Editing J. Paul Getty (section)

==Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III==
{{main|Kidnapping of John Paul Getty III}}

In Rome on July 10, 1973, [['Ndrangheta]] kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, [[John Paul Getty III]], and demanded $17&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|17000001|1973|r=-6}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}){{Inflation-fn|US}} for his safe return. The family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather.<ref name=TelegraphPaulObit>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1427781/Sir-Paul-Getty.html|title=Sir Paul Getty (obituary)|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|location=London, England|date=April 17, 2003|access-date=March 30, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326085052/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1427781/Sir-Paul-Getty.html|archive-date=March 26, 2009}}</ref> [[John Paul Getty Jr.]] asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnapping targets if he paid.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1386478.stm|title=Profile: Sir John Paul Getty II|work=BBC News|location=London, England|date=June 13, 2001|access-date=March 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218093705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1386478.stm|archive-date=February 18, 2007}}</ref> In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike.<ref name="TelegraphPaulObit" /> The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2&nbsp;million. The demand stated: "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."<ref name="TelegraphPaulObit" />

When the kidnappers reduced their demand to $3&nbsp;million, Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US|2200000|1973|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at four percent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on December 15, 1973, in a [[Lauria]] filling station, in the [[province of Potenza]], shortly after the ransom was paid.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.ilpost.it/2013/07/10/paul-getty/2/|work= [[Il Post]]|title= Il rapimento di Paul Getty|language= it|date= July 10, 2013|access-date= July 10, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140330001021/http://www.ilpost.it/2013/07/10/paul-getty/2/|archive-date= March 30, 2014|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref> After his release, the younger Getty called his grandfather to thank him for paying the ransom but Getty refused to come to the phone.<ref name="Weber2011">{{cite news|first=Bruce|last=Weber|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/world/europe/08gettyobit.html|title=J. Paul Getty III, 54, Dies; Had Ear Cut Off by Captors|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 7, 2011|access-date=March 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324045356/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/world/europe/08gettyobit.html|archive-date=March 24, 2018}}</ref> Nine people associated with 'Ndrangheta were later arrested for the kidnapping, but only two were convicted.<ref name="Weber2011"/> Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, he was rendered speechless, nearly blind, and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on February 5, 2011, at age 54.<ref name="Weber2011"/>

Getty defended his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two grounds. He argued that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnapping targets if he paid<ref name="Weber2011"/> and said: "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, 'skyjackings' and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world."<ref>Getty, 1976, p. 139</ref> Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including [[Girolamo Piromalli]] and [[Saverio Mammoliti]], high-ranking members of the [['Ndrangheta]], a Mafia organization in Calabria.<ref name="tim280174">[https://web.archive.org/web/20081222050935/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911066,00.html Catching the Kidnappers], ''Time'', January 28, 1974</ref> Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.<ref name="Weber2011" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Woo |first=Elaine |date=February 7, 2011 |title=J. Paul Getty III dies at 54; scion of oil dynasty |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-john-paul-getty-iii-20110208,0,1147525.story |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>