The miniseries also portrayed an extraordinary kidnapping plot involving Birjan Nabouti, the father of Masud Nabouti, a prospective Billionaire Boys Club recruit. Masud claimed that his father was an Iranian opium kingpin who had opposed Ruhollah Khomeini, and Hunt allegedly saw the family fortune as another pool of money to seize. Hunt and Booker reportedly disguised themselves as deliverymen, gained access to the Nabouti residence, and forced Birjan into a steamer trunk that was loaded into a camper for transport to a safe house in Northern California. The plan became a grotesque exercise in panic and improvisation: when the trapped man shouted, holes that had been punched into the trunk for air were sealed with duct tape because Hunt feared that passing motorists would hear him. By the time the trunk was opened, Birjan was unconscious and the smell of urine was reportedly coming from inside. Karny attempted CPR, but told Hunt that the man was dead. Rather than summon help, Hunt allegedly ordered that the body be taken to the same canyon used for Levin's remains and then forged Birjan's signature in an effort to establish a conservatorship for Masud. The film presented the episode as settled fact, but the historical prosecution collapsed: prosecutors ultimately dismissed the case against all four defendants, including Hunt, after Hunt persuaded a majority of jurors that Karny himself was solely responsible for Hedayat Eslaminia's death. This makes the episode both one of the production's darkest subjects and an example of how television dramatization could turn disputed testimony into apparent certainty.
Preparing the daily feature…
AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1980s
The Steamer-Trunk Kidnapping That Became the Billionaire Boys Club's Second Death
Joe Hunt and the Billionaire Boys Club / 1980s
The miniseries also portrayed an extraordinary kidnapping plot involving Birjan Nabouti, the father of Masud Nabouti, a prospective Billionaire Boys Club recruit. Masud claimed that his father was an Iranian opium kingpin who had opposed Ruhollah Khomeini, and Hunt allegedly saw the family fortune as another pool of money to seize. Hunt and Booker reportedly disguised themselves as deliverymen, gained access to the Nabouti residence, and forced Birjan into a steamer trunk that was loaded into a camper for transport to a safe house in Northern California. The plan became a grotesque exercise in panic and improvisation: when the trapped man shouted, holes that had been punched into the trunk for air were sealed with duct tape because Hunt feared that passing motorists would hear him. By the time the trunk was opened, Birjan was unconscious and the smell of urine was reportedly coming from inside. Karny attempted CPR, but told Hunt that the man was dead. Rather than summon help, Hunt allegedly ordered that the body be taken to the same canyon used for Levin's remains and then forged Birjan's signature in an effort to establish a conservatorship for Masud. The film presented the episode as settled fact, but the historical prosecution collapsed: prosecutors ultimately dismissed the case against all four defendants, including Hunt, after Hunt persuaded a majority of jurors that Karny himself was solely responsible for Hedayat Eslaminia's death. This makes the episode both one of the production's darkest subjects and an example of how television dramatization could turn disputed testimony into apparent certainty.
The daily feature is taking an intermission. There’s still an entire archive to explore.