ShreyaHow Long Was This To Go On?
Abagnale was caught again and he had literally given the FBI a run for their money, even they were impressed. So they decided to bring him an offer that would not only benefit him but even them. This would also stop the escape and chase circle that the police and Frank were running in. It was an offer Frank could not refuse. It also meant an end of his lonely nights.
Loneliness Was The Price
For Abagnale, it was mostly fun but he would not repeat it again as, he says, “No matter what it got me, no matter what wealth or fame it brought me, I would never wanna have to experience it again. I have cried myself to sleep till I was 19 years old; I spent every birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day in a hotel by myself. The only people I associated with were the people who believed me to be their peer, 10 years older than I actually was.”
Mother Taken Aback
No one from Frank’s family knew what he was up to. He says in the interview, “And then, of course, it took the FBI, 3 years to realize that I was a kid and not an adult. And when they identified who I was, it was really hard for my mother to comprehend that I was doing all these things because she only knew me as the 16-year-old boy in high school.” Any mother would have reacted similarly.
The Offer Of A Lifetime
Frank’s impressive scheming and scamming talent had not gone unnoticed. He was not just another thief. He had a method. He knew more about fake checks and thefts than anyone in the FBI department and they knew it too. So in 1974, while Frank was serving his 12-year sentence in the prison the FBI offered him a deal. He would be released on parole if he agreed to work for the FBI!
Unpaid But, Who Cares?
The job with FBI was supposed to be part-time and unpaid. He would be a consultant on crimes dealing with fraud, forgery, and scam. It did not matter if the job was not paid. He was smart, would be able to find a hundred ways to make money, legally. He was getting to get out of jail and restart a new life. This was his opportunity and he calls himself an opportunist, so he grabbed it without any thought.
Haunting Past
After serving 5 years of his sentence, Frank got out on parole, shifted to Texas from New York and assisted FBI on various fraud crimes. But he was still to find a paying job. It wasn’t as easy as he thought. Whenever he went for a new job, they dug into his past and when they found out that he was a world-renowned con and fired him. He could not even blame them. The mastermind he was, he did figure out a way, eventually.