Molly Conger

One man whose life keeps intersecting with major historical events, just wandering in and out of the lives of gullible reporters, frustrated federal agents, and the innocent bystanders who accidentally became his targets. Just bumbling his way through history, but without any of Tom Hanks' charm. I know we don't really know each other yet.

I haven't earned the trust it takes to know you'll believe me when I promise you a two-parter is worth the wait in between, but I think you'll agree. Frank's story is weird enough for two episodes. Frank Abbott Sweeney Jr.

I haven't earned the trust it takes to know you'll believe me when I promise you a two-parter is worth the wait in between, but I think you'll agree. Frank's story is weird enough for two episodes. Frank Abbott Sweeney Jr.

I haven't earned the trust it takes to know you'll believe me when I promise you a two-parter is worth the wait in between, but I think you'll agree. Frank's story is weird enough for two episodes. Frank Abbott Sweeney Jr.

was born in August of 1943 in New Jersey to Frank Abbott Sweeney Sr., a realtor, and Marie Gleason Sweeney, a homemaker who taught violin lessons and volunteered with the Red Cross. As a lifelong con artist, a lot of what he's told reporters about his own life is self-serving fiction. which would sometimes get published without fact-checking and then reappear in later accounts as fact.

was born in August of 1943 in New Jersey to Frank Abbott Sweeney Sr., a realtor, and Marie Gleason Sweeney, a homemaker who taught violin lessons and volunteered with the Red Cross. As a lifelong con artist, a lot of what he's told reporters about his own life is self-serving fiction. which would sometimes get published without fact-checking and then reappear in later accounts as fact.

was born in August of 1943 in New Jersey to Frank Abbott Sweeney Sr., a realtor, and Marie Gleason Sweeney, a homemaker who taught violin lessons and volunteered with the Red Cross. As a lifelong con artist, a lot of what he's told reporters about his own life is self-serving fiction. which would sometimes get published without fact-checking and then reappear in later accounts as fact.

It was in the newspaper, after all. So I've taken great pains to verify what I can, debunk what I can, and take note of the things I can only offer you with a grain of salt. Some of Frank's own lies are easily disproved, like the resume he gave a Rhodesian army recruiter.

It was in the newspaper, after all. So I've taken great pains to verify what I can, debunk what I can, and take note of the things I can only offer you with a grain of salt. Some of Frank's own lies are easily disproved, like the resume he gave a Rhodesian army recruiter.

It was in the newspaper, after all. So I've taken great pains to verify what I can, debunk what I can, and take note of the things I can only offer you with a grain of salt. Some of Frank's own lies are easily disproved, like the resume he gave a Rhodesian army recruiter.

On it, he claimed he graduated from Georgetown University in 1965 with a degree in psychology, but he couldn't possibly have matriculated at Georgetown in 1961. He was a senior at Tenafly High School in 1962 when he was sent to the Annandale Reformatory for two and a half years. He never finished high school.

On it, he claimed he graduated from Georgetown University in 1965 with a degree in psychology, but he couldn't possibly have matriculated at Georgetown in 1961. He was a senior at Tenafly High School in 1962 when he was sent to the Annandale Reformatory for two and a half years. He never finished high school.

On it, he claimed he graduated from Georgetown University in 1965 with a degree in psychology, but he couldn't possibly have matriculated at Georgetown in 1961. He was a senior at Tenafly High School in 1962 when he was sent to the Annandale Reformatory for two and a half years. He never finished high school.

His claim that his alias Francis Shellhammer derives from his mother's maiden name also fails to hold up to scrutiny. His mother was born Marie Gleason to John Gleason, a fireman, and Lottie Gross Gleason in Chicago. And I was generous here. I wasted a lot of time. I even checked his grandparents. His middle name, Abbott, was his paternal grandmother Martha's maiden name.

His claim that his alias Francis Shellhammer derives from his mother's maiden name also fails to hold up to scrutiny. His mother was born Marie Gleason to John Gleason, a fireman, and Lottie Gross Gleason in Chicago. And I was generous here. I wasted a lot of time. I even checked his grandparents. His middle name, Abbott, was his paternal grandmother Martha's maiden name.

His claim that his alias Francis Shellhammer derives from his mother's maiden name also fails to hold up to scrutiny. His mother was born Marie Gleason to John Gleason, a fireman, and Lottie Gross Gleason in Chicago. And I was generous here. I wasted a lot of time. I even checked his grandparents. His middle name, Abbott, was his paternal grandmother Martha's maiden name.

I went as far as to track his family tree all the way back to Ireland, giving him the benefit of the doubt that maybe there's a shell hammer in there somewhere. I didn't find one. It's possible that I started mixing up my Martha's, Mary's, John's, and Francis's by the time I was cross-referencing marriage records from the 1870s, but He probably just made it up. He does a lot of that.

I went as far as to track his family tree all the way back to Ireland, giving him the benefit of the doubt that maybe there's a shell hammer in there somewhere. I didn't find one. It's possible that I started mixing up my Martha's, Mary's, John's, and Francis's by the time I was cross-referencing marriage records from the 1870s, but He probably just made it up. He does a lot of that.

I went as far as to track his family tree all the way back to Ireland, giving him the benefit of the doubt that maybe there's a shell hammer in there somewhere. I didn't find one. It's possible that I started mixing up my Martha's, Mary's, John's, and Francis's by the time I was cross-referencing marriage records from the 1870s, but He probably just made it up. He does a lot of that.

And other aspects of Frank's story would require a trip to the National Archive to sift through dusty boxes of ancient court transcripts and an unlikely degree of transparency from the Central Intelligence Agency or a deathbed confession from a mobster or a few tell-all memoirs from U.S. Marshals to ever hope to sort out. The rest is somewhere in between.