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FRANK BENNET

Frank Bennet

Frank Bennet's father had been an immigrant from Eastern Europe who became the head of a family crime syndicate involved in drug trafficking. His older brother Joey had inherited the business after their father's death, but Frank had taken a different route, choosing instead to distance himself from the family business and to pursue a career as an architect. With a college education and a graduate degree, Frank was enjoying the perks of his promising new career, including a sporty new yellow Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z. When a young associate from his office died from a drug overdose, Frank tried to persuade his brother to shut down his drug operation, but Joey had no intention of doing so.

Despite his loyalty to his family, Frank was open to an approach by Federal Marshal Andrew Wiley who asked him to testify against his brother Joey before the Crime Commission. Frank's knowledge of the family business made him a liability, and Joey was prepared to kill his brother to prevent him from going forward with the testimony. Wiley had brought on MacGyver as an expert in personal security, tasked with guaranteeing Frank's safety during the testimony and the hearing, and afterwards arranging his new identity and relocation as a protected witness. When Joey sent his henchmen to abduct Frank, MacGyver rescued him from a lumber warehouse by arranging an elaborate cloud of sawdust and woodchips as a diversion. The confrontation with his brother convinced Frank to go ahead with the testimony, and he gave his deposition before the Crime Commission.

Katerina Bennet, the mother of Joey and Frank, had been hospitalized in failing health. Knowing that she was dying, she wanted to see Frank one more time, and MacGyver intended to make that visit possible despite Wiley's insistence that it was just too dangerous to permit. In another elaborate scheme, MacGyver broke Frank out of federal custody by sabotaging the federal marshals' vehicle and leaving them stranded as he and Frank drove off in a rented tow truck. However, at the hospital Frank learned that Joey had discharged their mother and brought her back to the family home. Knowing that it was a trap, but counting on protection from the federal marshals outside the house, Frank went to the Bennet home and was able to be with his mother one last time before she peacefully passed away.

When Joey lured the federal marshals away from the home, Frank was trapped inside, and Joey prepared to kill his brother, but once again MacGyver orchestrated a rescue by breaking into the home and constructing a rocket-powered harpoon that allowed them to zipline to safety outside the Bennet compound. Both Frank's testimony and the attempted murder charges would put Joey in prison, shut down the family business, and leave Frank to pursue his new life free from the ties to the past.

Portrayed by: Robert Romanus

Cross Reference: Joey Bennet, Katerina Bennet, Andrew Wiley

Episode Reference: The Prodigal