All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S02E02.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

NARRATOR: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

ROBERT STACK: Tonight on
"Unsolved Mysteries," residents

of a Florida nudist camp were
stunned to discover that one

of their most popular members
was allegedly a fraud,

a cheat, and a child molester.

In Ypsilanti, Michigan,
a small town realtor

was callously gunned down in his
office by two unknown killers.

Was this regular family man the
victim of a professional hit?

At a tiny church in
Ambridge, Pennsylvania,

the congregation are
certain that they

have witnesses a miracle.

The eyes of Jesus on the carved
wooden statue over their altar

were once open.

Now, they say, the
eyes are closed.

Join me for these
fascinating stories.

Perhaps, someone somewhere
has that one vital clue

that can help solve a mystery.

Perhaps, that
someone is watching.

Perhaps, it's you.

[music playing]

Ypsilanti, Michigan, a suburb
of Detroit, January 11th, 1984,

the real estate
office of Jack Brown,

at approximately 11:10
AM two men entered.

As one stood guard, the other
headed toward Jack's office.

Yeah, yeah.

We have trouble here.

ROBERT STACK: It
appeared that the men

are familiar with the
layout of the building.

You think you're
pretty smart, don't you?

Well, maybe.

[gun shot]

[screaming]

Don't move or I'll shoot!

Where's the bathroom?

Way in the back.

Way in the back.

Hurry!

[gasping]

You got to get back there.

Come on!

Come on.
Come on.

Come on.
Come on.

Get in there and
close the door!

Now!

ROBERT STACK: Leaving
the three employees

locked in the bathroom,
the two men walked away.

Jack Brown died 12 hours later
from a single bullet wound

to the neck.

He'd never regain consciousness.

Jack Brown had lived in
Ypsilanti for most of his life,

and was a member of
the local chamber

of commerce and Rotary Club.

At the time of his death,
he was 47 years old.

The murder of Jack Brown was
no random act of violence,

nor was robbery the motive.

It appeared to be a cold-blooded
contract killing, planned

and executed by professionals.

But Brown was no mafia Don.

He was a small-town realtor.

Who ordered him killed, and why?

A five year investigation
has not been

able to answer these questions.

Annie, hi, how you doing?

ROBERT STACK: Jack's
real estate brokering

the business put him in
contact with many members

of the community.

They could not
imagine why he would

have been targeted by a killer.

Yeah, well, listen,
you asked us to find

you a classic Victorian, huh?

DUTCH JORDAN: There
was absolutely nothing

in Jack's background that I
was aware of that would warrant

any kind of problem
whatsoever, and surely not

the tragedy that happened here.

My opinion of the gunman
is that they came here

to challenge Jack in some way.

We got trouble here.

DUTCH JORDAN: I heard
the gunman say, you

think you're smart, don't you?

And I heard Jack say in
kind of a halting voice,

well, well, maybe.

At that point, the gun went off.

And I guess I really figured
that we had bought the farm,

that they were then going to
get rid of three eyewitnesses

to a murder.

But I guess looking
back on it, it

would seem to me to be a case
where whatever problem they had

was with Jack, and
not the rest of us

that happened to be in the
office that fateful morning.

No one seems to know anything
shady about Jack, or anything

that he might have been involved
in that could be termed shady,

which leads us to believe
that maybe he was living

a double life, was involved
in something that no one knew

about--

his family friends or
anyone in this area.

ROBERT STACK: The night
before Jack's murder,

his brother saw him on
the phone in a state

of extreme agitation.

Where's Jack?

Oh, he's back on
the phone back there.

NORM BROWN: When I arrived,
Jack was on the phone.

And I could tell
by his conversation

that he was getting upset.

So when he finally
hung the phone up,

I asked if there's
was a problem.

Oh, uh, uh, that's--
that's nothing.

I just got a few problems
I got to work out.

You guys have a good
time at the poker game.

I'll see you tomorrow, OK?

OK.

NORM BROWN: I honestly feel,
you know, in my own heart

that something about
that phone call

was involved with what
happened the following day.

It's really strange when
someone is murdered or taken

from you suddenly like
this, that you look back

and you search your mind.

You search everywhere for clues.

And you remember things that
someone said that didn't fit.

It was a fun party, wasn't it?

Yeah.

ANN BROWN: Jack and I had
been to a Christmas party.

And I was just a little
irritated with him.

Because he'd had a
bit much to drink.

And he was kind of rambling.

But what would
you do if you knew

some very important people,
some very powerful people

did something very wrong?

Would you write their
names in a list,

and put it in a
safe deposit box?

What are you talking about?

Probably safer
for you not to know.

ANN BROWN: When I talk
to you and tell you

these things that my
husband said to me,

I'm almost embarrassed.

It just sounds so unreal,
politically powerful people

doing something really wrong.

And then you just let it drop.

I mean, I'm an
intelligent person.

And you'd say, well, why didn't
she find out more about it?

And I look back, and
I really wished I had.

But he told me that it was
not something I should know.

And it may sound silly,
but I believed him.

After I recovered from the
initial shock of his death,

then these little comments
that he dropped in conversation

started coming back to me.

And I searched for that
safety deposit key.

It was nowhere in my house.

I have just searched.

I'd like this resolved.

I want to know.

I want to know who those
powerful people were.

I want to know what
their names are.

I want the killers, the
people that actually did.

But I want to know the
people that hired them.

ROBERT STACK: The same day that
Jack was murdered, a major drug

bust occurred in
the area triggered

by an anonymous informant.

Could there have
been a connection?

I think it's very
possible there are people

in the community
that know more about

what happened that
for some reason either

they're afraid to say.

Or maybe, for instance, if he
knew something about someone

else, that person is
obviously not going

to tell us what they know.

ANN BROWN: It
really seems unfair.

Because Jack didn't
deserve to die.

If he did do something
wrong, he did something bad,

you know, I've
thought in my mind

that maybe I didn't want to know
that if he did something bad,

I don't want to know about it.

But it's not true.

I can't think of
anything he could

have done that would give
those people the right

to come in and take his life.

ROBERT STACK: The man who shot
Jack was 35 to 40 years old,

approximately 6 feet in
height, and wore a beige jacket

and light colored pants.

He was armed with a
.38 caliber revolver.

His accomplice was
approximately 50 years in age,

and was about 5
feet 10 in height.

He was wearing coveralls and
a blue knit stocking cap.

He was also armed with
an automatic handgun.

Next, the story of an
extraordinary occurrence

in a tiny Pennsylvania church.

The parishioners at Holy
Trinity believe they

witnessed a genuine miracle.

[music playing]

To many Catholics, miracles
are an accepted part

of their religious beliefs.

These miracles can
take many forms,

but usually involve
phenomena occurring

before witnesses that cannot be
explained by any known science.

But the church is
extremely conservative

when it comes to officially
recognizing a miracle.

To date, only a handful have
been seriously investigated.

And only three, in this century,
have been authenticated.

[church bells ringing]

In 1917, Fatima, Portugal
was the site of the most

famous 20th century miracle.

That year, three
young children and he

said that God had promised to
show a sign of his existence.

And on the day
and specified time

in the middle of a rainstorm
and in front of a huge crowd,

the clouds parted.

And according to
witnesses and reporters,

the sun apparently
touched the Earth.

[singing]

Today, thousands annually
make the pilgrimage

to Fatima to celebrate
this divine occurrence.

More recently,
another miracle is

said to be taking place
in a small Yugoslavian

village called Medjugorje.

Since 1981, four
girls and two boys

claim that they
are being regularly

visited by the Virgin Mary.

She still appears to for
them daily in a local church,

and has told them that this
will be the last time she will

appear until the second
coming of Christ,

the visit that will signal
the end of the world.

This miracle has been dismissed
by the bishop in Medjugorje.

But at the request of
the Pope, it is currently

being re-investigated.

Right now, in a small
town in Pennsylvania,

another miracle is said to have
occurred, this time, in front

of a number of witnesses.

Some skeptics believe
that this is nothing

more than a hallucination.

Others suspect a hoax.

But many eyewitnesses are
positive that they experienced

something that has no physical
or scientific explanation,

a phenomenon they insist
was divinely inspired.

20 Miles north of Pittsburgh,
the area surrounding Ambridge,

Pennsylvania has
been slowly dying.

Abandoned steel
mills line the banks

of the Ohio River, a grim
reminder of the region's lost

prosperity.

But the many
residents of Ambridge

refuse to move out of town.

Some of these people gather
together in the Holy Trinity

Church to gain strength
from their religious beliefs

and one another.

Our Father who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name.

ROBERT STACK: The
Holy Trinity Church

is a simple house of worship,
a reflection of the people

that gather under its steeple.

But the church is
justifiably proud of its

beautiful suspended crucifix.

This wooden plaster icon has
been at the church since 1931.

It was refurbished last January
by local artist Dominic Leo.

DOMINIC LEO: I became really
deeply involved for two weeks

with the crucifix.

It was a crucifix that had
been here at this church

possibly over 60 years.

So now it was time
to restore it.

And when I completed everything,
and finally got to the face,

I actually worked on all of the
face and the eyes last of all.

And when I got to
the eye, then I just

painted them, and put the
color of the blue gray

into the retina.

And then I started
to put some accents

into the sockets of the eye
to show the color of death.

ROBERT STACK: On March 24, 1989,
a special three-hour mass was

held to celebrate Good Friday.

Worshipping together was
a devoted prayer group,

300 men and women who take
their Catholic beliefs

very seriously.

PRIEST: Body of Christ.

ROBERT STACK: Jim Cvitkovic is
a nephew of the parish priest.

And that night, he was
serving as an altar boy.

JIM CVITKOVIC:
Everything was normal.

We had our readings,
and sang the songs

in veneration of the cross.

I got communion.

And I went down on
the side of the altar

just waiting for everyone
else to get done.

That's when my brother,
Tom, came up next to me.

And I was looking up.

And I was praying.

And

ROBERT STACK: As Jim
looked heavenward

into the face of Christ,
he had a stunning surprise.

The eyes that were once open
now appear to be closed.

JIM CVITKOVIC: When I
first noticed that the eyes

were closed, I was shocked.

I didn't know what
to believe at first.

I was happy.

But I was scared
at the same time.

Because you figure that God,
he did this right there while I

was kneeling right there.

Tom?

What?

JIM CVITKOVIC: And I turned
to tell my brother Tom.

Just look.

JIM CVITKOVIC: And he looked
up and verified what I saw.

His eyes are closed.

Go to other side and check.
Maybe the lights--

JIM CVITKOVIC: But then
we thought maybe it was

just the lights or something.

Just to make sure that we
just weren't seeing things,

I had to go into the other side.

I looked up and noticed that
the eyes were still closed.

It didn't hit me until
we went into the back

and I had time to think
about it for a few minutes.

And that's when
I started crying.

Because you don't expect
like that to happen.

And you know, it was something
that I was a part of.

They were crying.

And I asked them what happened.

And they says, the eyes
on the cross are closed.

So I went back out with
another priest, who

has helping me that evening.

And we looked.

And there was a change.

Then I started look around
in church at the people.

And I happened to
look in the back

going out the doors
was the artist

who had refurbished the cross.

And I call out his name
two or three times,

and asked him to come
to the altar area.

And I just simply said to him,
would you look at the cross

and tell me what you see?

DOMINIC LEO: At first when he
told me that, I was wondering,

I says, what could
possibly be wrong?

I says, is it falling down?

And the second thing
I says is don't

look like it's falling down.

I say, is it a defect, some of
the plaster is falling down,

or something, you know?

And it wasn't that.

And then my attention and
everything was just grabbed.

My neck just flipped back.

And my eyes just went
straight up to the crucifix.

And when I looked up there, I
couldn't believe what I saw.

Because not only were the
eyes closed, but they were--

there was like all kinds
of tears underneath it.

And then they were fleshy-like.

The eyelids were moving,
and moving like this.

And all the tears were in there.

And it was just like the
crucifixion was had just

started again from 2,000 years.

It looked just like that.

They were all on their
knees and everything.

It was just-- I could never
forget that, never, never.

[singing]

PRIEST: Dominic, go ahead.

You go up first.

You know the crucifix
better than anybody.

ROBERT STACK: Since the
crucifix was suspended

22 feet in the air,
a ladder was brought

in to allow for a closer look.

Dominic was the first
to make the climb.

DOMINIC LEO: I went up to
the tip top of the A ladder.

I straddled the ladder
at the top of it.

And I had a very close
look at the eyes.

The left eye's closed.

And the right eye is
slightly, slightly open.

It was just
unbelievable what I saw.

This eye here--
this eye here was

closed completely, except
for a little sliver of gray.

But this eye here
was open slightly.

And you could just
see the bottom--

the bottom of the retina.

And this is what really did it.

Because when I seen
that, it looked

like it was burned,
that it had been burned

from energy of some sort.

ROBERT STACK:
Another parishioner,

who had to see for
himself, was Pennsylvania

state trooper Chris Marion.

CHRIS MARION: I wanted
to make sure nobody

had tampered with it.

And I got real close
like a three-year-old

would look into
its father's face.

And as I looked at it, I
realized there's no way.

It was too high.

I knew no one could
have tampered with it.

And it was fine.

And I felt good about it.

I'm sort of glad that
this happened to me.

Because as a state trooper--

and I've been one for 28 years--

I've been trained to look at
things a little differently

than normal, just like
I knew the crucifix

a lot better than everybody.

Well, I knew that everything
that happened here

wasn't some hoax.

This wasn't a bunch of
people just making this up.

These are the type of people
you drink beer with everyday.

And everything had happened
here was for a reason.

And it was definitely the
most religious experience

that I have ever heard
of in my lifetime.

ROBERT STACK: Sue Tolfa was
another member of the prayer

group familiar with the cross.

SUE TOLFA: The cross used
to be in an alcove area

where anyone could come
and light the big candles.

And I've done that
lots of times.

And anybody that has ever lit
a candle, when you look up,

Jesus is looking at you.

I remember the eyes
were open very clearly,

the eyeballs, the
white, the blueish gray.

He was a live Christ
dying on the cross.

And his eyes were still opened.

And that, on Good
Friday, they closed.

Oh, wow.

It's beautiful!

ROBERT STACK: That
night, as he stood

beneath the cross, a
parishioner claimed to have

received a divine message.

He wrote it down, and shared
it with his fellow believers.

[singing]

It read, in part, "I have
given the sign for all those

who have faithfully come.

Truly, my presence is
within this church.

But in the months
to come, many will

flock to see what I have done.

Welcome them, just as
the people of Medjugorje

welcomed those who
flocked to see my mother."

Medjugorje has more than
a spiritual connection

with Ambridge.

Many of the Holy
Trinity parishioners

are of Yugoslav descent.

And four former Ambridge priests
were born in the small town.

Today, some members
of the prayer group

regularly make
pilgrimages to Medjugorje.

Suzanne Reenie is
a Catholic scholar.

She feels that the
parishioners' impassioned faith

led them into seeing
something that did not exist.

There's a very,
very great possibility

that it could be a
subjective reality that's

born of the desire to share
in the same kind of thing that

has happened in
Medjugorje, terrific hunger

to have it happen here.

And also as a kind
of affirmation

that their prayer group is
a successful prayer group,

that it's pleasing to God.

And therefore, he
sends them this sign.

ROBERT STACK: The Catholic
church shares in this

skepticism, for this event
cannot be authenticated

by the Church as a miracle
until it undergoes a rigorous

investigation, in this
case, by a commission

headed by the local
bishop of Pittsburgh.

There is always value when
people return to their faith.

But you would want them to
return for the right reasons.

For what if they found out later
that there was some deception

here, or some defraud?

That could be very
harmful to their faith.

And that's what the church
is always concerned about.

And in an investigation
like this, that we are very

objective, we are very
careful, because of the harm

that can come to faith.

ROBERT STACK: Since
that Good Friday,

Ambridge has been
visited by thousands

of people who went to see
the crucifix for themselves.

But what really happened
the Holy Trinity Church,

lyrical or hallucination?

[singing]

Even if the eyes of
Christ didn't close,

one can readily admit that
some kind of a miracle

has taken place.

Ambridge has retreated
from its inexorable slide

into depression.

Many of his residents
have found a new reason

to believe in their
church and in each other.

At times, I sit here I
wonder, is this of God?

Is this of something
evil that's taken place?

But I know that people who
are coming here are praying.

I know people are coming
here, they have dreams.

They come from all
over the place.

And when they leave,
they have peace.

So to me, this is all positive.

I think my little nephew
summed it up best for me.

He said to me, Uncle Chris,
I know what happened.

He's five years old.
And I said, what happened?

He said, well, God closed
his eyes so everybody

else would open their eyes.

We all need signs of
affection, signs of love

at time.

We need to be reassured.

And I think maybe miracles
are a way of God's

reassuring us of his love.

ROBERT STACK: Several weeks
after we completed filming

this story, the bishop of
Pittsburgh's commission

announced his
decision on the events

that took place in Ambridge.

The bishop's commission reviewed
videotape and photographs

that showed the crucifix before
and after the alleged miracle

of Good Friday, and
stated that there was

no convincing evidence that
a miracle, properly defined,

occurred at Holy Trinity Church.

This decision means that
the Vatican will take

no further action on this case.

However, the bishop's
commission did

go on to say that the
witnesses were sincere.

And many of the people we
interviewed for this story

are still convinced that what
they saw really happened.

They are unshaken
in their belief

that a miracle did,
in fact, occur.

Whatever the truth, the
events of this Good Friday

did serve to bring a troubled
community together under one

roof and under one God.

To many people in Ambridge,
this is one miracle

that cannot be dismissed.

In a moment, we'll reveal
how our viewers helped put

an embezzler who bilked
who Medicare system

out of $16 million behind bars.

[music playing]

Last May, we examined
the shocking case

of Sheldon Weinberg a
New York businessman, who

along with his two
sons, Ronald and Jay,

stole an estimated $16
million of taxpayers'

money that was earmarked for
medical care for the poor.

This illicit father
and son operation

became the largest Medicaid
fraud case ever prosecuted

in the United States.

In 1979, Sheldon
Weinberg and his sons

opened the Bed-Stuy Health
Care Clinic in one of Brooklyn,

New York's mostly
impoverished neighborhoods.

The facility employed
over 25 physicians

and catered primarily
to Medicaid recipients.

The Weinbergs immediately
began defrauding the system

by submitting up to $30,000
per week in false billings

to the government.

They began small,
manually writing up

phony records and phony bills.

But once they started
getting away with it,

they realized the
scam was working.

ROBERT STACK: When the Weinbergs
started using a computer

to create bills
and medical records

for non-existent
visits and services,

their profits soared
from thousands

to millions of dollars.

Jay, can we bring
these numbers up?

Why not?

Hey, looks good.

They used Medicaid like
it was a private bank

account for them.

And from that bank account,
the Weinbergs led the high life

on the backs of poor people.

I think their appetite
for conspicuous living,

for fancy clothes, and
especially shoes, was

only outdone by Imelda Marcos.

ROBERT STACK: For seven
years, the money rolled in.

But in April of 1986, the
Weinbergs elaborate schemes

started to unravel
when authorities

began to investigate the
clinic's billing practices.

For over four weeks, auditors
painstakingly searched

through the clinic's
records and traced

the phone Medicaid billings.

RICHARD HARROW: You look
at the medical charts,

you'll see that a four-year-old
boy was shown as having smoked

four packs of cigarettes
a day, and having

drank a quarter of booze a day.

You found men with
gynecological problems.

And that's the type of things
that jumped out off the paper

at you.

ROBERT STACK: On
November 30, 1988,

Sheldon Weinberg and his
two sons, Ronald and Jay,

were convicted of grand larceny,
conspiracy, and 63 other counts

relating to their
Medicaid fraud scheme.

Ronald Weinberg was
sentenced to spend

five to 15 years in prison.

Jay Weinberg received
an eight to 25

year sentence plus additional
prison terms for tax evasion.

Three days before Sheldon
Weinberg was to be sentenced,

he disappeared along
with his wife, Rosyln.

He was sentenced in
absentia to a seven

to a 21 year prison term.

Update, within three
hours of our broadcast,

Sheldon Weinberg was
arrested by FBI agents

in Scottsdale, Arizona
where he and his wife

were living under assumed names.

EDWARD J. KURIANSKY: Right
after the show aired,

we got specific information
from callers who had seen them

all over the Scottsdale area.

And one of the callers
told us that the Weinbergs

were using the alias DeVito.

And this corresponded
with information

we previously had back
here in New York that they

were traveling under that name.

So when the caller told us that
he had seen people that looked

like the Weinbergs using the
name DeVito in Scottsdale,

we knew we had our man.

ROBERT STACK: On May 19,
Weinberg was extradited back

to New York, and three days
later, appeared before New York

State Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Moskowitz, who reimposed

the seven to 21 year sentence.

I do not regard this
as a white collar crime.

This is a crime
of violence to all

of the people of New York City.

This is a crime of violence
to the Medicaid recipients.

Medicaid state funds should not
go so that people could live

in Trump Towers, so
that people could live

in luxury on Florida estates.

Hopefully, the
message will go out

loud and clear to other people
that the court system will not

tolerate this type of crime.

Execute sentence.

ROBERT STACK: To
date, authorities

have recovered less
than $6 million

of the estimated $16 million
that Weinberg and his sons

stole from taxpayers.

Sheldon Weinberg is
currently serving

his sentence at the
Attica Correctional

Facility in upstate New York.

[music playing]

Next, the story of a conman
who allegedly fleeced thousands

of dollars out of his
friends and neighbors

at a Florida nudist camp.

[music playing]

For 40,000 Americans,
nudity is a way of life.

Sunny Sands Resort
in Northeast Florida

is one of the 200 nudist
clubs in the American

Sunbathing Association.

Clothes aren't outlawed
here, just avoided.

Many outsiders
consider public nudity

strange or sexually exploited.

But to the 66 families of
Sunny Sands, being nude

is only being natural.

JERI NOONAN: There's a real
unfortunate misconception

that being in a nudist
club means sexual behavior,

means a lot of
drinking, a lot of party

atmosphere, that kind of thing.

And here, you don't find
that kind of atmosphere.

Here, you find families.

In a nudist club, you'll find
that things are a lot more

wholesome than at Daytona
Beach, or downtown Orlando,

or a lot of places.

ROBERT STACK: While many of
us consider nudity offbeat,

its devotees feel that a
lifestyle without clothes

is healthier and more open.

However, from time
to time, the clubs

attract single men
whose only purpose

is to exploit this environment,
so they must carefully

screen their applicants.

They don't always succeed, as
we'll see in our next story.

WOMAN OVER SPEAKER:
Good morning.

May I help you?

Hi, my name's Rusty.

ROBERT STACK: In February 1988,
a clever conman calling himself

Garland Houston Russell,
Rusty for short,

arrived at the
Sunny Sands Resort

and asked to join the camp.

DENNIS NOONAN: Rusty
was immediately likable.

He was not high pressure.

He explained to us that he was
looking for a place to live,

but he understood when we told
him that he couldn't move in

right away, that we needed
time to have him get to know

us and us to get to know him.

Being a single guy,
we're a little careful.

And as far as--

I think probably the easiest
way to say is he seemed--

he was very friendly
and very comfortable.

But he was also very lonely.

And he was looking-- he
gave you the feeling like he

was looking for a family.

And he was looking for someone
to share his life with.

You're kind of
looking for a new home.

ROBERT STACK: Rusty
told the camp's owners

that he had been discharged
from the Air Force

after the tragic, sudden death
of his parents in a car crash.

He claimed their
estate was in probate,

and he'd be wealthy
when it was settled.

RUSTY: I traveled around
a bit, and wound up here.

And when I came here, it
felt like it should be home.

We're glad you feel that way.

We've had a chance to talk to
some of the people that have

met you since you've been here.

And they all seem to like you.

And it seems to us that
you fit in really well.

And we'd like to have you stay.

The rental's available.

And if you'd like
it, it's yours.

I appreciate it.
Welcome aboard.

VICKIE: Everybody
seemed to like Rusty.

He did everything for everybody.

The part that amazed me,
he really loved children.

And my children loved him.

They thought of him as like
a big brother or an uncle.

ROBERT STACK: Rusty renovated
an empty store in Crescent City,

15 miles away, and stocked it
with video tapes he said he'd

acquired while in the service.

Police now suspect he
stocked the entire store

with inventory stolen in Texas.

So put that down now, OK?

Ken, how you been?

ROBERT STACK: For
members of Sunny Sands,

he had a special deal.

You look very nice today.

Thanks, Rusty.

ROBERT STACK: He sold
the tapes to his friends,

then bought them back at
a slightly higher price,

a tax dodge, he told them.

Here's the deal.

You're going to give
me a check for $500.

I'm going to give
you a check for $600.

You hold that check for 90 days.

You pick up 20% on your money.

You cash the check
after 90 days.

You pick up 20% on your money.

You get to watch the tapes.

You give the tapes back to me.

And then I'll rent these tapes
out as used tapes, you see.

OK.

And then I get over on
the government, right?

- It sounds beautiful.
- Right, you make the money.

I'd rather give to you
than the government.

That sounds great.

It is great.

The people we spoke to who had
invested with Rusty early on,

everybody had
seemed to have made

their money back,
their principal

plus their 20% interest.

At a maximum, people had
invested maybe $1,000

with Rusty, and had made $1,000
plus their $200 interest.

[knocking on door]

Who is it?

RUSTY: Rusty.

Oh, Rusty.

ROBERT STACK: After
four months, Rusty

wanted to expand the store.

He approached a neighbor
for a $20,000 loan.

She quickly agreed.
- Oh, great.

Everybody's great.
- Good, good.

Listen, I have an opportunity
to share some wealth with you.

ROBERT STACK: Just
six weeks later,

Rusty asked a second
couple for $20,000 more.

See, what I want to do is to
save some money on my taxes.

ROBERT STACK: He
didn't tell this couple

about the first investor.

INVESTOR: He needed
money to buy more tapes,

more equipment, and so forth.

And we wanted to make a
little interest on the money.

So it was just an investment,
as far as we were concerned,

and helping out somebody
at the same time.

Hey, Rusty, how are you?

Sleeping.

Hey, Robert, now don't you
fill up on that because--

ROBERT STACK: Rusty
flourished at Sunny Sands.

Surrounded by happy families
who supported his business,

this lonely man seemed to have
found his place in the sun.

[music playing]

On August 20th, 1988,
Rusty's careful set

up began to unravel when
the 11-year-old daughter

of his closest friends fled
in tears from his trailer.

VICKIE: She said that he
threw her against the wall.

And then he threw
her on the bed,

and that he was
touching her all over.

The rest is a little personal.

And in trying to do that,
that's when she hit him.

And she hit him three times
before she got away from him.

ROBERT STACK: State
attorneys issued a warrant

for Rusty's arrest for sexual
battery against a child

under 12, a charged for which
he would be held without bond.

[knocking on door]

POLICEMAN: Volusia County
Sheriff's Department.

Come on in.

We're investigators
with the Volusia

County Sheriff's Department.

We have a warrant
for your arrest.

You have a warrant
for my arrest?

Volusia County warrant
number 88-0-9-0-7-44.

Officers, there
has been a mistake.

We have a warrant.

INVESTIGATOR GORDON T. MEYER:
We handcuffed him, put him back

in the back of the
marked car, and took him

over to operations
to be processed

and to try to interview him.

He verified the little
girl's story, except he

put a different slant on it.

He put a different light on it.

He did say that,
yeah, they were nude.

And they were in the trailer.

Of course, that's
not so unusual.

They're in a nudist camp.

And he admitted
to touching her--

touching the little girl
pretty much all over her body.

The way you explained it was,
he said, we were having fun.

We were wrestling.
That didn't ring true.

It just wasn't right.

But he held fast to
his story that he

had no intent to assault her.

VICKIE: When Rusty was
arrested, nobody believed it.

The people in the
camp were all shocked.

Here we were taking this
man who everybody liked--

he was everybody's friend,
everybody's big brother--

and turn around and say, well,
he did something so despicable.

And they turned against us.

It was a lot easier to say,
oh, no, that child's lying.

You know, it's easier to blame
their child than it is to say,

well, this guy who is so nice
isn't as nice as we thought.

I would have believed
that Rusty would have stolen

our entire 50 acres
and walked away with it

before I would have
believed that he hurt

a little girl,
only because that's

the way he presented himself.

ROBERT STACK:
Rusty's loyal friends

convinced the judge to grant
Rusty release on $25,000 bail.

Rusty asked Bob Pickens, his
landlord at the video store,

to post his bond.

Before, this has
happened before.

Her grandparents are coming
down to testify on my behalf.

Bob, you got to get
me out of this place.

Rusty, I'll do what I can.

BOB PICKENS: I was surprised
when Rusty was arrested.

And very frankly, he convinced
me that he was innocent.

That, I suppose, indicates
some naivety on my part.

But he was very convincing.

ROBERT STACK: Bob Pickens
arranged to have the money

available in 24 hours.

In those same 24 hours,
the Noonans were also

trying to raise Rusty's bail.

As they looked into
Rusty's business accounts,

they were shocked to
see he was seriously

overdrawn at the
bank, and had lied

to them about what he owned.
- He doesn't own the store.

He doesn't own the property.

He ends up being overdrawn
by over $1,000-- $1,068.

That's not right.

DENNIS NOONAN: The facade that
Rusty had billed about being

the honest businessman that
he was is now coming apart

looking like a bad brick wall.

And in fact, if he was
a bad guy financially,

the chances are he is a
bad guy with the child

molestation charges.

We tried to get a hold
of the bonding agent.

We spoke to her.

and explained what was going on.

But she wouldn't tell us who
was posting the collateral.

We tried to find
out, but before we

could find out who it was
posting the collateral

for his bail, he was out.

We missed him by minutes.

VICKIE: I was really shocked.

You know, he got out on bail.

And he shouldn't have.

I was told by the
investigator he was

not going to be granted bail.

But then he managed to
con his way into it.

Start again, I guess.

ROBERT STACK: In
the next 48 hours,

Rusty persuaded Bob Pickens
to buy his business,

telling him that his
reputation as a businessman

had been ruined.

Bob learned later he was
the third person to whom

Rusty had sold his inventory.

BOB PICKENS: As
soon as I found out

there were other
individuals, I made

every effort to have
Rusty apprehended

in the bail removed.

But I was unsuccessful.

ROBERT STACK: Rusty raised more
cash by selling his car to two

different unsuspecting parties.

Then he rented another
car and disappeared.

He never showed up
for his court date.

BOB PICKENS: When
Rusty took off,

I felt sick,
disappointed, surprised,

and somewhat of a fool.

This guy took us all for a ride.

No matter what
happens, we know

we'll never get our money back.

But right at this point,
the money is immaterial.

Right now, the big thing
I want Rusty caught

is what he did to the child.

That child will never be the
same for the rest of her life.

I want him caught.

I want him punished.

And I want him stopped.

I want him to go to
jail where he can't get

his hands on other children.

ROBERT STACK: Police
have since learned

that Garland Houston Russell
is not Rusty's real name.

It is one of the 42 aliases
used by William Eugene Hilliard.

The real Garland Russell,
a man from Tennessee,

is another innocent
victim of Hilliard's cons.

Hilliard has been
arrested in 14 states

and is wanted for fraud
in Florida and Texas.

His swindles total at least
half a million dollars.

Hilliard has green eyes
and is nearly bald.

He disguises his
appearance with a toupee

of straight brown hair,
often worn with a headband.

He is 44 years old, weighs 200
pounds, and is 6 feet tall.

Within minutes of our
broadcast, several viewers

from South Carolina
called our telecenter

to report that they recognized
William Eugene Hilliard.

[music playing]

The morning after our
broadcast, Hilliard

was arrested by Georgetown
County Sheriff's deputies

at a convenience
store in Murrells

Inlet, South
Carolina, a small town

just south of Myrtle Beach.

He was living under the assumed
name Ronald Edward Kent.

On October 20th, Hilliard
was returned to Florida

to face charges of fraud and
sexual battery against a child

under 12.

If convicted of the
sexual battery charge,

Hilliard could received
the death penalty.

[music playing]

A final note on
tonight's broadcast.

Last week, we presented
the poignant story

of Jim Meade, a helicopter pilot
who was injured in Vietnam.

Eventually, he made a startling
recovery, and for 15 years,

searched for the nurse
who taught him how to walk

and talk again.

The morning after our broadcast,
Jim's search came to and end.

We received a
surprise phone call

from Karen Stephens, who
identified herself as the Army

Lieutenant who nursed Jim.

She lives only 30
miles from Jim,

and was astounded to see her own
story on national television.

Jim and Karen are planing
to get together soon.

We will bring you their
heartwarming reunion

on one of our next broadcasts.

[music playing]