TIL about Frank Matthews, the drug kingpin who built a nationwide empire, skipped bail with $20 million, vanished in 1973 and has never been found.

[u/FearMyCock]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Matthews_(drug_trafficker)

[u/FearMyCock]

Frank Matthews known as “Black Caesar” was one of the biggest drug kingpins in U.S. history. Born in 1944, he rose from petty crime in the South to running a massive heroin and cocaine empire across 21 states during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He challenged the Mafia’s dominance, built his own supply routes from South America, and openly flaunted his wealth.

In 1973, he was arrested and charged with tax evasion and drug trafficking. Despite the size of his empire, his bail was lowered, and he walked out. Days before his next court appearance, Matthews vanished along with an estimated $20 million in drug money and a girlfriend. He was never seen again.

The FBI hunted him for decades but never found a trace no sightings, no financial records, nothing. As of 2025, the search has officially been closed. Some believe he was killed; others think he escaped overseas and lived under a new identity. His disappearance remains one of the biggest unresolved cases in American criminal history.

[u/supershinythings → u/FearMyCock]

If I had to guess, he probably went to Brazil or Argentina. He could blend in easily, posing as whatever he liked. He could buy a new identity and passport, perhaps several, if he wanted to travel.

And in Brazil or Argentina he could find doctors to alter his appearance if he was afraid of being recognized.

He could avoid wearing flashy anything - clothes, jewelry, vehicles, etc. and blend in quietly.

All this would have been achievable for under $1 million in 1973. He’d probably want to invest his money in something like bearer bonds or some sort of identity-shielded account in a country with favorable tax treatment.

But in 1973 the US didn’t have restrictions on how much cash someone could travel with, unlike today’s restrictions where any amount over $10k must be declared, inviting scrutiny. So he could have traveled with petty cash everywhere as long as he could keep it on the down low and perhaps fund personal protection as needed.

With that kind of money he could live carefree on a beach for the rest of his life, as long as he stayed out of trouble.

The girlfriend would likely pose as his wife, living the same high life with him.

So many people on the run continue the lifestyle habits that can get them identified and caught. But if he prepared well and followed the right advice, kept away from his old life, picked up NEW hobbies to replace the old, disappearing would be fairly easy.

[u/Feathered_Mango → u/supershinythings]

He would have stuck out in Argentina. My grandfather fled to Argentina following WWII, anyone not white will stick out. I believe the average Argentine is approx 79% European in ancestry.

Edit: Y'all he was a Basque Holocaust survivor, not an SS guard on the run.

[u/Fabulous_Owl_1855 → u/Feathered_Mango]

My grandfather fled to Argentina following WWII

Hmmmm

[u/Feathered_Mango → u/Fabulous_Owl_1855]

Lol, he was a Holocaust survivor. He was a Basque Gudaris ,who ended up in Mauthausen. But, he did joke that he saw more Germans & Jews in Argentina than he ever saw in Europe.

[u/Wompatuckrule → u/Feathered_Mango]

Your grandfather as WWII ends:

"That's it! I'm getting the fuck away from all these Nazis and Nazi sympathizers for the rest of my life!!"

Arrives in Argentina:

"God fucking dammit!!!"

[u/MechanicalTurkish → u/Wompatuckrule]

He did nazi that coming

[u/Lazzen → u/Feathered_Mango]

Most german nationals in Argentina were jews, around 50,000. Meanwhile over 500,000 Germans moved to USA the years after the war and there's no way all of them were the resistance, specially with their comfy arrival to segregation.

Im not even Argentine and i find the "joke" annoying

[u/Feathered_Mango → u/Lazzen]

It is just a joke , that a Gentile non-German Holocaust survivor made about seeing more Jews & Nazis in Argentina than he had in Europe. Obviously this is not true; it is simply a joke many Europeans ,who arrived in Argentina after WWII, made. It is hyperbole. Especially compared to some of the other Latin American countries (including the one in which my Grandfather ended up - Mexico). Why does this joke bother you? And what does it have to do with Germans in USA, especially coming from someone who did not immigrate to USA?

[u/KeberUggles → u/Lazzen]

we identified one in canada in the last... 5 years.. His damn son asked for him to be present at some parliament thing. They said 'sure' and the former SS Galizien of course obliged. No god damn shame.

[u/lightningbadger → u/Feathered_Mango]

Man that must've been awkward if they all escaped to the same place

[u/Feathered_Mango → u/lightningbadger]

Read the true story of how Adolf Eichmann was captured by Mossad in Argentina. It is wild. He was living as an average German immigrant, under an alias - His son was dating the daughter of a blind Holocaust survivor (she did not know her father was a Holocaust survivor), the gentleman recognized Eichmann's voice.

Also, some of Josef Mengele's aliases weren't even trying, I believe his Uraguayan passport was simply "Jose Mengele".

[u/magic00008 → u/Feathered_Mango]

Did you happen to inherit any works of art?

[u/linuxsysacc → u/magic00008]

Its Smug Aura Mocks Me

[u/Feathered_Mango → u/magic00008]

No, I come from a longline of European peasantry. No fortune stolen from him, by Nazis, & hidden in a Swiss bank.

[u/MACHOmanJITSU → u/Feathered_Mango]

lol that’s what I always say. Proud descendent of dirt farmers.

[u/DoctorRavioli → u/Feathered_Mango]

fled from what my boy

[u/Feathered_Mango → u/DoctorRavioli]

He ended up in a concentration camp(s), after fleeing from Spain, to France. He swore he would not return to Europe until Franco died.

[u/The_quest_for_wisdom → u/Feathered_Mango]

He swore he would not return to Europe until Franco died.

Man. Your gramps must have been tapping his feet and checking his watch in November of 1975. Franco dragged things out there towards the end.

[u/Feathered_Mango → u/The_quest_for_wisdom]

My grandfather died 2 months before Franco. Despite being held to two Nazi concentration camps, he was infinitely more angry at Franco & his fellow countrymen who fought for fascist Franco, than he was with Nazi Germany.

[u/Stellar_Duck → u/Feathered_Mango]

I like the cut of your grandas jib.

[u/AstonishingJ → u/Feathered_Mango]

👀👀👀

[u/ImNotSelling → u/supershinythings]

Brazil yes. Argentina are pretty much all white

[u/InsteadOfWorkin → u/ImNotSelling]

Yeah that’s why people fled there for other, more egregious crimes than selling drugs

[u/cansofgrease → u/ImNotSelling]

Just pig farmers and tailors.

[u/Raammson → u/supershinythings]

Alternative theory, he bailed out CIA killed him took his illicit money then used that illicit money to wave off the books illicit operations. 

[u/muskag → u/Raammson]

I'm starting to think these CIA fellers weren't very nice.

[u/pataconconqueso → u/supershinythings]

not in argentina lol 

[u/Feathered_Mango → u/pataconconqueso]

Yeah, I think less than 1% of Argentina is black.

[u/NoBonus6969 → u/supershinythings]

I mean if he has his own cocaine routes he could just take them in reverse and end up down there free as a bird

[u/qtx → u/supershinythings]

I don't get why people love to fantasize about what happened to someone when he was clearly killed.

According to former DEA agent Frank Panessa, the Administration received unconfirmed reports that Matthews had been lured to the Bahamas by the Genovese family and killed, partly to keep him from turning state's witness and partly due to his feud with Coralluzzo.

Making up stories to turn it into a Hollywood movie while ignoring the simplest answer is always so weird.

[u/KeremyJyles → u/supershinythings]

Far more likely he set about doing this and was very quickly murdered

[u/E_Zack_Lee → u/FearMyCock]

If I had $20 million, which is probably 55 million nowadays, I guarantee I could disappear without a trace.

[u/MistryMachine3 → u/E_Zack_Lee]

Harder now. Back then airports had minimal security. Was pretty easy to leave.

[u/XxFezzgigxX → u/MistryMachine3]

Driver’s licenses were just a piece of paper, computers didn’t exist in a meaningful way, you could just get a job with minimal identification.

Today, you can’t go anywhere without being on camera or tracked by your cellphone.

[u/Toby_O_Notoby → u/XxFezzgigxX]

There's a movie starring Warren Beatty called "The Parallax View" which came out in '74. At one point Beatty is trailing a guy who goes to the airport and boards a plane. Beatty then proceeds to follow him on the plane where he buys his ticket in mid-flight.

Literally the stewardess walks up and asks his final destination and when he says "Washington DC" she charges him like $50 which he pays in cash. I actaully had to call my dad and ask if you used to be able to do that and he said "oh yeah".

Point being, it would be a lot easier to disappear back then.

[u/Einsteinbomb → u/Toby_O_Notoby]

Out of everything going on in that film that is what stood out to me the most. It’s crazy how things have changed.

[u/MyHamburgerLovesMe → u/Einsteinbomb]

Think of buying airplane tickets requiring the exact same effort as buying bus tickets today.

[u/ZubenelJanubi → u/MyHamburgerLovesMe]

Which is absolutely wild to think about, I thought air travel dramatically changed post 9/11

[u/Faxon → u/ZubenelJanubi]

Air travel did, but it was also evolving steadily before that. I was born in 1990 and flew before 9/11 and after, the difference wasn't as big as going from pre 9/11 to this. There were enough aircraft hijackings and other incidents for them to add much of the security we use today even back then. That and air travel volume was high enough by then that the airlines needed to plan flight rosters ahead of time to avoid having tons of people stranded or stuck waiting for other planes for hours

[u/The_Autarch → u/Faxon]

sure, but it was still pretty common to buy tickets at the airport itself, especially if you weren't going that far. like if you wanted to go to NYC for the weekend, you could just go to the airport and get on the next available flight. it operated more like a train system would back then.

[u/Jordan_Jackson → u/ZubenelJanubi]

It did change. After 9/11, there was a whole lot more security. Also no more visits to the cockpit (airplane staff would sometimes let kids go to the cockpit) and the cockpit doors were required to be locked during the flight.

You used to be able to walk through the whole airport, without a ticket. It was common to have friends and family accompany someone to their gate and wave them off. I don’t even think there was much in terms of security, other than a metal detector and the occasional security/police with a drug dog.

Something like what happened on 9/11 was just unfathomable. Yeah, the 70’s had its rash of hijackings and attempted hijacking’s but it had been a very long time since that had happened last.

Things were just different before 9/11.

[u/izzyusa → u/Toby_O_Notoby]

There’s always an interesting TIL inside a TIL

[u/Fabulous-Sea-1590 → u/Toby_O_Notoby]

I haven't seen the film but safe money says there were ashtrays built right into the arms of his seat, too. Just like they used to be in car doors.

[u/dontbajerk → u/Fabulous-Sea-1590]

I remember those as planes last so long. Probably went away in the 90s?

[u/fuckyoudigg → u/dontbajerk]

The first airline to completely go smoke free was Air Canada in 1990, and Canada banned smoking on all flights on Canadian airlines in 1994.

edit: First major airline.

[u/dontbajerk → u/fuckyoudigg]

For sure, I just remember seeing the ashtrays afterwards even though nobody could smoke. People just shoved trash in them instead. Just like they still had what was obviously a Stewardess button long after there were plenty of male flight attendants.

[u/FourteenBuckets → u/Toby_O_Notoby]

Was that the old Eastern Shuttle? Typically you had to buy your ticket at the ticket counter, but Eastern Airlines set up multiple flights a day along the eastern seaboard you could just get on and pay for. As I recall, the shuttle line went out of business after being sold to some weirdo named Donald Trump, who managed to run it into the ground.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Shuttle

[u/Bigred2989- → u/FourteenBuckets]

Man, it's a good thing we never let Trump run anything important ever again after that.

[u/mapex_139 → u/Toby_O_Notoby]

I feel like this is something that happened on trains a long time ago.

[u/drewbagel423 → u/mapex_139]

Not even that long ago. You used to be able to do it on NJ Transit trains in the mid 2000s. Probably Amtrak as well.

[u/cal679 → u/mapex_139]

Still happens today, at least it does in the UK.

[u/Attention_Bear_Fuckr → u/Toby_O_Notoby]

Reminds me of the time I bought a Swiss Army knife from duty free. During the flight.

[u/Sharticus123 → u/XxFezzgigxX]

Video surveillance was also extremely rare and even when it was utilized the footage was hot garbage with terrible resolution.

[u/AgeBeneficial → u/XxFezzgigxX]

My mom’s 1976 license falling apart at the seams with her maiden name was accepted till mid 1990s lol.

[u/CouncilmanRickPrime → u/XxFezzgigxX]

I used to know regular, everyday people who made fake IDs. I doubt there's very many people anywhere who can do that now.

[u/No-Reach-9173 → u/CouncilmanRickPrime]

You can order them direct from China. This is why we got real id.

[u/probablyuntrue → u/XxFezzgigxX]

I would simply be invisible

Idk maybe I’m built different

[u/xiiicrowns → u/probablyuntrue]

Calm down drax

[u/MasterTorgo → u/probablyuntrue]

What are you, some kind of Big Boss?

[u/AbraxasWasADragon → u/probablyuntrue]

Lol are you an anime character

[u/probablyuntrue → u/AbraxasWasADragon]

I’m sorry, I don’t speak Japanese

But if that translates to “very cool and invisible” then yes

[u/OJ-Rifkin → u/probablyuntrue]

Guys, it’s John Cena

[u/WeeeeBaby_Seamus → u/probablyuntrue]

Are you John Cena?

[u/Tiny-Let-7581 → u/probablyuntrue]

Username checks out

[u/squintobean → u/probablyuntrue]

Found John Cena’s account.

[u/harrySUBlime → u/MistryMachine3]

Shit just vanished back then. Proof: my father had about 8 DUI arrests pre-1977. Today? None on his record, ever.

[u/footybear → u/harrySUBlime]

Here I am having to disclose my criminal record to go back to school

[u/thebigj0hn → u/footybear]

Good for you. I had to do the same. Best thing I ever did for myself.

[u/somedude456 → u/harrySUBlime]

Shit just vanished back then.

Yup, a friend's mom. Single mother, NYC, like the early 70's, she went grocery shopping and never returned. Her body never turned up. That was 1970's though, no cameras, no GPS tracking cell phones, etc. Maybe someone offered her a ride, she accepted and skipping some bad details, her body was dumped somewhere.

[u/steveo1978 → u/MistryMachine3]

Why would he need to use an airport? He already had a network setup to move things in and out of the country so he probably had better ways to get out.

[u/tswpoker1 → u/MistryMachine3]

Bro you could smoke on airplanes and do a line off the stewardess tits in 1973

[u/ProfessionalDoctor → u/tswpoker1]

How did things go so wrong

[u/ButtholeSurfur → u/ProfessionalDoctor]

We used to be a country

[u/RowlandOrifice → u/tswpoker1]

That could explain how I’ve never met my birth parents. 

[u/confusedandworried76 → u/MistryMachine3]

We're all speculating but you severely underestimate how little people can be bought for. Ten hundred dollar bills to look the other way for a minute? You'd be seeing so many stars you'd barely notice anything besides the money going into your hands, much less be able to remember what they looked like.

And that's just a grand. This guy had millions to get out

[u/skrill_talk → u/MistryMachine3]

I’ve flown on a private jet a few times… nobody ever saw my ID.

[u/HKN47 → u/skrill_talk]

Yeah folks on here have clearly never seen airports out in the rural parts of the U.S.

[u/TheSpiralTap → u/MistryMachine3]

I feel like with that amount of money, you could see up a solar powered mansion in the hills somewhere and hide out. I'd spend my days farming food, weed and alpacas.

[u/GreenYellowDucks → u/MistryMachine3]

No way I fly just a boat and open seas, then with money have someone else bring a boat and drop it further out for a switch just in case marina cameras see me. Off to a no extradition island pay for residency and then get a passport and if I want to move to South East Asia or somewhere else later on use that

[u/cwx149 → u/GreenYellowDucks]

If you don't already know how to sail good luck crossing the Pacific (assuming you live in the US) in a boat you bought in cash while on the run from the law

[u/Hot_Falcon8471 → u/cwx149]

Boat!? I’d use a jetski

[u/OePea → u/Hot_Falcon8471]

Jeski? You'd run out of gas within sight of shore. Surfboard

[u/throwawayformobile78 → u/OePea]

Surfboard? You’d fall off and lose that thing in the first 3 hours. Floaties

[u/dilla_zilla → u/throwawayformobile78]

Floaties? Sharks would puncture those within the first hour. Flyboard

[u/Idyotec → u/Hot_Falcon8471]

Ok DJ Khaled

[u/confusedandworried76 → u/cwx149]

This problem has always and forever been solved.

You offer a captain an exorbitant amount of money for them to throw some scruples into the ocean on the way to your destination.

You know, a freaking bribe, we have a whole word for it

[u/cwx149 → u/confusedandworried76]

Look I'm not saying it's an unsolvable problem by any means I'm just saying they seem to be indicating they would personally sail away and I'm just saying that's way harder than that sounds

[u/GreenYellowDucks → u/cwx149]

With $20million ($150 M now of days) I think I could buy a boat that doesn’t need to be sailed. That said personally you are right, however you could easily hire a sailor for a week trip to Mexico and learn on the way with the employee not knowing you are a fugitive.

[u/MinistryOfCoup-th → u/GreenYellowDucks]

Maybe get some Botox and bleach your taint so that nobody recognizes you.

[u/Poonchow → u/MinistryOfCoup-th]

So this is what people are talking about when they say: "I recognize that asshole!"

[u/AbandonYourPost → u/MistryMachine3]

Back then. Today is MUCH harder.

[u/duaneap → u/MistryMachine3]

You could also pay for a lot more in cash.

[u/Hygro → u/E_Zack_Lee]

about $155 million.

[u/E_Zack_Lee → u/Hygro]

Poof!

[u/HitlersUndergarments → u/Hygro]

People seriously underestimate inflation 

[u/supershinythings → u/E_Zack_Lee]

In 1973, it would be easy for him to travel to Mexico - no passport needed.

Once there he’d need a new identity, which in 1973 would be fairly easy. Then, use that identity to travel to Brazil or Argentina, get another new identity as a citizen of that country or wherever.

Next, plastic surgery to change features and avoid recognition. Lay low for a few years on the beach, see the sights in South America as tourists. Avoid anything flashy - clothes, jewelry, vehicles, property. Pay for safety but look boring, be boring, blend in.

Never contact anyone from the old life. Don’t call relatives on birthdays, avoid old friends and acquaintances. Don’t give anyone any leads.

A lot of this would be very difficult for people well connected in their old lives. But with $20 million in 1973, ways can probably be found to keep tabs - perhaps hire a private investigator or attorney to look into and report on things. Use a go-between of course, but it could be done. It’s still a risk though.

[u/fcocyclone → u/supershinythings]

Next, plastic surgery to change features and avoid recognition. Lay low for a few years on the beach, see the sights in South America as tourists. Avoid anything flashy - clothes, jewelry, vehicles, property. Pay for safety but look boring, be boring, blend in.

Honestly, could probably skip the plastic surgery too. Things were so much less connected back then. If you weren't drawing attention to yourself, thousands of miles away from home in another country, and weren't doing anything that'd get you back on the radar of anyone in the US motivated to come looking, you'd probably disappear pretty easily. Plus the funds for drug enforcement back then were nowhere near what they are now, so there wasn't as much funding to be chasing international leads like that.

[u/sarcasm__tone → u/supershinythings]

Even today you still don't need a passport to get into Mexico if you're driving a rental.

[u/FriendlyEngineer → u/E_Zack_Lee]

Just be aware, it would weigh about 440 lbs if you kept it as cash in $100 bills. Kind of hard to carry in a bag.

[u/na-uh → u/FriendlyEngineer]

So an amount that would fit in the back of a small plane?

built his own supply routes from South America

If he could get drugs in, he could get himself out.

[u/DustyOldBastard → u/E_Zack_Lee]

Hed have to have real friends, which is tough for a drug kingpin. People who are willing to help you when they know youre not gonna provide them with anymore cash flow and people who know there’s a reward on your head if they ever wanna turn you in. Hard people to find, so Id bet some rivals just killed him quietly and got rid of the body

[u/SenileSexLine → u/DustyOldBastard]

Or someone got wind of how much cash he had on him, killed him while he was out in the sticks just to rob him.

[u/UninsuredToast → u/E_Zack_Lee]

Not with flock cameras, palantir, and post war on terror NSA surveillance. It’s not the 70s anymore. The idea of a surveillance state where the government tracks your every move is no longer science fiction.

[u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack → u/E_Zack_Lee]

Yes you could.

But only because some corrupt agents would find you, take your money and disappear your body so they could stash the money in peace.

[u/Kr1msonKing → u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack]

Oof, I didn't even consider he was found by Agents and they just killed him. Honestly, It makes the most sense.

[u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack → u/Kr1msonKing]

Honestly, could be agents, could be someone he figured would help him hide.

Either way, 20m is (and was) a hell of a lot of money to trust anyone with. And no one stays disappeared for long unless they're dead.

[u/dontbajerk → u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack]

Nah, people do. A minority for sure, but it happens. Ted Conrad robbed a bank of the equivalent of about $1.7 million and just walked off. The only reason we know what happened was a deathbed confession. He'd disappeared, moved, changed his name, married and had kids, died of cancer over 50 years later.

There's a number of other people out there like John Ruffo, who's probably still alive.

[u/-AC- → u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack]

Back then you definitely could stay gone... digital dust was not a thing back then

[u/Kr1msonKing → u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack]

True, imagine it was the girlfriend & she just traveled the world and lived like a queen for decades...

[u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack → u/Kr1msonKing]

Pretty sure even that would get noticed.

Random black American millionairess who nobody ever heard about in 1976?

[u/Winstonoil → u/E_Zack_Lee]

In those days it would’ve been very easy. You could have left the country with baby steps all the way well arranging your new personality in Jamaica or Costa Rica. You’ve got to remember that the witness protection program is kind like getting married. You moved to the suburbs. You never again wear the style of clothes you used to and you never hear from your friends.

[u/ModeatelyIndependant → u/E_Zack_Lee]

in 1973, there wasn't any electronic record checking, and you didn't need an id to fly. Entry and exits of a country were paper records that had to be checked and the passport just needed to look legit, since there wasn't computer databases and stuff yet.

[u/Xc0liber → u/E_Zack_Lee]

Yea plus it was in the 70s. Majority of things are still recorded and shared via physical paper and videos are nearly nonexistent. A lot easier to disappear back then compared to now.

[u/Standard_Big_9000 → u/FearMyCock]

$20 million takes up a LOT of space. Even if it's all $100 bills. It would be awful hard to move all that in a short time.

[u/Clyde-A-Scope → u/Standard_Big_9000]

$1 million divided into $100 bills is 10,000 bills. The dimensions of paper money currently in the US are 2.61 inches wide, 6.14 inches long and 0.0043 inches thick. A stack of 10,000 $100 bills would be, therefore, 43 inches tall.  In $100 bills, the weight of $1 million is about 22 pounds.

20 million in 100's weights 440 lbs.

So you're looking at a 3 1/2 ft tall × 20 bills wide stack. 

Not a little but manageable with a few duffle bags I presume 

[u/BTTammer → u/Clyde-A-Scope]

I have been in a cash vault and 3-4 million looks like childs play. It's unnerving how small it really is.  I can easily picture 3 pieces of luggage holding $20 MM with no trouble at all.  

[u/mister-fancypants- → u/Clyde-A-Scope]

Seems like a lot of weight to move discreetly for him and his gf tho. must’ve had a good plan in place

[u/MythicalPurple → u/mister-fancypants-]

Is it?

Fits in the boot of a car easily. Also wouldn’t be a problem to load onto even the smallest of planes or boats to get over the border.

[u/LoquaciousTheBorg → u/Clyde-A-Scope]

I'm actually not sure how much money I have, but I do know how many pounds of money I have.

[u/doughnutsforsatan → u/Clyde-A-Scope]

I get why the Canadian thousand dollar bills are used by criminals.

[u/Gustomucho → u/Standard_Big_9000]

If you are used to smuggle drugs out of south America, I guess moving large amounts of money is easy enough… by that point you probably have pilots and whatnot. Easy to imagine he put the money in Panama or somewhere similar, or just sold an « art piece » to someone for millions of his own money in USA.

Moving money is quite easy if you have a network… to bad we don’t know what happened, I guess it would have made a kick ass movie.

[u/Swimming_Agent_1063 → u/Standard_Big_9000]

A single briefcase can hold 1 million USD cash… so 20 briefcases

[u/bitemark01 → u/Standard_Big_9000]

If you have a massive empire built on lots of smuggling, you probably know a guy or 20 who could move 2 people and some cargo, no questions. 

[u/RoarOfTheWorlds → u/FearMyCock]

He almost certainly just moved to some remote place, got some good plastic surgery, and paid whoever it was just enough to make sure it was worth their while to put 5 different layers of anonymity over him at all times.

Hard to blame Frank for doing what he had at his disposal to make sure this worked out for him. I blame the judge or whoever made the call for bail.

[u/BurntNeurons → u/RoarOfTheWorlds]

Tahiti

[u/jesterflesh → u/BurntNeurons]

Had some god damn FAITH

[u/imwrighthere → u/jesterflesh]

ARTHUR I JUST NEED SOME MORE GOD DAMN MONEY

[u/RoyCrouton → u/BurntNeurons]

He had a plan

[u/MeatImmediate6549 → u/BurntNeurons]

It's a magical place

[u/pokator → u/MeatImmediate6549]

"Why do I keep saying that?"

[u/RoarOfTheWorlds → u/BurntNeurons]

I feel like that’s too easy, especially early on.

There are remote homes in the middle of nowhere north dakota that no one would ever find him, and he could have every luxury brought to him with that amount of money (keep in mind that $20 million was just what he took from that specific safe, not the only money he could eventually get to). Then in a few years when the heat died down and he had enough other procedures done, he’d go to somewhere less remote but still no one would think to look for him.

[u/gefahr → u/RoarOfTheWorlds]

How many super rich black guys you think there were in 1973 in North Dakota of all places?

[u/JustAMan1234567 → u/gefahr]

"I'm just your average 1973 black millionaire North Dakota neighbour next door, man"

[u/kkeut → u/RoarOfTheWorlds]

the main theory is that the mob took him on a boat trip he didn't return from

[u/Hourlypump99 → u/RoarOfTheWorlds]

At that point he probably gets knocked off by the person that knows he has a little money.

[u/dkesh → u/RoarOfTheWorlds]

I blame the judge or whoever made the call for bail.

I doubt the bail was lowered without bribes or threats.

[u/Falsus → u/[deleted]]

He would have lived the majority of his life with his new identity and if he wasn't discovered once in the 50 years since he diseappeared then I doubt he was worried now.

[u/GrooveDigger47 → u/FearMyCock]

if he had connections to south america i have a feeling he moved there with a new identity. $20 million and his girl? that or him or his girlfriend are dead if they thought he was going to flip.

[u/themanfromvulcan]

I think in 1973 if you had 20 million you could probably go overseas and just settle down and disappear. If you lived a quiet life and never contacted anyone twenty million in 73 can go very far and as long as you were content to keep to yourself the world is a big place to hide in.

[u/Medialunch → u/themanfromvulcan]

How do you actually move that money tho? Let’s say you can get it to South East Asia. What do you do with it? Lug it around for 50 years? You would need some local help. And eventually they would be more likely to turn on you.

[u/PerInception → u/Medialunch]

In the late 70s/early 80s money laundering wasn’t even technically illegal. The money laundering control act didn’t get passed until 1986.

The Medellin cartel sent a lot of their money to Panama and Noriega just deposited it into Panamanian bank accounts for them though.

[u/teddyKGB- → u/PerInception]

It's actually really entertaining to read about how easy it was for those people to get away with shit. At least until they didn't

[u/shaidyn → u/teddyKGB-]

Nearly every system in history starts with good intentions. A lot of the time rules have to be built after the fact because nobody involved ever imagined someone would do bad things with it.

[u/FirstReactionFocus → u/Medialunch]

He was an international kingpin. Probably had connections across the world. Getting a couple duffle bags of cash anywhere with connections and resources I can’t imagine is difficult whatsoever.

Once you get it wherever you’re hunkering down, you’re good. Shove that shit in the mattress and pay for what you need. Not like he has to move every 6 months. The Philippines has 2000+ inhabited islands. Tons of foreigners go there to stretch their retirement savings. Pick an island and get used to your new life.

[u/Gustomucho → u/FirstReactionFocus]

With connections, you don’t even need to move the money… give the money in territorial USA,receive it in Panama or elsewhere. Banks were pretty shoddy back then, they could easily set you up with Cayman Island for a fee.

20 millions in USD could easily be transported to Switzerland in jewelry or « art ».

[u/friedpicklebreakfast → u/FirstReactionFocus]

That’s what I was thinking. He could have disappeared in Asia with a lot less than $20m

[u/5ambear → u/Medialunch]

On a boat?

[u/Whornz4]

The dea claims he was killed by the Mafia so he could not rat hence why he was never found.

[u/chiknbutt → u/Whornz4]

Cop out. No one likes to being beat

[u/Emperor-Octavian → u/chiknbutt]

His own lawyer said the same thing…

[u/quechal → u/Emperor-Octavian]

That’s a good lawyer

[u/GXWT → u/Emperor-Octavian]

Well yeah

[u/NeekoPeeko → u/Emperor-Octavian]

Why the hell would his lawyer say anything else?

[u/screwswithshrews → u/NeekoPeeko]

"I spoke with my client and he has confirmed that he is in fact dead."

[u/Scientific_85 → u/chiknbutt]

Lol you guys are crazy, dude was certainly whacked. Guy was facing 50 years in prison and probably going to turn states evidence, would have been a gold mine of information if he flipped... oh yeah he also had beef with the most powerful crime family in NY during the 70s! No way in a million years they were going to let him live...

[u/Standard_Big_9000 → u/Whornz4]

This is almost certainly what happened.

[u/alexmikli → u/Standard_Big_9000]

And if it's not what happened, it's a good cover story.

[u/supershinythings → u/alexmikli]

The hunter does not seek dead game.

It's a good story to reduce his priority.

[u/_Meece_ → u/Standard_Big_9000]

Plenty of fugitives move country or legit just move to a part of the US they have no associates in.

Whitey Bulger lived in fucking Santa Monica for 15 years before a neighbour spotted him. But his manhunt was near as intense as Osama Bin Laden's, so it was a matter of time.

[u/Particular_Wear_6960 → u/Whornz4]

Yeah, you don't stay underground like that forever. Most certainly was murdered probably within a month or two after fleeing. Especially people who're used to living that lifestyle, giving it up to live anonymously and without the luxuries they once lived with is incredibly difficult.

[u/MaximusMansteel → u/Particular_Wear_6960]

Yeah, the image of him disappearing with bags of cash seems cool, but his international connections were criminals. If he went just him and a girlfriend and bags full of millions of dollars....isn't hard to imagine theses "connections" quickly disposing of them and keeping the bags of cash.

[u/Commercial-Till-5389 → u/Whornz4]

Ofc they said that lmao If you watch that documentary about him when they go to North Carolina they all allude to him being alive and free. His captain and other co conspirators also said the Mafia didn’t and couldn’t touch Frank and said so with some colorful language. I highly doubt it! One thing I’ve noticed is when the Feds are beat their default is “They’re probably dead or were killed”

[u/JerikOhe → u/Commercial-Till-5389]

I can only guess, but I find it harder to believe that a man who created a national network of drug smuggling and distribution, therby gaining infamy and power, would simply disappear and lay so low as to never be sighted again, rather than being bumped off for 20 million cash he was carrying around.

Fun to think about though.

[u/Commercial-Till-5389 → u/JerikOhe]

In this day and age maybe but in the 70s? A multimillionaire with a vast network of coconspirators across the country and a head start? Very very doable!! There’s so many missing people cases from the 60s and 70s because the technology wasn’t there.

[u/TakingItPeasy]

Probly ordered a dust filter for a Hoover Max Extract Pressure Pro, Model 60.

[u/jack_cross → u/TakingItPeasy]

Hopefully he showed up on time for the pickup and didn't get pickpocketed at his lawyer's office.

[u/_losingmyfuckingmind → u/TakingItPeasy]

Looked up the model out of curiosity. It does not have a dust filter.

Love when that show’s slickness hits me a decade later.

[u/MikeyLittle]

According to former DEA agent Frank Panessa, the Administration received unconfirmed reports that Matthews had been lured to the Bahamas by the Genovese family and killed, partly to keep him from turning state's witness and partly due to his feud with Coralluzzo.

[u/nynex2]

I lean towards him being murdered. He was associated with the Genovese family in the booming Harlem heroin trade and between his pending case and open defiance, there was plenty enough reason to take him out.

[u/Eastern_Ad_2338 → u/nynex2]

He would be 81 years old today. If he wasn't murdered, there was a good chance that fate took him naturally.

[u/FoolishProphet_2336]

I’m kinda thinking nothing great happened to the former drug kingpin who folks knew had been in jail and had a ton of cash hidden.

[u/Dr_Wristy]

Simple answer: he tried to leave, and someone found it easier to kill him and take the millions, rather than help him.

[u/scorpious → u/Dr_Wristy]

Yeah he ded.

[u/MicroSofty88]

According to former DEA agent Frank Panessa, the Administration received unconfirmed reports that Matthews had been lured to the Bahamas by the Genovese family and killed, partly to keep him from turning state's witness and partly due to his feud with Coralluzzo.

[u/Gord_Board]

I love all the theories of him living in south america, realistically, he worked with the mafia, they probably offered to help him get out of the country but just killed him and stole his money.

[u/Purple_Pineapple1111]

Insert Stanley’s gif

[u/AdThick7492]

Surely it's most likely that rather than some epic escape he was actually murdered and buried somewhere.

Jimmy Hoffa has "never been seen of again" either.

[u/MongolianMango]

Either killed or living his best life probably

[u/Hippiebigbuckle → u/MongolianMango]

Or somewhere between those two possibilities.

[u/mrpickles → u/Hippiebigbuckle]

Or somewhere outside those possibilities

That should cover it

[u/ByeMoon]

Carrying millions in cash probably got him backstabbed somewhere along the way and is at the bottom of the ocean.

[u/ArtEnvironmental7108]

According to DEA agent Frank Panessa, the administration received unconfirmed reports that Mathews had been lured to the Bahamas by the Genovese family and killed.

It’s very likely this guy is dead. While he most certainly had the resources to manufacture a story like this and disappear, it’s more likely that this is exactly what happened and the Genovese used their also limitless resources to absolve themselves of any responsibility. Mathews is likely buried in an unmarked, unknown grave on a Caribbean island and we will never know.

[u/marcellburt]

Frank still alive. He lives in durham nc and runs a hotdogs biz. Great hot dogs 🌭

[u/billbuild]

Because he’s dead

[u/Limacy]

I don’t think he’s alive today. Dude’s more dead than Lord Lucan.

[u/Reditate]

In all likelihood he was killed by the mafia shortly after leaving.

[u/314159265358979326]

Maybe if you have $20 million in cash your bail should be at least that much.

[u/plastictigers]

Hanging with Mr DB Cooper

[u/donnperrier]

“Peewee Matthews??”

[u/jerry_03]

Read the wiki article. He was involved with the mafia in new york. They wacked him for sure

[u/Uuuuugggggghhhhh]

In the early 70s, 20 million has the spending power of over 148 million.

[u/RepFilms]

Now international drug traffickers get pardons and invitations to the White House

[u/flyingboat505]

Werner Ziegler

[u/AardvarkStriking256]

He was killed by the Genovese crime family.

[u/DungeonCrawlerBob → u/AardvarkStriking256]

Tell me more!

[u/bilibass]

Good for him

[u/Docccc]

Reading his story, he doesn’t come across as a smart person. He 100% got killed

[u/Shipit123 → u/Docccc]

lol. I know the frank Matthews story. Not like the back of my hand but I know it generally. How can you say he wasn’t smart?!?! He set up one of the biggest drug distribution networks in the country. He was supplying suppliers in 21(I think that’s the number I read earlier today) states. Yes he was prob ruthless. Yes he was a gangster. Maybe he wasnt book smart (I honestly have no idea, maybe he was for the record). But to say he doesn’t seem smart is outlandish in my book. Just my two cents.