Bobby Thompson, as he is known to Washingtons elite and powerful politicians, has disappeared.
For years this group has fraudulently collected millions of dollars under the guise of supporting military veterans.
Every time authorities close in on him, he proves to be one step ahead of them.
Nearly two years go by, but law enforcement refuses to give up the chase.
Its in this bar that U.S. marshals catch up with Bobby Thompson.
As we bring you the second part of our story about Capt.
Again, that’s Charity Navigator and Charity Watch.
Fake charities like this one can have a real impact on legitimate charity organizations.
check that your money is going to a trustworthy group.
(MUSIC SEGUE)
[00:00:36] Will Johnson: This week on AARP - The Perfect Scam.
[00:00:38] This is one of the greatest White House breaches in history.
[00:00:49] Bobby Thompson is not his real name.
We, they did not know what his real name was.
[00:01:07] Will Johnson: Welcome back to AARP - The Perfect Scam.
[00:01:16] Frank Abagnale: And as always, it’s great to be with you.
[00:01:18] Will Johnson: We are talking again this week about Capt.
Bobby Thompson and the charity scam involving his fake charity, the US Navy Veteran’s Association.
Somehow, he’s able to get up and close and personal to the President and other political figures.
You’re not doing it; you’re allowing them to build your credibility.
[00:02:44] Frank Abagnale: Exactly.
But the secretive and flamboyant Thompson had disappeared.
Law enforcement was left to piece together whatever they had on him to get to track him down.
Across the country various states were taking an interest.
As it turns out, the state of Ohio takes the lead on the case.
Brad Tammaro was Senior Assistant Attorney General with the Special Prosecution’s Unit.
The violations that we charged were state to state crimes under our state laws.
Uh, any state could do the same thing.
[00:05:06] Pete Elliott: Basically nothing.
But that, that’s kind of the way we like it sometimes.
You know, I want him apprehended.
Um, and a number of his, his identifications were the same.
You know, again, Bobby Thompson is what we had.
We had a, you know, an approximate age for him, what we thought.
[00:07:04] (phone ring) This is Jodi.
[00:07:11] Jodi Andes: Hey, how are you?
It was one of the reasons the case stuck out for her.
[00:07:54] Jodi Andes: This is one of the greatest White House breaches in history.
It was a soiree, if you will.
So we, we zeroed in on some places, but we really didn’t get anywhere.
She quickly got a response from a man named Don Morsette.
[00:10:10] Celia Moore: He was at that time living in a motel.
And uh, gave me a, a story about having uh moved to Portland.
He’s got an ex-wife who, who’s trying to get his money.
He’s working as a consultant for Boeing, he, he does security work.
[00:10:39] Will Johnson: What does he look like?
I mean he had a very unique appearance, has a unique appearance.
[00:10:43] Celia Moore: He was neat.
He, he dresses neat and his hair was a little long.
He looked like he was in his late 50s.
And his hair seemed a little long, but it wasn’t outrageous.
[00:11:30] Celia Moore: Oh, have I ever.
(chuckle) How many, how many days do you have to listen?
[00:11:34] Will Johnson: So then what happened?
Did you decide sure I’ll, I’ll rent to this guy and he moves in?
So I tried to help him.
[00:13:16] Will Johnson: Yeah, right.
[00:13:26] Celia Moore: Right.
And this other guy took the bait and I didn’t.
[00:13:29] Will Johnson: Yeah.
[00:13:30] Celia Moore: So, I mean that was just a way of entertaining himself.
[00:13:40] Will Johnson: Celia wasn’t taking any of the Don Morsette’s bait.
She seems good-natured and almost as if she enjoyed Don’s presence.
Still, like Celia says, he liked to stir the pot a little bit.
[00:14:01] Celia Moore: In any situation he seemed to be messing with you.
That’s, that’s the way he, he operated.
Especially with his leg.
He was in a lot of pain with that leg.
I don’t know, but he wasn’t going to go to a doctor.
He wasn’t consulting with Boeing or anyone else.
[00:15:00] Celia Moore: I think he just sat there all day, drinking.
He told her he grew up around the Great Lakes, had gotten married, had children.
[00:15:13] Celia Moore: He said all kinds of things.
Um, and I said, “Well tell me about your children.
What’s going on?”
“Oh, well, one of them is traveling the country finding himself.”
But he paid his rent on time and Celia didn’t have any issues with him.
It was a nationwide manhunt.
Um, and it’s quite clear that he was watching.
He mostly stayed in major cities though.
But finally authorities had some real information.
They learned that Thompson might be in Portland, Oregon.
They even had intel on the tavern where he liked to hang out.
Did he pretty much look the same?
[00:18:15] Pete Elliott: Yeah, he looked like Bobby Thompson.
We have a situation."
I thought, oh my God, Don might be hurt, you know with his leg.
So I jumped up and I went downstairs.
[00:19:17] Will Johnson: It turns out Bobby Thompson had already been taken into custody.
Stopped by US Marshals on the street outside the boarding house.
Celia had slept right through it.
[00:19:37] Brad Tammaro: He was on the run for almost two years, I think.
I mean, because again, there were millions of dollars missing.
It was amazing that he stayed in the states.
Now, you know and, and was caught.
And part of that would have to be his own arrogance.
[00:19:57] Will Johnson: Back in Ohio, Pete Elliott hears the news of Thompson’s arrest.
[00:20:41] Pete Elliott: We had our man; we had no idea who he was.
We caught the fish, but we could not tell you what kind of fish he was.
Uh, he made some kind of uh statement that uh almost sounded like Mr. Thompson was an attorney.
He would not give his real true identity.
[00:21:35] Will Johnson: So Mr. X’s fingerprints didn’t turn up a match, nothing.
What they did find on Thompson was a key to a storage unit.
[00:21:57] Pete Elliott: Yeah, amazing.
And he had access to that money.
Uh, which makes you think.
[00:22:38] Brad Tammaro: And I don’t know what he was doing.
[00:23:21] Brad Tammaro: In the, yeah, the boarding house that he was staying in.
[00:23:23] Will Johnson: Right.
[00:23:24] Brad Tammaro: Yeah, he had, yeah, he had the video in there.
But no fingerprints and no ID and no sign of the millions of dollars he stole.
I never thought, I always knew they’d catch me.
[00:24:26] Will Johnson: Oh, that’s interesting.
[00:24:41] Will Johnson: Did that make it easier when they finally caught up with you?
These pointed out or focused on religious groups.
I’m going to walk away.
They just move onto the next scam or the next con.
And that’s also what amazes me is the greed that, you know, that people have today.
So if you and I are sitting here and I made 100 million dollars, what’s to do?
I mean, you want to just disappear and spend 100 million.
You don’t sit there thinking, how do I make another 100 million?
So that’s where greed comes into play.
It’s not, it’s more about greed and ego than it is about anything else.
[00:26:07] Frank Abagnale: Right.
[00:26:25] Frank Abagnale: Yeah, not, not if, but when.
[00:26:27] Will Johnson: Right.
I mean, it’s got to be harder to disappear.
[00:26:37] Frank Abagnale: You know, I, I don’t really think so.
I think here’s the thing.
[00:27:06] Frank Abagnale: Probably you’re home free.
[00:27:44] Will Johnson: What do you think might, might work better?
Going to the small farm out in the middle of nowhere or a big city?
[00:27:50] Frank Abagnale: I think today, either one.
[00:27:52] Will Johnson: Not to give advice to bad guys.
For The Perfect Scam, I’m Will Johnson.
