For every fresh lead in this case, though, new questions arise. The world now has a clearer picture of how Frankel’s scheme–in which he allegedly stole money he managed for insurance companies–touched the lives of everyone from Vatican officials (they lent credibility to his fake charity) to Walter Cronkite (he was listed as a board member of the charity, even though he declined to join). More details have also emerged about his life inside his heavily guarded compound in Greenwich, Conn. A woman named Frances Burge, one of many who worked for him, committed suicide two years ago. Frankel left behind burned documents, 80 computers and sadomasochistic sex paraphernalia, including a riding crop and videotapes.
The FBI believes he’s in Europe now. And a British paper, the Daily Express, claimed Frankel was almost caught trying to buy a fake passport in a sting operation in Germany. The paper said he had been traveling with a woman who has a house close to the Swiss-German border. Because Frankel’s diamonds are certified, the FBI is hoping jewelers will help track him down. Then again, he could likely find less-discriminating buyers in bustling diamond markets in Tel Aviv and Antwerp. Countries like Israel and Brazil that do not have extradition treaties with the United States are also good bets for a Frankel forwarding address.
The intense manhunt by globally connected police forces make the world an increasingly small place for fugitives. If Frankel is eventually caught, the world will learn firsthand how this international man of mystery managed to keep everyone in the dark for so long about his alleged scams. Prosecutors figure that Frankel started playing his financial shell games more than 10 years ago. The question now is whether he can hide himself as well as he apparently hid other people’s money.
