German Man: 'Rockefeller' Is My Brother

Con man ran away from Bavaria in 1978, presumed relative says
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 8, 2008 12:20 PM CDT
German Man: 'Rockefeller' Is My Brother
Clark Rockefeller is seen during his arraignment at a Boston municipal court, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008 in Boston. Rockefeller was extradited from Baltimore to Boston to face kidnapping charges.    (AP Photo/ Essdras Suarez, Pool)

A German man has identified mysterious con artist Clark Rockefeller as his long-lost brother, the Boston Globe reports. Shown photos of the accused kidnapper, Alexander Gerhartsreiter identified him as Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, who left Germany in a student exchange program in 1978 and hasn’t been heard from since 1985. “It’s quite shocking,” he said. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I have only a few memories. He left when I was 5 or 6,” Gerhartsreiter, now 34, told the Boston Herald. “I don’t know if I’m awake or even breathing right now.” Gerhartsreiter also said he knew his brother had used the name Christopher Chichester, also the name of a person wanted for questioning in a California murder case. Authorities are currently scouring Germany for links to Rockefeller, but have not yet contacted Gerhartsreiter. (More Clark Rockefeller stories.)

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