Hostage Suspect: Violent 'Drunk,' or Crying for Help?

SOMERSWORTH, N.H., Dec. 1, 2007 — -- As the town of Rochester, N.H., comes to grips with the dramatic standoff that resolved peacefully less than 24 hours ago, the exact reasons behind one man's apparent decision to take five workers hostage at the local campaign headquarters of Sen. Hillary Clinton on Friday remain a mystery.

The light-blue trailer at 7 Brook Drive in Somersworth in which 46-year-old Leeland Eisenberg resides offers few clues about the suspect -- beyond a sign on the door, reportedly posted by his family, that reads, "Please respect our privacy. We will not be available for comment at this time."

But others in Rochester and Somersworth are willing to offer comment -- though their descriptions of Eisenberg paint contradictory portraits of a man whose emotional instability allegedly led him to duct tape a mock bomb made of road flares to his torso and take control of the headquarters.

Next-door neighbor Kitty Carlsen described Eisenberg as a violent alcohol drinker with a criminal past -- a man whose threats and abuse drove his wife into Carlsen's mobile home in search of sanctuary.

"I talked to his wife -- she was as good as gold," Carlsen said. "Usually, when they were fighting, when he'd caused her problems or harm, she'd come over here for a break."

These "breaks," Carlsen said, happened every couple of days or so.

"I never saw him sober," she said. "She told me he was throwing things at her, breaking glass all over. ... She was terrified of him."

Carlsen said that Eisenberg, his wife and his stepson had only moved into the adjacent trailer several months ago, so she did not know the family well. But she said his wife also told her that Eisenberg had previously served prison time for a rape charge. Reports by the Boston Herald appear to corroborate this. The Herald states that a man who went by the name Leeland Eisenberg -- jailed under the name of Ralph Woordward, according to Department of Corrections records -- had allegedly served time in the past related to a rape charge.

So when Carlsen found out that Eisenberg was behind the standoff, she said it was no surprise to her.

"It shocked me when I heard it was him," she said. "It did not surprise me, but it was shocking."

However, not all who knew Eisenberg describe him as a violent man. Years ago, Mike Stephens directly supervised Eisenberg at a manufacturing plant in Portsmouth for about eight months.

Stephens, who now works at Moe's Italian Sandwich Shop across from the Clinton campaign headquarters, said that when he saw Eisenberg's picture on TV, "I nearly fell out of my chair. This is not something that I would see coming."

The Eisenberg he described seemed like an entirely different man -- though still troubled.

"He was very quiet; he wouldn't say a lot," Stephens said. "He kept to himself. It almost seemed like he was in a shell.

"It seemed like he was just a shy guy. We respected his privacy."

But Stephens, too, noted signs of Eisenberg's emotional or mental instability.

"Nine times out of 10 he was afraid that someone was going to yell at him," he said. "He was very concerned that if something went wrong, it was not his fault."

Stephens said Eisenberg "would have emotional outbursts, not at anybody else, but mainly at himself."

On occasion, Stephens added, he would catch Eisenberg having a conversation with himself.

"He never related any mental illness," Stephens said. "But we knew he was having a lot of emotional problems as far as relationships go."

It was only when Stephens would head to the bars with Eisenberg and other co-workers that he would get a glimpse of what he believed were problems at home.

"We knew he was quite a drinker; he definitely could drink more than the rest of us," Stephens said. "And at times, he would open up a bit, tell us bits and pieces. Things were definitely not going well at home.

"In one episode, he came in with a black eye and said his wife did it to him."

A Cry for Help?

Public records concerning Eisenberg's past point to his emotional and mental problems. In 2002, Eisenberg filed a suit against the Archdiocese of Boston and Cardinal Bernard Law for negligence and infliction of emotional distress. Eisenberg alleged that he had been molested by a priest in his younger years.

More recently, in March 2007, Eisenberg held a news conference on the steps of city hall complaining that a police policy in which officers placed warning flyers in unlocked vehicles violated his constitutional rights.

Some speculate that Eisenberg's possibly unstable mental condition may have even provided the impetus behind his actions on Friday.

According to reports by CNN, Eisenberg called their news offices during the course of the standoff. CNN said that Eisenberg wanted to talk to Sen. Clinton regarding the mental care system in the United States, as well as his inability to afford proper psychiatric care for his problems -- treatment that he said would cost him thousands of dollars.

Regular Customer

If there is one thing about Eisenberg's life that did not seem a mystery, it was that he had a problem with alcohol.

On Saturday, Ali Ghaddar stacked pallets of Natural Light behind the counter of the Maxi Mart on Highway 108 in Somersworth. The beer is Eisenberg's favorite, as far as Ghaddar knows.

He said that every day, once or twice a day, Eisenberg would go into the convenience store and leave with a six-pack of the beer, as well as a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes. Ghaddar recalled that he may have even seen Eisenberg in the store on Friday morning, before the standoff.

But aside from his apparent fondness of Natural Light, Ghaddar said Eisenberg did not strike him as someone with a problem.

"There were no problems at all when he was coming here," he said. "He was so quiet, but he was nice. We never had a conversation, just 'hi' and 'bye.' He just came in to buy cigarettes, beer and left.

"There was nothing wrong that you could tell. When I saw him on the news last night I couldn't believe it," Ghaddar added. "Just to see him you wouldn't think that he's got that thing in his mind."

Flares May Have Been Purchased Across the Street

Mike Alarie, owner of Alarie's Second Hand Store directly across N. Main Street from the Clinton campaign headquarters, said the police had come into his shop Friday afternoon to tell him to evacuate. But instead he stayed behind, affording himself a front-row seat to the standoff.

He said that when Eisenberg was identified in news reports, he recognized him from his visits to the shop.

"He used to come in here once in a while," he said, noting that Eisenberg distinguished himself from other customers by the clothes that he would wear -- nice shoes, khakis, sweaters and ties. He said Eisenberg had a neat, well-groomed appearance.

And it's possible that Eisenberg made a crucial purchase at the store. Alarie said a set of signal flares that had been for sale as part of an emergency roadside set for months was sold on Monday -- possibly to Eisenberg himself.

But while Alarie said Eisenberg stood out, he never pegged him as a threatening character. After all, Alarie said, people of all types walk through his door.

Once, he said, a man in a full Easter Bunny costume walked in -- two weeks before Halloween.

"You wonder about those people," he said.

Joe Sabol, owner of the Green Dragon sword and knife shop across the road from Alarie's, concurred that the town sees its fair share of odd types in the streets. He said that soon after police asked him to evacuate on Friday, a woman approached him, worried that it was her mentally-disturbed ex-husband who had instigated the standoff.

But Sabol said despite the publicity that the standoff has brought to the town of 32,000, he believes the peaceful resolution of the crisis is a positive thing for the community.

"I think it's impacted the community in a positive way," he said. "There has been a lot of controversy over the years about the police department, that you can never get them when you need them."

He said that in the course of the standoff, the police were prompt and well-organized, disposing of the fake bomb and bringing the crisis to a safe ending.

"This was good for the community," he said. "Hopefully, there won't be any more wackos here, though."