The ultimate con artist

It’s been a long trail for the man who began life as Fred Brito and who along the way has been known as a court-appointed psychiatrist, a much-admired community organizer, a trusted priest, and a high-profile fundraiser.

Josh Mankiewicz, Dateline correspondent: What’s the secret to a successful con?

Fred Brito: One, I’ve done my homework. Two, I know the different jobs that I was going after. And two and three, it’s being able to look in your eye and become so believable that people won’t second guess you because when people are lying, they don’t look at your eyes. But, they don’t look directly. But, if I’m looking straight at your eyes, and all these people that are at this panel, “Gosh, he was so believable. He was great.”

Mankiewicz: Let’s not bother checking his references.

Brito: That’s right.  That’s right.

Fred wants you to remember that while he doesn’t deny having committed numerous crimes, most of his role-playing was just to secure the kind of work that’s not usually available to an ex-con. To hear Fred tell it, lying about his background was a matter of honor.

Brito: Our prisons are overloaded. The last thing they want is another body in there. I’m not gonna go to welfare. I’m not gonna have people feeding me. I’m gonna go out and earn a decent living. And that’s what I did. The only thing is is that I didn’t do it under who I really was.

But since 1974, the part Fred has played most often and most convincingly has been a prison inmate. He's had at least 12 convictions, and sentenced to more than 15 years behind bars.

Over the years, he’s reinvented himself time and again. Usually, he’s successful at first, but Fred Brito’s past has what must be to him an annoying habit of coming back to haunt him.

Now Fred says he’s ready for his latest and most challenging role: an honest man.

Brito: Redemption is hard. Every time I wake up I have to make sure that I’m doing the right thing and saying the right things. Because it’s like a drug addict. If I take one sip of alcohol, I’m just asking for more problems.  So I try to stay away from mistruths. I try to stay away from things that are dishonest as much as I can.

Mankiewicz: Have you told me anything that wasn’t true?

Brito: Not that I remember.

Mankiewicz: This would be a good time to admit it if you did.

Brito: Consciously?  No. I don’t think so. I think I’ve been as up-front and honest with you as I possibly can.

But here’s the problem, Fred and the truth are only casual friends.

Mankiewicz: Is it possible you’ve told so many lies in your life that you don’t even remember what the truth is anymore in certain instances?

Brito: You hit it on the button.  That’s true.  I have forgotten the lies that I’ve  told.  And I forget what is the truth anymore.

In part because of that, and in part because we are, after all, dealing with a con man here, we tried to check as much of Fred’s story as we could. His rap sheet is full of convictions for forgery, theft, embezzlement, and credit card fraud. Is that Fred Brito— a charming, small time thief?  Maybe. We also found, all the way back in 1974 an arrest on child-molestation charges. That is the only sex crime on Fred Brito’s record. And he says he can explain it.

Brito: I was at my aunt’s house, which is the front of our house. I was on the porch.  We looked up and there was a police car.  And they were pointing my way. They came down.  And they said that there was an allegation from some young person under—I don’t know what age he was.  It was a he.  And that I had molested him on my property in 1974. We went to court.  We went to the preliminary hearing.  They did not appear.  The case was dropped.  And that was an allegation that was not accurate.  Had it been accurate, where were they?  Why didn’t they show up in court and proceed with the allegation that I had molested their son?  They didn’t show up.  The case was dismissed. But I never ever—sexually assaulted anybody.  And that was an allegation that I think he had the wrong person, frankly.

We checked again and again, but we couldn’t find out anything more about that strange episode from Fred’s past. Keep in mind that he’s been quite upfront about his criminal history... to us, at least. Fred hasn’t been as forthcoming to prospective employers. But he says now, he is a changed man.

He now offers himself up as sort of anti-Fred Brito.

Mankiewicz: I see by your website here that you’ve also hired yourself out as a motivational speaker sort of telling people how to avoid being conned.

Brito: That’s right. I’m wanting to give what I’ve taken. Give back to what I’ve taken away in a sense.

Mankiewicz: Good resume, bad resume. How to spot somebody who isn’t what they claimed?

Brito: That’s right.

Mankiewicz: How to overcome adversity?

Brito: Which is what I’ve done.

It sounds quite encouraging, maybe even truly inspirational. But then we checked some more—and we found this.

Mankiewicz: “After surviving a near fatal accident resulting in a broken neck, Fred shares how business in a fast paced world can suddenly experience dramatic change.  He explains how his real life tortoise and the hare tale applies to the success of business and the satisfaction of one’s personal life.” You were not in an accident that resulted in—right?

Brito: No.

Mankiewicz: Who’s John Futrell?

Brito: I have no idea.

Mankiewicz: John Futrell is the guy whose Web site you took that from.   You will see here on his website it says “that after an accident that resulted in a broken neck, John now shows how you can apply those same techniques to business,” which says to me that you’re up to your old tricks here.

Brito: No. I just copied his Web site and modified it to fit mine.

Mankiewicz: It’s a little tough here to believe that you—

Brito: When this was made, I was still having to concoct a story in order to get myself employed. I don’t have to do that anymore because it’s out. 

A new leaf?
For the record, Fred stopped borrowing John Futrell’s inspirational story after we confronted him about it. And he says now, he’s committed...to going straight. Again.

Mankiewicz: Fred, [sigh] am I gonna read the paper in a couple of years and find out you’ve been charged with another crime?

Brito: This is what you’re probably gonna read in a couple a years: My days of being crook Fred, or bad Fred, or you know?  I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

Mankiewicz: Fred Brito The Conman?

Brito: Fred Brito, conman, is no longer. The old Fred didn’t get me anywhere.  The new Fred of being the advocate for those people who are disenfranchised and who are suffering in today’s crowded streets.  That’s who I will become the voice for.   I may not be able to be Father Fred. But I can do Father Fred stuff.  And what do priests do?  They defend.  They protect.  They insure that people have a place to live and food to eat.  That is what I wanna do.  And that’s what I will do.

It sounds good. But then, it always did. So we’ll end with a warning: If any of these men apply for a job with you, you might want to check them out. And don’t bother calling the references.

Fred Brito has since been hired -- and fired -- from another job, this time at a performing arts academy in New Mexico.

He now has a literary agent and is working on a book about his life, with advice on how -not- to get conned.

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