On his deathbed, a father told his daughter a shocking secret. Now she’s telling his story
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
On his deathbed in 2021, Thomas Randele confessed his greatest secret to his daughter, Ashley: His real name was Theodore Conrad, but he’d left that name behind 50 years earlier after he stole $215,000 from a bank. Two years later, Ashley has unveiled her father’s history with a new podcast, “Smoke Screen: My Fugitive Dad.”
Theodore Conrad worked as a bank teller in Cleveland until one summer’s day in 1969, when he stuffed thousands of dollars of cash into a paper bag and left his old life behind, per CNN. Authorities were unable to locate him until 2021, several months after he had died after living his life under the fake name Thomas Randele.
His wife and daughter had no idea Randele was a fugitive bank robber until his shocking deathbed confession shortly before his death, according to CNN.
Related
New podcast investigates murder of actor Hugh Dancy’s great-grandmother
Who killed Dawn Hacheney? New ‘Dateline’ podcast uncovers 1997 murder of pastor’s wife
Who was Ted Conrad/Thomas Randele?
Theodore “Ted” John Conrad was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1949 to parents Edward and Ruthabeth Conrad, per Cleveland.com. After graduating from high school in Lakewood, Ohio, he attended one semester of college before dropping out and moving back to Cleveland.
In January 1969, he got a job at Society National Bank, where his job gave him access to the bank vaults and hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash within. During this time, Conrad became enthralled with the 1968 film “The Thomas Crown Affair,” about a man who successfully steals $2.6 million from a bank, per Cleveland.com.
How much money did Ted Conrad steal?
On July 11, 1969, shortly after his 20th birthday, Conrad went to work at the bank. Later that day, he entered the bank vault and stole $215,000 in cash — the equivalent of $1.7 million today, according to CNN. He never returned to work, and investigators tried to track him down without success.
Conrad moved to Boston, where he assumed the name Thomas Randele and lived a relatively normal life. He got married, and he and his wife had one child, a daughter named Ashley. According to CNN, he worked as a car salesman and enjoyed golfing, spending time with his family and watching crime shows like “NCIS.”
Did Thomas Randele’s family know he was really Ted Conrad?
Randele’s family was unaware of his past until March 2021, when he began chemotherapy for lung cancer. After his first session, he confessed his past to his daughter, Ashley, who was shocked by the revelations, per CNN.
Randele died a few months later. Ashley and her mother planned to tell police so they could finally close their investigation, but U.S. Marshals beat them to it. Details from Randele’s obituary had helped them identify him as the man formerly known as Ted Conrad.
Ashley Randele was interviewed about her father’s case and deathbed confession on “CNN This Morning” on Monday. She discussed her new podcast, “Smoke Screen: My Fugitive Dad,” which premiered the same day.
The podcast details Ashley’s anger at her father, her sorrow at his death and her journey to uncover his past and understand his motives. The first episode is now streaming on all podcast platforms, and the other five episodes in the series will be released weekly.
