A Respectable Family Man Ran a Kidnapping Ring From His Basement
Shownotes
A Respectable Family Man Ran a Kidnapping Ring From His Basement
Police surrounded a quiet home in an affluent Buenos Aires suburb while a woman was still alive in a hidden room beneath it. The man inside threatened to detonate explosives — a former diplomat and sports official his neighbors knew as a model family man. How does a torture chamber operate beneath an ordinary family home for years?
In this episode, we analyze the crimes of the Puccio clan in San Isidro, Argentina. We examine how Arquímedes Puccio cultivated friendships with wealthy victims before abducting them, killed them even after ransoms were paid, and built his operation on the methods of the state intelligence world he came from. What does it mean when the architecture of ordinary life is the perfect cover?
Perpetrator: Arquímedes Puccio (and his family/associates)
Years active: 1982–1985
Location: San Isidro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Known victims: Eduardo and Emilio Nahún (killed); Nélida Abolini de Prado (survived)
Outcome: Convicted of kidnapping and homicide; Puccio died in 2013
- Arquímedes Puccio, a former diplomat with intelligence ties, ran a kidnapping-for-ransom operation from his family home, complete with a hidden room behind a basement wardrobe.
- He befriended wealthy targets for weeks before abducting them, then had victims killed even after their families paid the ransom.
- Victim Emilio Nahún, whom Puccio had visited daily under the pretext of business, was shot dead during his abduction on a Buenos Aires street.
- Police surrounded the family and stormed the house on August 23, 1985, finding captive Nélida Abolini de Prado alive in the basement.
- Puccio was convicted of kidnapping with homicide and died in 2013; he was buried in a common grave with no one claiming his body.
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OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network, who owns and is solely responsible for this content. All rights reserved. Reproduction or commercial use without the creator's written permission is prohibited. Business: [email protected].
Police surrounded a quiet home in an affluent Buenos Aires suburb while a woman was still alive in a hidden room beneath it. The man inside threatened to detonate explosives — a former diplomat and sports official his neighbors knew as a model family man. How does a torture chamber operate beneath an ordinary family home for years?
In this episode, we analyze the crimes of the Puccio clan in San Isidro, Argentina. We examine how Arquímedes Puccio cultivated friendships with wealthy victims before abducting them, killed them even after ransoms were paid, and built his operation on the methods of the state intelligence world he came from. What does it mean when the architecture of ordinary life is the perfect cover?
Perpetrator: Arquímedes Puccio (and his family/associates)
Years active: 1982–1985
Location: San Isidro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Known victims: Eduardo and Emilio Nahún (killed); Nélida Abolini de Prado (survived)
Outcome: Convicted of kidnapping and homicide; Puccio died in 2013
- Arquímedes Puccio, a former diplomat with intelligence ties, ran a kidnapping-for-ransom operation from his family home, complete with a hidden room behind a basement wardrobe.
- He befriended wealthy targets for weeks before abducting them, then had victims killed even after their families paid the ransom.
- Victim Emilio Nahún, whom Puccio had visited daily under the pretext of business, was shot dead during his abduction on a Buenos Aires street.
- Police surrounded the family and stormed the house on August 23, 1985, finding captive Nélida Abolini de Prado alive in the basement.
- Puccio was convicted of kidnapping with homicide and died in 2013; he was buried in a common grave with no one claiming his body.
Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.
Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: https://obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7132489
OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.
Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.
We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.
From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.
© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network, who owns and is solely responsible for this content. All rights reserved. Reproduction or commercial use without the creator's written permission is prohibited. Business: [email protected].