Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 9 (UPI) -- An escaped convict from Texas
with an ironic sense of humor is again in jail, this time in Fort
Lauderdale, Fla.
Steven Jay Russell, who was serving a sentence for stealing
$800,000
from a Houston business, has been dubbed ``King Con'' and ``Houdini'' by
authorities for slipping out of jails three times -- always on Friday
the
13th.
Russell is the only inmate to have escaped from Houston's
Harris
County Jail twice.
In 1996, he demonstrated his nerve by impersonating a judge,
calling
the district clerk's office, ordering his bond reduced from $900,000 to
$45,000 and walking away from the facility.
Russell's pulled off his most recent escape from the facility
March
13 by posing as an inmate dying of AIDS.
Jail officials said Russell managed to get a ``special needs''
parole
to a south Texas nursing home after convincing someone to call the jail
to release him to a Houston hospital for treatment.
Once loose, Russell was able to his get lover transferred from
the
Houston jail to a Dallas lockup, where Russell actually visited him
several times by posing as the man's lawyer.
In past escapes, Russell has posed as an FBI agent, a judge and
a
physician.
Investigators from Texas and Florida tracked Russell to Sunrise,
Fla.
, where he was arrested Tuesday night as he was getting into his car.
Authorities believe they might have a little comfort room as
arrangements are made to transport Russell from Florida to Texas; the
next Friday the 13th comes in November.
--
Two rules in life:
1. Don't tell people everything you know.
2.
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