Advertising executive at Young & Rubicam and former Burson-Marsteller COO killed by mail bomb
Profile
Thomas Joseph Mosser was a 50-year-old advertising executive living in North Caldwell, New Jersey, a wealthy suburb about 15 miles from New York City. A graduate of St. Bonaventure University, Mosser had built a distinguished 25-year career in the advertising and public relations industry, rising through the ranks at Burson-Marsteller, the global public relations firm owned by Young & Rubicam [1].
Mosser spent most of his career at Burson-Marsteller's New York office, where he held the top position in the flagship office from 1983 to 1987 and later served as head of Burson-Marsteller/Americas from 1987 to 1991. He eventually became vice chairman and chief operating officer of the firm. In 1994, he was promoted to executive vice president and general manager at parent company Young & Rubicam, one of the largest advertising firms in the world
At home, Mosser was a devoted family man. He lived at 15 Aspen Drive in North Caldwell with his second wife, Susan Reilly Mosser, whom he married in 1980, and their two daughters — Kim, 13, and Kelly, just 15 months old. He also had two older children from his first marriage, Abigail and Thomas II, both in college at the time [3].
On the morning of December 10, 1994, Mosser opened a package that had been mailed to his home. It exploded in the kitchen, killing him instantly. His wife and daughters were in other parts of the house and were not physically injured. Ted Kaczynski later claimed he targeted Mosser because of Burson-Marsteller's supposed role in helping Exxon rehabilitate its image after the Valdez oil spill — a claim that was factually false, as the firm had never worked on that account [4].
No media appearances recorded yet.
