Entrepreneur Todd Beckman To Plead Guilty In Maplewood Kidnapping

MAPLEWOOD, MO — Todd Beckman and four others were indicted last December, charged with kidnapping a Maplewood man, holding him hostage for three days, repeatedly beating him and attempting to extort his mother for $27,000 in ransom. Court records describe a brutal, bewildering scheme to pay back the victim for allegedly stealing from Beckman's protege, Blake Laubinger, as during a drug deal. The Riverfront times expounds upon the allegations:

Laubinger, now 25, and his older brother, 27-year-old Caleb Laubinger, are accused of ambushing the Maplewood man inside his own home, binding his hands and hauling him back to Blake Laubinger's house in Pacific. They fastened him to a pole, beat him and shocked him with a Taser, according to court documents.

Beckman and his longtime friend and business partner, 56-year-old Kerry Roades, arrived later. In court documents, federal prosecutors allege the two continued to threaten and attack the man. Beckman pistol-whipped the man and called his mother to negotiate the ransom payment, authorities say.

Beckman is the founder of a number of tanning, massage and fitness companies, including MassageLuXe, TanCO, Xist Fitness and LifeXist. After his arrest, he told police the victim was a "bum," and a "punk" who "would have got it sooner or later." His attorney has argued against admitting recordings of those statements into evidence, saying that detectives got Beckman drunk to get him to talk.

That argument is now moot. Beckman is expected to plead guilty on Thursday to conspiracy and firearms charges.

Read more from the Riverfront Times.