A Fitting End? 28 Years on the Run = 28 Years in Prison
John Donald Cody, Harvard-trained lawyer and purportedly once engaged in military intelligence, disappeared from his law office in southern Arizona some 28 years ago. He was one step ahead of prosecution then — suspected of stealing money from clients’ trust funds. Changing his name and location over the years, his crimes only got bolder and more trust-abusing.
In December 2013, 66-year old Cody, a/k/a Bobby Thompson and “Mr. X,” came full circle, sentenced to 28 years in prison for a multi-million dollar fraud, operating a high-profile charity scam that he called the “United States Veterans Association.”
It is a colorful tale, and I just hope it is not made into a movie glorifying his misdeeds. But, one colorful detail I cannot help but report: Cuyahoga Ohio Judge Steven Gall also sentenced Cody to spend each Veterans Day of his prison time in solitary confinement.