This book tells the twisted true story of twentieth century con man Robert Spears. Chief among Spears's misdeeds was a sophisticated and elaborate network of abortion clinics deftly disguised as legitimate practices that generated a reported $20,000 a week in the 1950s. However, when Dr. Spears was about to go on trial for his abortion operation, he stunningly "died" in an airplane crash, leaving his widow to collect the equivalent of a million dollars in life insurance. As the FBI investigated, they uncovered an astonishing, mind-bending tale of murder, abortion rings, and false identities-more than 22 aliases for Spears alone-as well as insurance scams and investment fraud that stretched over decades. But that was far from the end of the story. Peeling back layer after layer, a world of schemes virtually beyond comprehension was exposed that left families, businesses, entire industries, and future generations in ruins. And yet Robert Spears proved to be the ultimate slippery fish. The FBI was never able to pin him down for the heinous downing of an airliner filled with innocent souls and the murder of his dearest friend. Methodically researched and meticulously sourced from FBI reports and hundreds of news articles and publications, Vanishing Act is one of the great con man stories of our time.