We discover a man whose life was a hall of mirrors. What followed was one of the longest and most challenging manhunts in the history of the U.S. They agreed to let John Ruffo drive himself to prison. When the FBI caught wind of his swindle, they set up a sting.Īt his sentencing, prosecutors made an unthinkable mistake. He invented a nonexistent proposition that he called “Project Star” and he used the money to gamble the millions on the stock market, becoming one of Wall Street’s high-rollers. Using forged documents and fake corporate seals, he persuaded banks to loan him $350 million. The crime he had committed was outlandish. Drove to Queens to turn in the ankle monitor he had been wearing. On a brisk day in November 1998, a doughy balding Brooklyn computer salesman was supposed to report to prison to begin serving a 17-year sentence.
