Bobby Laughlin was a retired United States marine and hostage rescue consultant. On one job in 1996, Laughlin traveled to Mexico City with Ira Gaines to rescue the kidnapped Chief Executive Officer of International Business Telecom. After they assaulted the hideout and rescued the executive, Gaines blackmailed him on the way back to Mexico City, threatening to tell his wife about the teenage prostitute he had been visiting when he was kidnapped. This was enough to compel the executive to transfer money into Gaines' personal account, in addition to the hefty sum he received from the company for the rescue job.