INSPIRATIONAL: EX-CON REVEALS LIFE LESSONS

Catch him if you can: Frank Abagnale

February 12, 2006—Convicted felon Frank Abagnale—the subject of the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can—told convention attendees at the Sunday morning inspirational services that family, God, and country should govern their lives.

The Hollywood version aside, he said, there was nothing glamorous about the story of a Bronxville, N.Y., native who between the ages of 16 and 18 hookwinked, lied, and conned people into believing he was, in turn, 10 years older than he was, a Pan-Am pilot, and then a doctor, all the while writing hundreds of bad checks for countless dollars and staying one step ahead of the law.

Abagnale said he always knew he would get caught, noting, “The law sleeps, but never dies.” At age 21, he ended up in a French prison, then in a Swedish prison, and finally in a U.S. federal prison, serving 4 years of a 12-year sentence. Abagnale emphasized that there is no glory in breaking the law and that he's not proud of what he did.

Perhaps in an effort to make up for all that, he's been a special consultant to the FBI for 31 years now. And the oldest of his three sons is an FBI agent.

In fact, Abagnale admits he never was a real man until he met his wife and became a father. He says that real men love and are faithful to their wives and that there is nothing more joyful than family.

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Frank Abagnale (audio/video)

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