It was revealed years later that Mel Lastman had fathered two children through a 14 year affair he had from 1957 to 1971 and that in 1974 his mistress signed an agreement renouncing all claims against Lastman for support in exchange for $25,000.

When all this was reported in the early 2000s the first thought I had was "well that explains the "kidnapping" mystery."

My theory is that Marilyn Lastman learned of Mel's second family in 1972 or 1973, that this caused her to have a mental breakdown and that the kidnapping never happened but was a hoax (or, a cry for help to put it in more sympathetic terms) or perhaps some elaborate attempt by Marilyn Lastman to escape what must for her have been an unbearable situation.

Rather than charge her with mischief, the police, either to save Mel any embarrassment and/or in deference to his position, or because they recognised this was really a domestic matter and that any charges would end up being dismissed due to Marilyn Lastman's mental state at the time, decided just to sweep everything under the rug and neither take any further action or make any public comment.

This is pure speculation on my part but I think it's a pretty sound theory. 
 

Last edited by Hansa (January 2, 2020 6:05 pm)

Thanks Lorne, That's interesting. The Star story was not up when I wrote the original post, but I'm glad to see someone else remembered it.

That said, it sure was great hearing Jack Dennett's voice again. 

RadioActive wrote:

Amidst all the radio reporting done on her sad obit, no one seems to have mentioned this mysterious moment in her life - the late matriarch's apparent kidnapping in 1973 and her equally odd release several hours later.

Did she not also get picked up for shoplifting? Some time in the 80s maybe? Did that make the obit? Apologies if I am mistaken.

Chrisphen wrote:

6079 Smith W wrote:

Did she not also get picked up for shoplifting? Some time in the 80s maybe? Did that make the obit? Apologies if I am mistaken.

Yes. That was in the early 2000s IIRC. The cops and most of the media did their best to keep it discreet. I think it was Adam Vaughan who broke the story, which then led Mel Lastman to threaten to kill him.
 

She shoplifted a pair of $155 designer jeans from Eatons in April 1999. It was reported in the news in May. I don't think this or the "kidnapping" would be included in the obit.  Maybe a story about her life, but certainly not in the obit which the family would write along with whoever is handling the arrangements for her funeral.

The shoplifting was widely reported by all media so it wasn't really hidden or anything like that. The fact she wasn't charged again to me is not a biggie. Everyone who shoplifts is not always charged, depends on the situation, age of the person, mental state of the individual and a lot of other factors. True the store can charge them, but they do have discretion, so Eatons who were struggling to stay in business in April 1999 possibly thought it wasn't worth the effort or time.  Anyone else who stole a pair of jeans from Eatons also wouldn't have it reported all over the news like it was for Marilyn Lastman.

It was funny about two months later, City or CTV was interviewing Mel in his office about something and I remember in the background behind the mayor, you could see an Eatons bag on his credenza along with photos and other memorabilia, and I wondered if many people picked up on that. Made me smile, thinking that Marilyn had dropped by the store again earlier in the day!

I stand corrected - it was apparently Frank magazine that broke it.

Chrisphen wrote:

I stand corrected - it was apparently Frank magazine that broke it.

Yes, but I think Adam Vaughan was possibly the first mainstream reporter to report it - in any case he is the journalist Lastman threatened over his reporting of the incident. 

But of course, compared to Rob Ford, Lastman was a paragon of sanity, stability, and respectfulness. 

Last edited by Hansa (January 3, 2020 8:48 pm)