
Tips for the Sophisticated Fugitive - robg
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/weekinreview/22powell.html?ref=weekinreview
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garply
I laughed out loud when I read this:

"In 2006, a federal jury indicted Jacob (Kobi) Alexander, an Israeli-American
business wunderkind, on charges of wire and securities fraud. Mr. Alexander
and his family flew to Namibia, which has no extradition treaty with the
United States.

The fugitive more or less tried to buy Namibia. He sponsored scholarships and
built low-income solar-powered buildings, and he lived in a spectacular home
in Windhoek. "

But now I'm wondering if, from a utilitarian perspective, the world would have
been better with him in jail. It sounds like he improved living conditions in
Namibia.

~~~
katz
> But now I'm wondering if, from a utilitarian perspective, the world would
> have been better with him in jail.

No - he corrupted politicians. That is how it works in most African countries
- give a lot of money to politicians in exchange for protection from any legal
problems.

This regularly happens in the country to its south and in Zimbabwe (e.g. John
Bredenkamp).

~~~
yters
If the system is already broken, and someone taking advantage of it is making
things better, I say let him take advantage of it.

~~~
katz
Do you really believe that he would "make things better"? He probably greased
a lot of palms to ensure that he is not extradited to the US.

He will continue greasing palms (with stolen money) and start again with his
corruption. There are numerous examples of this being the case.

A good example is Jurgen Harksen. He was on the run from German authorities
and decided to hid in South Africa. He quickly started on the corruption
bandwagon again and formed close "relationships" with various politicians.

A leopard does not magically change its spots.

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bjoernw
This post from Tim Ferris is amazing and outlines some ways to prepare to be a
fugitive: [http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/03/03/how-to-be-
ja...](http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/03/03/how-to-be-jason-bourne-
multiple-passports-swiss-banking-and-crossing-borders/)

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streety
Does anyone know of a fugitive from justice being apprehended solely on the
basis of the involvement of facebook?

I really don't see how facebook has made it any harder to find a place to
hide.

~~~
tlb
The point is you'd have to give up Facebook in order to flee. Some people
can't give it up, so they sit and wait for their trial. Even in prison they
can still be in contact with friends and family, which many people would
prefer to a life on the run.

~~~
gnaritas
Anyone who'd choose prison over giving up Facebook doesn't need to be in
prison, they need to in a mental ward; they have serious issues.

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datums
The facebook reference is pretty off. These guys are not the facebook types I
believe. But someone like Madoff would have been found by the law or those he
conned.

~~~
katz
Are you sure?

<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bernard-Madoff/45015537510>

~~~
colins_pride
He is the kind of guy who might have USED facebook, but he would never be
CONSTRAINED by it. He's demonstrated through his actions that he doesn't care
about the social consequences of his actions. Although he does appear to have
tried to protect his family from legal problems, and it appears to be working:
it is unclear to me why there haven't been RICO charges against everyone
tangentially involved, which seemed like an obvious next step to me the day
after case broke four months ago.

