The Profile Dossier: Frank Abagnale, the Con Man Who Got a Second Chance

"Some books are judged by their covers, and in my uniform, I was an immediate best-seller."

Frank Abagnale was an airline pilot, a doctor, a U.S. Bureau of Prisons agent, a sociology professor, and an attorney — all before he was 21 years old. How did he do all of this? He put on a uniform, assumed a fake identity, and earned the trust of the people in charge.

"Some books are judged by their covers," Abagnale says, "and in my uniform, I was an …