7. Steven Russell — Love-Fueled Fraudster
Steven Russell, a former police officer, became notorious for his audacious prison escapes and cons, often driven by his love for fellow inmate Phillip Morris. In 1992, he escaped from the Harris County Jail by impersonating a guard, using a walkie-talkie and civilian clothes to walk out unnoticed. After being re-arrested for embezzling $800,000, Russell reduced his $950,000 bail to $45,000 by impersonating a judge over the phone. In another escape, he dyed his prison uniform green to resemble a doctor’s scrubs, walked out of the front door, and fled to Mississippi with Morris (grunge.com). His final escape involved faking AIDS symptoms and forging medical records to be transferred to a nursing home, from which he escaped but was eventually recaptured.
