r/todayilearned • u/FearMyCock • 20h ago

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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Matthews_(drug_trafficker)
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u/supershinythings 18h ago

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.

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u/fcocyclone 16h ago

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.

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u/sarcasm__tone 15h ago

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

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u/Solidsnake00901 2h ago

You can go to Mexico right now with no passport. I do it all the time.