Any trip through europe requires a certain aptitude for adjustment – learning to love cool showers, dealing with the absence of ice water, breakfasting on baguettes instead of bagels. It’s especially important to blend in with the locals if you’re on the lam, but fugitive Martin Frankel spent four months abroad without sacrificing any of the comforts of home – and his home was a $3 million mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, complete with a harem acquired through personal ads. Frankel’s “vacation” was cut short last week when German police arrested him in a five-star hotel in Hamburg (he’s now finishing his stay on the Continent in a nearby prison awaiting extradition). But it’s shocking he lasted as long as he did: Frankel, the ultimate ugly American, broke every rule in the book – literally.
“The fewer people in the neighborhood who know you’re gone, the better.”
– Tips for the Savvy Traveler
“Firefighters responding to an alarm at Frankel’s Connecticut mansion found an abandoned house with burning documents, with a ‘to do’ list that included ‘launder money.’ “
– The Wall Street Journal
“To repeat, pack light. Twenty pounds is plenty to carry. (Weigh your packed bag on a bathroom scale.)”
– Tips for the Savvy Traveler
Frankel “fled Greenwich last May, taking the private jet … along with 20 suitcases, one big bag full of diamonds and two female companions.”
– ABC News
“Be an educated traveler. Read the travel section of your local newspaper for special promotional fares and discounts.”
– Italy From $70 a Day
“Mr. Frankel, a Scorpio, drew an astrological chart of his flight. The news wasn’t so good.”
– The Wall Street Journal
“Choose your traveling companions carefully – traveling with a group of friends can insulate you from genuine intimacy with local culture.”
– Let’s Go 1999: Germany
“He traveled through Rome with two women at the time, relying on them to hail taxis and find something other than pasta – one of his many food aversions – at local restaurants.”
– International Herald Tribune
“If you need to call overseas, beware of the cost.”
– Lonely Planet Italy
“He was on the phone day after day, calling associates and his lawyers back in the States.”
– ABC News
“Be careful even in hotels and don’t leave valuables lying around your room.”
– Lonely Planet Italy
“German police walked into a room to find the surprised fugitive and a companion, Cynthia Allison, as well as allegedly forged passports, diamonds, cash, a computer and documents.”
– The Times of London.