One Man Crime Wave

Edward Raifsnider had quite a nice operation going. Having accumulated dozens of false identities, he was confident and skilled enough to make people believe he was anybody he claimed to be – a trucking company operator, a businessman, even a retired U.S. marshal. He traveled around the country taking advantage of his unsuspecting victims, buying expensive vehicles with fraudulent bank checks, then reselling them a few days later.

CASE DETAILS

Edward Raifsnider had quite a nice operation going. Having accumulated dozens of false identities, he was confident and skilled enough to make people believe he was anybody he claimed to be – a trucking company operator, a businessman, even a retired U.S. marshal. He traveled around the country taking advantage of his unsuspecting victims, buying expensive vehicles with fraudulent bank checks, then reselling them a few days later.

When the one-man crime wave brought his act to Tulsa, he quickly took up with a local barmaid, then managed to convince a friend of hers to partner with him on an automobile auction business. After the friend gave Raifsnider – who, of course, was living under an assumed identity – a total of $110,000 to set up the business, the swindler disappeared with the money and set off to enjoy his ill-gotten gains.

What Raifsnider didn’t know was that Gary Glanz had been hired by his last victim to find him. Glanz quickly learned that Raifsnider was a wanted man in 11 states and was able to provide federal authorities with dozens of photos and other documents related to the man they sought, courtesy of his jilted girlfriend. The woman also revealed to Glanz that Raifsnider had once paid her gas bill with a credit card that turned out to be legitimate, and it was that transaction that allowed the private investigator to help bring the case to a successful resolution.

Edward Raifsnider had quite a nice operation going. Having accumulated dozens of false identities, he was confident and skilled enough to make people believe he was anybody he claimed to be – a trucking company operator, a businessman, even a retired U.S. marshal. He traveled around the country taking advantage of his unsuspecting victims, buying expensive vehicles with fraudulent bank checks, then reselling them a few days later.

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About The Firm

The Wall Street Journal calls him “The Super Sleuth” —and with good reason. For more than 50 years, Tulsa private investigator Gary Glanz has been solving major crimes, locating missing people, recovering tens of millions of dollars in cash and other valuable materials and securing priceless art collections—all with a flair, and a sense of professionalism and discretion that have earned him an international reputation. Originally making a name for himself as one of the youngest detectives in the history of the Tulsa Police Department, where he received numerous awards and citations, Glanz left the police department in 1967 to establish his own private investigative firm. Gary G...