Thomas J. Colbert is an American consultant, writer, producer and former media executive. He is the co-author of The Last Master Outlaw, a book that documents his five-year cold case investigation of D. B. Cooper suspect Robert Rackstraw.[1] The book became the subject of a documentary on the History Channel which Colbert exec-produced.[2] He currently operates TJC Consulting, a consulting firm in Los Angeles. Prior to his work as a consultant, he was a story researcher for CBS and Paramount Pictures and founder of media service Industry R&D.[3]
Thomas J. Colbert | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation(s) | Founder, TJC Consulting |
| Known for | Consultant, Writer, Producer |
| Notable work | The Last Master Outlaw |
| Website | Thomas Colbert website |
Career
editColbert spent his early career as a story researcher for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and then with Hard Copy.[4] After 12 years in the business, he founded the true-story tip service Industry R&D, Inc. (IRD).[4] Colbert used his national network of contacts to collect high-profile stories from local media and then sell them to television and motion picture production companies.[5] Tips generated by Colbert became books and films,[4] including The Vow, Baby Brokers, Fly Away Home, and Boys Don't Cry.[3][6]
Colbert is the co-author of The Last Master Outlaw: How He Outfoxed the FBI Six Times--but Not a Cold Case Team. The book details an investigation organized by Colbert into the identity of a possible suspect in the D.B. Cooper hijacking. The investigation took place over five years and included 40 retired investigators, including a dozen FBI agents.[1] Colbert identified Robert W. Rackstraw Sr. as the main suspect of the crime.[1] The week before Colbert’s team was to turn in all of its circumstantial evidence to the Cooper FBI case agent, the Seattle Division canceled a long-planned meeting and later announced the FBI considered the case of D.B. Cooper "administratively closed."[7] The investigation also became the subject of the History Channel documentary D.B. Cooper: Case Closed, which aired in 2016 and was exec-produced by Colbert.[2][8]
Colbert currently operates Industry R&D LLC www.IndustryRandD.com and TJC Consulting.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Dodd, Johnny (12 July 2016). "Man Identified in History Channel Show as Notorious Skyjacker D.B. Cooper Denies Accusation". People. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ a b Dobuzinskis, Alex (9 September 2016). "U.S. TV producer seeks to prove theory in D.B. Cooper mystery". Reuters. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ a b "How Those Bizarre Stories Make It To The Screen". The Cincinnati Post. 25 November 1996. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ a b c Pool, Bob (26 February 1994). "The Only Story That Tom Colbert Hasn't Gotten: His Own : 'We ask, "How's the wife, how are the kids and, by the way, do you have any stories for us?" '". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ Pertman, Adam (27 March 1994). "Quick movie deals may hurt justice". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 15 December 2016.[dead link]
- ^ Storer, Mark (11 February 2012). "Camarillo producer helps bring "The Vow" to screen". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ Bailey, Everton (8 September 2016). "Lawsuit filed against FBI to make D.B. Cooper investigation file public". Oregon Live. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ "D.B. Cooper: Case Closed?". History Channel. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ "About TJC Consulting". TJC Consulting. Retrieved 15 December 2016.