Afterword and Q&A with the Author Summary and Analysis

Less than a month after evading capture in Washington, D.C., Frank Abagnale is taken into custody by two New York City detectives. Frank denies his identity but the ruse does not work this time. Frank faces charges from every one of the fifty states and a host of federal charges as well. Frank hires an excellent attorney who arranges a terrific deal. Frank pleads guilty under Rule 20 of the U.S. Penal Code. This plea includes "'all crimes, known and unknown,"' which Abagnale may have committed in the United States (p. 281). Thus, Frank is only prosecuted and sentenced on eight criminal counts. He receives seven concurrent ten-year sentences plus two years for the escape charge, to be served after the ten-year sentence. His total sentence is therefore...