her curiosity.
"I'm alone in my childhood bedroom, and I Googled 'Ted Conrad missing,' and the first thing that came up said something like, 'Vault teller robs bank,'" Ashley recalled to CNN. "I was like, 'Oh my God, this is my dad.' And there were hundreds and hundreds of articles about him."
Sony Music
Related: 20 True Crime Stories That Would Make Great Movies
After learning about his past, Ashley was able to piece more things together, including why her father always had a beard and never traveled out of the country, even when his wife Kathy wanted to go to France (he didn't have a passport).
Following Conrad's death, someone sent a copy of his obituary to Peter J. Elliott. The obituary for Randele had parallels to Conrad's own life, including his birthdate (July 10, 1947, versus July 10, 1949), parents' names, Conrad's birthplace (Denver) and alma mater (New England College). Peter was also able to match Randele's signature on a 2014 bankruptcy filing to one of Conrad's college applications that John K. Elliott had procured previously.
Peter traveled to Lynnfield and visited the Randele residence after Conrad died, saying Ashley and Kathy were surprised to see him, but weren't in any trouble themselves. He told The New York Times, "I feel bad for them because of a father-husband that they really never knew who he was, and also, you know, they are living under a fictitious name."
Related: Is It Healthy to De-Stress By Watching True Crime Documentaries?
Sony Music
How much money did Ted Conrad steal?
Conrad stole $215,000 in July 1969, equivalent to roughly $2 million in today's dollars. It's unclear what he did with all that cash, as he (under the Randele name) filed for bankruptcy in 2014.
