Ronny Aldridge is a kidnapper and a murder facilitator of an investment banker's mistress in the interest of his collapsing youth organization.
History[]
Aldridge founded Fresh Horizons and majorly ran off donations, but his budget was decreasing regularly. When the stock market crashed, he couldn't afford restoration and livability of a trashed farm he wanted to buy from Dale Thornhill, but he was still hoping to house the kids he worked with there. Despite investment banker Peter Gardner getting a bailout that narrowly saved his savings when his bank was near bankruptcy, he refused a donation for Aldridge, no matter the decrease in price as Aldridge desperately insisted.
Since Aldridge needed 200 grand for the property alone, he kidnapped Blair Carlson, Gardner's mistress, and held her hostage in Harlem while assisted by one of his youths, Carlos. Gardner agreed to prepare the money within the span of a day, but Carlson escaped the locked room in the abandoned building she was in, despite the promise of the payment and enough food and water for the time being. After she broke a window and ran, Carlos tried to pull her back, but she fought him off and fled into the road, where she was run over by Silvio Mangiafico's truck while he was driving.
Carlos was a recurring suspect, and when Aldridge's motive was uncovered, along with his prints in the abandoned building and Blair's hair in the van, he and Carlos were arrested and taken to trial. Carlos was absolved of charges and released in exchange for his testimony against Aldridge, and even Gardner met an incentive of testifying in lieu of a contempt citation driven by bias.
But bias against Gardner diverted the trial, as the defense cited Gardner as the problem since he used his bailout for himself. Carlos told the truth on the stand, but was pushed by the defense to laud Aldridge with his encouragement of Carlos turning his life around. Aldridge himself painted everything as Gardner's fault, a plan Blair consented to and was in on, and a terrible accident he felt guilty for on behalf of Blair and his kids.
To spite Gardner, the jury acquitted Aldridge. All the kids rejoiced, except Carlos, who solemnly slipped out of the courtroom first. (L&O: "Bailout")