'Rockefeller' Says Days With Daughter 'Glorious'

BOSTON -- The kidnapping suspect who calls himself Clark Rockefeller said his wife knew he is not related to the famous and wealthy family with the same surname, but used the name whenever she saw a chance for professional and social advancement.

"She knew early on that I had virtually not much in common with the Rockefeller family," the man, whom authorities have identified as Christian Gerhartsreiter, told NBC's Today Show. But Rockefeller said his ex-wife, Sandra Boss, "referred to me as having been descended from John D. Rockefeller and such whenever it was to her advantage."

"She usually did so in an understated way - calling special attention to it by keeping it extra quiet," he said.

Rockefeller told the Boston Globe that the name was given to him by a New Yorker named Harry Copeland, whom he described as his godfather and who he said died in the late 1990s. "He insisted that that's what my name is," Rockefeller told the newspaper.

Rockefeller said he met Boss in Manhattan in 1993 during one of his "Clue parties," in which guests came as characters from the game. He told the newspaper that she came as Miss Scarlett; he as Professor Plum.

The two were married on Nantucket in 1995, but neither bothered to obtain a marriage license.

"There is some disagreement as to who was supposed to take care of the legalities of the wedding, the marriage," Rockefeller told the Globe. "Ultimately, neither one of us took care of it."

He said Boss never met his family. "I don't have much family," he said. "I don't have any family."

Gary Koops, a spokesman for Boss, told the newspaper: "Sandra's sole focus is on the health, well-being, and safety of her daughter, Reigh. In light of Mr. Gerhartsreiter's history of deceitful behavior, any statements made by him should be viewed with extreme skepticism."

Though Rockefeller accuses his ex-wife of taking advantage of a connection to a famous family she knew wasn't legitimate, he doesn't concede he's not a Rockefeller.

"From what I've heard lately, it might not be, but as far as I know, it's my name," he said. "Perhaps at some point we can do a DNA test to really find out."

Rockefeller is accused of kidnapping his daughter, Reigh Boss, off a Boston street during a supervised visit in late July.

He was captured in early August in Baltimore, where police said was hoping to start a new life with his daughter after losing custody of her to Boss.

"We had such a wonderful time," he told the Globe. "It was my six days of being -- well, it was like a trance. It was so wonderful. It was so great to be with my daughter again."

The arrest led the FBI to delve into Rockefeller's past, much of which he says he doesn't remember, but which authorities said is built on one lie after another.

Massachusetts and California authorities said Rockefeller's past includes numerous aliases and time renting the guesthouse of California couple that mysteriously disappeared in 1985.

California authorities want to question Rockefeller about their disappearance, but he has refused to speak with them. His attorney, Stephen Hrones, has said his client remembers the couple but had nothing to do with their disappearance.