Naman Shrestha
When a private investigator named Richard “Rick” Post went missing after a business trip to Mexico, his family and friends understandably became worried about his well-being and whereabouts and informed the authorities. The investigation brought some disturbing truths to the surface, including a horrific kidnapping plot. The entire case is covered in a detailed manner in the episode titled ‘I Deserve To Live, They Don’t’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘American Monster: Abuse of Power,’ which also features exclusive and insightful interviews with Rick’s loved ones and the officials linked to the investigation.
Richard Post Disappeared During a Business Trip and Was Never Found
Richard Carl Post III was a reputed private investigator, revered for his hardworking and compassionate nature. He was born on September 2, 1945, to Richard Carl Post Sr. and Rose Stevie Rulien Duykers. While he originally hailed from Los Angeles County, California, Rick spent most of his life in San Diego. He grew up to be a tenacious individual and enlisted in the armed forces when he turned 18. He went on to serve in the Vietnam War. His brilliance shone through when he was recruited into Army Intelligence after acquiring the top scores in the IQ test among all the personnel across the Army’s western seaboard. On the personal front, Rick had two marriages, but things didn’t work out.
Although both his marriages ultimately fell apart, Rick was a proud father of four kids. After serving the nation, Rick aimed to give his family financial stability and kick-started Intellisource Security and Investigative Services, Inc. in the city. His career as a private investigator bore fruit as he utilized everything he learned in the force and remained unfazed even when dealing with homicide cases that put him at risk, forcing him to get up close with the killers. Due to his flourishing endeavor, he was loaded with cases in the late 1990s and hired a budding investigator named John Krueger. Sometime in 1997, a businesswoman and farm owner from north of the city named Kimberly Bailey approached Rick’s company.
In her 33-acre farm, Kimberly produced avocados and holistic medicines. She was in her early 40s and ran an alternative medical devices business called AstroPulse, the concept behind which, according to the FBI, “was that by using electrical currents you could cure pretty much anything.” Riddled with paranoia, the multi-millionaire wanted to employ Rick’s services to figure out if she was the target of financial theft. One thing led to another, and Rick and Kimberly fell for each other. However, it didn’t last long as the former reportedly broke it off a while later. Rick was back to doing business as usual and would often leave town for work. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Rick’s then-16-year-old son, Ian Post, received a call from his father’s secretary on August 21, 1998, inquiring about his whereabouts.
When efforts to reach Rick didn’t yield any results, Ian grew concerned, as his father always informed him about his return from his work trips. He immediately reported his father missing. Soon, authorities arrived at Rick’s residence and found his car right outside, along with the keys left behind. Furthermore, his clothes and medications were also discovered at his place. A week later, John notified Ian about a voicemail message Rick left for Intellisource’s line. According to the FBI, “The voicemail was Rick’s voice and was directed to his office staff saying that he was going to be in Mexico for a few days and he was fine, not to worry about him.” Sensing many things amiss, the authorities launched an investigation. While the officials pulled out all the stops, a confession ultimately revealed the fate of the 52-year-old. Unfortunately, the family and friends never received closure as his remains were never found.
One of the Killers Lured Richard Post to Mexico
After Richard Post was reported missing by his family, the investigators took a deep dive into his personal and professional life to paint a clearer picture of the circumstances around the time of his disappearance. They found out that he had recently broken up with Kimberly Bailey, whom they considered a person of interest. Upon questioning John Krueger, more suspicions were raised against her as he claimed that he had last seen Rick with Kimberly on August 20, 1998. During her interview, she admitted that Rick and she traveled to Mexico for business, and alleged that they were interrupted in Tijuana when two men approached him. As per her accounts, he then decided to travel to Mexico City immediately.
She told the detectives that after dropping him off at the airport, she drove his car all the way to his house in San Diego, California. Soon, they began surveilling her and learned that she was also linked to an unrelated fraud case related to her medical devices. In order to get more intel on her, the investigators reached out to the farmhands of Kimberly’s farm, Bruce Perlowin and his wife, Svetlana Ogorodnikova, who was a former convict. Upon talking to them, they learned that Kimberly did not take the breakup too well and was aware that Rick had been sleeping around behind her back. On top of that, she also suspected Rick of stealing from her, something John Krueger told her. This gave her all the motive to carry out Rick’s kidnapping and killing, which she had confessed to Svetlana.
The FBI Arrested the Killers With the Help of a Former Convict
The detectives convinced Svetlana to install hidden recording devices in her car and record Kimberly’s confession for them. Soon enough, the two conversed about the murder while they were driving back to California from Arizona. In the recorded conversation, the orchestrator of Rick’s killing admitted to paying $40,000 to Humberto Iribe, one of John’s associates, to kidnap and torture him. During their trip to Tijuana, Rick was abducted and tortured by Iribe for five days. According to reports, her original plan was to hold him captive for the rest of his life, but when Iribe explained how it could be too much of a risk, she paid him $10,000 more and ordered him to kill and bury him.
When Kimberly contacted Svetlana regarding finding a hitman to have John Krueger and Humberto Iribe killed, the former convict told the same to the authorities. Posing as a hitman, a former FBI Special Agent named Nick McKean met with Kimberly, who said that she wanted three individuals murdered — John, her attorney, and her gardener — and paid him $10,000 in advance. Armed with enough evidence, the authorities took John Krueger into custody in April 2000 in San Diego, before arresting Kimberly in the same month at a Mexico City airport. As for Humberto Iribe, he was arrested at his mother’s residence in Rosarito, Mexico, in April 2001, and later extradited to the United States in July 2003.
Kimberly Passed Away While Serving Her Sentence, While Iribe is Seemingly a Free Man Today
In October 2001, John Krueger took a guilty plea admitting his involvement in the kidnapping of Richard Post. In exchange for a lesser sentence, he agreed to testify against Kimberly Bailey at her trial. He confessed that he was frustrated at Rick for not paying him enough, which was why he decided to make up a false story about him stealing from Kimberly. In the summer of 2002, the trial of Kimberly Bailey commenced. Apart from John, Svetlana also testified against the defendant during the two-week trial.
Finally, in July 2002, she was found guilty of kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, and using interstate commerce in a murder-for-hire scheme. In the following year, Kimberly Bailey was sentenced to life in prison. Meanwhile, Humberto Iribe pleaded not guilty and decided to take his chances in court. He was convicted of conspiracy and attempted kidnapping and sentenced to 25 years in prison. While Kimberly reportedly passed away due to cancer in 2008 while incarcerated, Iribe was seemingly released in December 2022 and has been leading a private life since then.
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