All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S07E16.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTW_track3_[eng]

MALE (VOICEOVER): This program
is about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Luis Gasparetto of Brazil

is no ordinary artist.

He works at a
frenzied pace often

competing drawings and paintings
in less than five minutes.

Incredibly, Gasparetto
claims that his every move

is guided by the spirits
of long dead artists,

creating new works
from beyond the grave.

Does Luis Gasparetto possess
stunning psychic powers?

Tonight, you can
judge for yourself.

For nearly three years,
Tara Breckenridge

was a waitress in
some of Houston's most

fashionable adult nightclubs.

Then one evening in
1992, she left work

and mysteriously vanished.

Tara's family believes she
was a victim of foul play,

and that her boyfriend knows
more than he is admitting.

December, 1944--
the Second World War

still raged across Europe.

But for a brief
moment, peace reigned

in one tiny corner of Belgium.

On Christmas Eve,
three Americans GIs

and four Nazi soldiers put
down their guns to share

an unlikely holiday dinner.

Now, the young boy who
helped make friends out

of bitter enemies needs your
help to find the man who gave

him an unforgettable Christmas.

To his fellow parishioners
in Virginia Beach, Virginia,

Carlos Garcia was
honest, devout Christian.

No one suspected that Garcia
was, in fact, a devious con

artist who would
eventually scam his church

and the people in his community
out of more than $2 million.

Join me for these
intriguing cases.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

For those who love art,
it is tempting to wish

that the great masters
could return to paint

just one more glorious canvas.

Utterly impossible?

Of course, unless you believe
in the extraordinary claims

of a man named Luis Gasparetto.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): As
he whips color across the page,

Gasparetto seems
a man possessed.

Indeed, if Gasparetto's
astounding assertions are true,

his every gesture is
directed by the spirits

of long dead masters who
continue to create new works

from beyond the grave.

Bandeau, Monet, Renoit--

all gone now for more
than half a century.

But believe it or
not, Luis Gasparetto

says that these
paintings are nothing

less than their recent
work channeled through him.

Is Gasparetto a
gifted psychic as he

claims, or a flamboyant showman,
as common sense would dictate?

We invite you to
see for yourself.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Luis Gasparetto grew up in Sao

Paolo, Brazil's largest city.

The culture here is
laced with mysticism,

and many consider
psychic experiences

part of everyday life.

The Gasparetto family
is no exception.

Luis's mother Zybia
has written 13 books,

work she says were
all channelled

from the spirit world.

Luis was just a
boy when he first

began to believe that he, too,
possessed psychic abilities.

At the age of 13,
Luis was overwhelmed

by stress, sleeplessness,
and trouble at school.

Zybia thought he needed
counseling, and took

him to see Madame
Laise, one of the city's

best known clairvoyants.

[speaking spanish]

I was embarrassed, because
it was the first time there.

But I started to feel the that
my body is shaking inside,

and all that energy.

And something was
holding my throat.

And I tried to control myself.

And it gets worse.

So I had to let it go.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Gasparetto recalls feeling

pain and tingling in his arms.

To Madame Laise, it was a sign
he would be able to channel

writing, much like his mother.

But quite unexpectedly,
Luis began to draw.

Gasparetto had
found his calling.

Gasparetto says that over
the past three decades,

he has channeled
more than 20,000

paintings by some 50 artists.

His claims go largely
unchallenged in Brazil.

Gasparetto's
reputation has begun

to spread around the world.

In January of 1995,
we asked to film one

of his channeling
sessions ourselves.

When you invite me
for a presentation,

I ask them if they want to come,
because I cannot do it myself.

So if they say yes, I
just accept invitation.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Our invitation

was apparently accepted.

And we filmed Gasparetto
in New York City.

Gasparetto works with such
intensity an assistant

holds down the work.

GASPARETTO: The sensation
of coming in, involving me,

involving my arms.

And I just let it go.

And the arm goes by
that force, not me.

It's not coming from inside.

It comes from outside.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
During the frenetic session,

Gasparetto completed six
drawings and three paintings,

most in less than five minutes.

He moved easily between
different artistic styles.

GASPARETTO: I try not
to control anything.

I try not to put my
thoughts or my ideas.

But people think that
if you are unconscious,

it's going to be somebody
else coming through you

or taking your body.

That's impossible.

Nobody takes your body.

It's just an energetical
influence through you.

So I just learn to be passive.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): During
the 45 minutes we were filming,

Gasparetto says he channeled
works by seven artists,

among the greatest of all time.

An impressive
accomplishment, but is it

proof that the great masters are
hard at work in the afterlife?

Perhaps some comparisons
are in order.

A painting by August
Renoir completed in 1877,

August Renoir in
1995 was channeled

through Luis Gasparetto
in roughly five minutes.

Claude Monet, 1880, Claude
Monet through Gasparetto.

Vincent van Gogh, 1890, van
Gogh through Gasparetto.

Art experts in the United
States are hardly convinced.

The notion that any
one of these artists--

take a van Gogh, for example, a
man of extraordinary intensity

and seriousness of purpose--
to think that he would want

to come back after
his death and produce

third, fourth, fifth
rate imitations

of what he successfully
did during his life

seems to me incredible.

Gasparetto certainly seems
to be possessed by some force.

I mean, perhaps it's the
force of his own subconscious

playing back images that he's
seen in art history books.

Or, perhaps, he's really
receiving these images

from the afterlife.

I mean, I certainly can't say.

The painters are
coming through me

because they want to show that
there is life after death.

And they want us to
think about eternity.

They want to help the evolution
of our conceptions of life.

They want us to see
life in a different way.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Is Luis Gasparetto

a window to the
metaphysical side of art?

Can there possibly
be any substance

to his stunning claims?

No matter what you may
believe, even a skeptic

has to admit that
Luis Gasparetto

puts on a great show.

Next, the search for a
beautiful young waitress who

mysteriously vanished in 1992.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
Men's Club in Houston, Texas

is an upscale adult night spot.

The clientele is mostly male,
the entertainment topless.

For many of us, it
is tempting to make

assumptions about the type of
women who dance and work here.

But don't be deceived.

Consider the case of
Tara Breckinridge,

who waited tables at the
Men's Club from 1989 to 1992.

Tara grew up in Del Rio,
Texas, population 34,000.

She was the third
of five children

in an upstanding,
devoutly religious family.

Tara was a very
caring type person,

a very loving type person,
very nurturing type person.

She was always very
upbeat, very cheerful,

just a real wonderful
daughter to have.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Shortly after graduating

from high school in 1987, Tara
set off for Houston to pursue

a career in photography.

But in the end,
financial reality

forced her to take
up waitressing,

and ultimately landed
her at the Men's Club.

Tara wasn't the type
of person you would think

would work in a place like that.

It was more just for the money.

She was going to
school and stuff.

So it made her the money that
she was comfortable with.

And she was happy with that.

When Tara Brackenridge
arrived in Houston,

she was no different than
thousands of small town girls

with big city dreams.

But for Tara, the dream may have
ended in a horrible nightmare.

In 1992, she vanished
without a trace.

The police and her
parents fear the worst.

They believe that
Tara was murdered.

And high on the list
of possible suspects

is Tara's boyfriend at the time,
a young man named Wayne Hecker.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
They met in 1989, two years

after Tara arrived in Houston.

Even though Tara had never
danced at the Men's Club,

Wayne was less than
thrilled about her job.

She was working before I met
her in those kind of places.

And she loved the money.

And she loved the atmosphere.

And I guess that's
just something.

And I'm not going to tell
her where to work, you know?

Wayne was not happy about
Tara working at a topless club.

But he accepted it, because
it was paying the bills.

And so Tara worked at night.

And Wayne wasn't
working at the time.

So he didn't have
much of a choice.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Despite Wayne's misgiving,

the young couple soon
moved in together.

At first, they seemed happy.

But as time passed,
their relationship became

more and more contentious.

Tara and Wayne's
relationship was kind of rocky,

to say the least.

She was always talking
about moving out,

or thinking about moving out.

And we would
discuss it at times.

And she would say she needed
to talk it over with him.

And, occasionally, we
talked about her doing it

without talking it over first.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In July of 1992,

Tara made a visit to her
parents' home in Del Rio.

Tara's mother says she felt that
something was not quite right.

I think maybe her
problems were a lot bigger

than we would have guessed.

And we had no way
of really knowing,

because she didn't
talk to us about it.

And we didn't know
to ask at the time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Two
weeks later, on August 3, 1992,

Tara was back in Houston
working at the Men's Club.

It was a slow night.

And management decided to send
two waitresses home early.

Anybody want to go?

You want to?
I need one more.

Any volunteers?
- I'll go home.

No kidding?

Yeah, it's slow,
not much happening.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Everyone was surprised

when Tara volunteered to leave.

It was strangely
out of character.

It would be a little unusual
for Tara to ask to go home.

She wasn't always
interested in leaving.

She was there till 2:00 o'clock
to see if she-- you know,

till closing time, make as
much money as she could.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Tara
changed into street clothes.

And at 12:29 AM, she
punched out for the night.

Tara, when she left,
walked past the doorman

without saying goodbye,
or without responding

to his goodbye.

And that would
have been unusual.

The security guard
indicated that he

carried her tote bag that she
had when she left the club.

He physically took it from
her and carried it as he

escorted her to her vehicle.

He watched her get
in the vehicle.

He told her to be
safe as she drove

home, and then saw that
she exited the parking lot.

We asked him if
anybody followed her,

or if he saw anybody follow her.

And he said he did not.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
At the very moment

Tara was leaving the men's
club, her boyfriend Wayne Hecker

says he was in a pool
hall 15 minutes away.

Wayne had phoned Tara
earlier that evening,

but never spoke to her.

I didn't really think
anything at that time.

And they told me that
she was on the floor.

I probably got home
at around 5:00.

And I expected to see Tara
either laying on the sofa

or in bed.

And she wasn't there.

So at that point,
I mean, I would

do like anybody else would that
was in love with someone, or--

I went to find her.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Indeed, it

would be Wayne who found Tara's
car at 7:00 AM, abandoned

by the side of a busy freeway.

When I saw the car, the
first thing that comes my mind

is, what's it doing there?

Apparently, she
drove the car there.

The car alarm wasn't even on.

The flashers weren't even on.

That really surprised me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Tara's car was locked.

And a can of mace was inside.

And she always
carried her mace on her.

And when I saw the
mace in the car,

I thought, why is
the mace in the car?

And why aren't the flashers on?

And why isn't in the car--
we did have a car alarm.

Why wasn't it engaged?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The police fear that Tara

had met with foul play.

Before long, suspicion
began to center on Wayne.

Investigators were especially
curious about his activity

the night Tara disappeared.

We have employees of the club
that indicated that he left

the club approximately
midnight, 12:30,

and was next scene
at approximately 1:45

in the morning.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
pool hall is located here,

15 minutes from the men's club.

Tara's car was found here,
just three miles from the club.

Wayne's alleged absence
from the pool hall

was a full hour and 45 minutes.

Well, there's certain
actions and reactions

that we got from Wayne that
cast suspicion upon himself.

Obviously, we don't
have any evidence

to support a belief that he may
or may not be involved in this.

But he certainly has not been
eliminated as a suspect either.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Later, we put the question

directly to Wayne Hecker.

MAN: How do you
respond to the charge

that Wayne Hecker
had something to do

with Tara's disappearance?

To tell you the truth, I
don't know an explanation

to anybody but the Lord.

And the Lord has given me--

you know, he's--

I'm waiting-- I'm waiting
to hear something.

And it's from him.

I can't-- I can't answer to
anybody, because there's not

an answer that I have.

Only he has it.

And-- and until
there is an answer,

I don't think anybody
will be satisfied.

And-- and-- they-- I
might be pinpointed

for the rest of my life.

And, I mean, there's
nothing I can do about that.

There's a lot of people
that have said things,

made a lot of
derogatory statements.

And-- and, uh--

that's-- I can't--

I can't help them.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
With no concrete evidence

of foul play, Tara
Breckenridge was

officially listed as missing.

Then the police obtained
a series of love notes

that indicated there had been
another man in Tara's life.

One note said, please
don't be scared.

Do what your heart tells you.

I'm very excited
that you'll marry me.

But another one said,
the more you hold out,

the longer you jeopardize
what I feel for you.

According to people at
the club, Tara's admirer

was a frequent
visitor, and often

lavished her with $100 tips.

He apparently had intimate
knowledge of her difficulties

with Wayne.

But the notes seemed to
indicate that, in the end,

Tara rejected the
man's advances.

There was nothing
threatening in those notes.

We interviewed the individual.

Our opinion at this
point is he was just

an individual that had an
attraction toward Tara,

and nothing more.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
But if Tara's admirer

was not a suspect, who was?

Once again, a shadow of doubt
was cast upon Wayne Hecker.

Wayne did know about the guy.

And I do, honestly, think
there was some jealousy.

But I don't think
that it would cause

him to do anything stupid.

I haven't been charged
with a crime, no, not at all.

I didn't commit a crime.

So how can I be
charged with one?

Simple as that.

I loved the woman to death.

She is the best thing
that ever happened to me.

She's a great girl.

Yeah, I do.
I love her.

I love with all my heart.

And-- and, um-- and I hope
the whole world hears that.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Tara Breckenridge

would today be 26 years old.

She's five feet, five inches
tall, and weighs 120 pounds.

Her car was found about in
the 1200 block of the West

Loop North in Houston,
Texas on the morning

of August 4th, 1992.

Next, a remarkable story
of an unlikely friendship

between bitter enemies,
three Americans

GIs and four German soldiers.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
story you are about to see

is one of the most
remarkable tales

to ever come out of
the Second World War--

remarkable for the
fact that it involves

no fighting and no bloodshed.

In 1973, "Reader's Digest"
magazine published the account.

And in 1985, it was a focal
point of a speech given

by President Ronald Reagan.

Tonight, we need your
help to find three

unknown American GIs,
and write the closing

chapter of this amazing saga.

[explosions]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
December 1944,

the battered German
army launched

its last great offensive
along an 85-mile front

in Belgium's Ardennes
Forest, the infamous Battle

of the Bulge.

Nearly 16,000 American soldiers
would lose their lives.

Another 60,000 would
be wounded or captured.

It was the costliest
battle the United

States would wage in any war.

Within earshot of the fighting
on the edge of the Ardennes

Forest stood a small,
isolated cabin.

There, Fritz Vincken, a
12-year-old German boy,

lived with his mother Elizabeth.

Fritz's father Hubert
had moved his family

to the cabin for safekeeping.

But life in the
forest was difficult.

The Huberts served
as a civilian banker

for the German
army 20 miles away.

Fritz and his mother struggled
to put food on the table.

My father thought,
like everybody else,

that the war would be end--

would be over by Christmas.

But that was not to be.

And our stay in this shack was
longer than we anticipated.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Christmas Eve, 1944

arrived with an air of
sadness and uncertainty.

Hubert had still not returned.

And his family was
resigned to the fact

that they would be spending
the holiday without him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Fritz's mother

tried to make the evening
as festive as possible.

She scraped together a
Christmas meal of a few potatoes

and a scrawny Rooster.

[knocking]

Papa?

Shh.

FRITZ: My mother blew out the
candle, and went to the door.

And I went with her.

She opened the door.

And there were these soldiers.

Good evening, ma'am.

Do you speak English?

No.

We're Americans.

They tried like to talk to us.

But my mother didn't
speak English.

Our friend's been shot.

Can we come inside
for a while, please?

FRITZ: My mother just looked.

And she looked at the
guy sitting in the snow,

until finally my
mother after what

seems to be like an eternity to
me, she asked them to come in.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Fritz's mother

knew full well that
harboring the enemy

was punishable by death.

But she was more than
willing to take the risk.

The injured soldier had
been shot in the leg

and lost a great deal of blood.

Elizabeth did her best
to make him comfortable.

What's she saying?

I don't know.

Ask her if she speaks French/

[french]

FRITZ: He said that they
had lost their unit,

and were wandering
through the Ardennes

for the past two
days and two nights.

She's going to
change his bandage.

My mother was all motherhood.

She worried for them.

And she worried for
the wounded man.

And she did
everything she could.

They were very nice, like big
boys from the neighborhood,

you know?

How you doing, kid?

Have a nice Christmas?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Fritz's mother

made the American GIs
feel right at home.

The men began to relax,
in anticipation of

an unexpected Christmas dinner.

[knocking]

FRITZ: We thought automatically,
this must be more Americans.

And I went to the door
and opened the door.

And there were four
German soldiers.

I was petrified with fear.

He said, we have lost our unit.

And we would like to
warm up a little bit.

So my mother said, you not only
will be allowed to warm up,

but you get a nice dinner,
if you accept our guests.

[speaking german]

FRITZ: And my mother said,
this is Christmas night.

And there will be no
shooting around here.

Put your arms in
the wooden shed.

And then we come out, and
have a nice, nice Christmas.

[speaking german]

FRITZ: Meanwhile, my mother had
turned to the Americans, who

by then had noticed that
some Germans were coming,

and had turned to
their guns also.

[speaking french]

FRITZ: My mother said to me, get
more potatoes, and more water.

We have more mouths to feed.

For about a minute or two, maybe
three, there was a tension.

But then it was warm.

It smelled good.

And either way, there was
a sense of hospitality.

You speak English?

Yes, a little.

Your comrade, he's wounded?

Yeah.

He got a round in
the thigh earlier.

One of the German soldiers
went over to the American that

were wounded, and asked
the Americans in English

what was wrong with him?

So what do you think?

He's lucky.

He's lost a lot of blood.

But the cold has prevented the
wound from getting infected.

He should recover, provided he
gets some rest and nourishment.

Good.

FRITZ: He had some
first aid kit.

And he applied the
dressing to the wound.

And the whole evening,
he would every now

and then go and look after him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
That night, hostilities ceased

in at least one
corner of the forest,

as American and German
soldiers sat down together

to honor the Christmas spirit.

FRITZ: My mother said grace.

It wasn't a regular prayer.

It was something
spontaneous, as she said,

let's all thank the
lord for being together

tonight, peaceful in
this terrible war.

And let's enjoy dinner, the
little things that we have.

And let's promise to be
friendly to each other forever,

if possible.

Let's also pray for an
end to this terrible war

so that we all can
go home very soon.

And by the time--

by the time they
were all crying--

by that time they were
all crying, not profusely.

But the tears were holding--

even the German Sargent,
I was very surprised.

And then we ate.

And the tears disappeared.

But from then on, there
was a feeling of friendship

that permeated the whole room.

It was wonderful.

I never forget.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
After dinner, the soldiers

drifted outside one by one.

Elizabeth and Fritz
soon joined them.

As they gazed heaven, each
gave thanks in his own way.

That night, the men
would sleep side by side

under the same roof,
the differences

of war temporarily set aside.

FRITZ: They were so peaceful.

You'd never think that they
are two different kinds

of soldiers, that
one day before they

would have shot each other.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Fritz remembers

that the spirit of brotherhood
continued the next morning.

The German soldiers helped
construct a makeshift stretcher

for the injured GI, and
then gave the Americans

directions back to their line.

You come to the
railroad tracks.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): That
same day, Fritz and his mother

left with the
Germans, and were soon

reunited with Fritz's father.

Five months later,
the war would end.

In the early 1960s,
Fritz Vincken immigrated

to the United States.

Today, he is an American
citizen living in Hawaii.

Like his father
before him, Fritz

owns and operates a bakery.

But that special night in
1944 remains a defining

moment of Fritz's life.

He now hopes to find
the American GIs

who helped him learn the
true meaning of Christmas.

It showed me what
my mother could do.

And it showed me what one single
human being can do to avoid

bloodshed, and to bring peace.

And it also showed me
at a very early age

that we are all alike.

No matter what
uniform we wear, we

have the same joys, the same
sorrows, the same problems.

And it was a very
significant experience.

I never forgot it.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On a previous broadcast,

we told you of Earl and Donna
Chotvacs, a young couple intent

on building their dream house
on this breathtaking site, 200

miles north of Denver, Colorado.

Don't you think we ought
to build a log house right

here, and a big picture window?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In April of 1991,

Earl and Donna
hired a builder they

knew as Mark Mitchell, whose
specialty was log cabin homes.

There you go,
into your new home.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): A contract

was drawn up and reviewed by
the Chotvacs and their attorney.

Earl and Donna gave Mitchell
$25,000 as a deposit,

their entire life savings.

Then they waited for their
dream house to take shape.

But weeks stretched into months.

And no structure ever rose
on Earl and Donna's property.

Every time they questioned
Mitchell, he had an excuse,

told them not to worry.

The final blow came
six months later

when the Chotvacs banker turned
up disturbing information

about Mark Mitchell.

I'm afraid the
news isn't good.

It has nothing to
do with you too.

The problem is with the builder.

It appears this man is
in some serious trouble.

He has been taking
deposit money,

just as he did yours,
and then has not started

construction on the homes.

Matter of fact, Mark Mitchell
is not even his real name.

It's Wade Mitchell Parker.

At that point,
I felt nauseous.

Suddenly, just was sick,
feeling as though we

were going to lose
all the money that we

had given to Mark Mitchell.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Wade
Mitchell Parker, alias Mark

Mitchell, left town soon after.

He allegedly disappeared
with more than $1 million

stockpiled from at least
30 other fraud victims.

Parker avoided arrest
for nearly three years

until just after the most
recent broadcast of this story.

On August 11th, 1994,
Wade Mitchell Parker

was arrested in Cobb
County, Georgia,

some 1,300 miles from Colorado.

There, Parker was using
two new aliases, Ronald

Anderson and Larry Wheeler.

But information developed
from our program

helped reveal his true identity.

On September 26, 1994,
Wade Mitchell Parker

was arraigned in Colorado
on fraud and theft charges.

Our cameras are not allowed
inside the courtroom.

However, Earl and Donna
Chotvacs made sure they were

on hand to see justice done.

If he'd have been an honest
man, we'd be living in our home

right now, and
raising our children.

I think that anybody who
has been ripped off this way

could take heart
from this, knowing

that with enough perseverance,
they may get their guy.

So it certainly gave
me a lot of heart when

I was beginning to lose hope.

[music playing]

These days, the church seems
like one of the few places

where you can expect to be
safe from the harsh realities

of the outside world.

Certainly, it's the
last place you'd expect

to find a con artist at work.

But for a devious swindler
named Carlos Garcia,

the hallowed sanctuary
provided the perfect setup.

The Holy Family Church in
Virginia Beach, Virginia

serves a small, tightly
knit Hispanic community.

Parishioners are
honest and hardworking,

but by no means affluent.

In 1985, the church
welcomed a new member.

Carlos Garcia I was
a friendly middle

aged businessman who soon
managed to ingratiate

himself in the community.

What really
struck me about him

when he first came to us was
how honest he seemed to be,

and how concerned
he seemed to be

for the people of our community,
for the Hispanic people,

especially with the Mexicans.

He was extremely close
to the Mexican community.

And he earned their
trust immediately,

just like he earned mine.

Let me just say
how excited I am.

We've had a great year.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
By 1988, Carlos

had been elected
president and treasurer

of the local pastoral council,
which oversaw the church

budget and expenditures.

It was an important
prestigious position.

No one yet suspected that Garcia
was, in reality, a brazen thief

who would end up
stealing $2 million

from his church and his
fellow parishioners.

You'll find the
explanation on page two.

There was, for many people,
almost an immediate trust

that this is
somebody who has come

to this country, who
has become successful,

and now is helping other people.

Unfortunately, we
found out the trust

that had been put
in Carlos had been

betrayed just in many ways.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Garcia
used his position in the church

to attract clients to a
seemingly legitimate tax

preparation business.

Over several years,
Donaciana and Irma

Naranjo gave Carlos
more than $13,000

to turn over to the IRS.

The IRS never got a penny.

[speaking spanish]

INTERPRETER
(VOICEOVER): We didn't

know how the system worked here
for paying taxes and all that.

As we come from Mexico,
we didn't know a thing.

He helped us arrange
our citizenship,

our immigration cards.

And he always helped
us with everything.

So that's why we
trusted him so much.

And that's why we trusted
him with our taxes.

He takes advantage of
the fact that a great many

of the individuals he
comes in contact with

are unfamiliar with
federal income tax laws.

They trust him to
guide them through what

really must appear a maze.

Unfortunately,
they don't realize

that he has no intention
of taking them anywhere but

to the cleaners, so to speak.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But
Garcia's tax preparation scam

was just the tip of the iceberg.

He obtained privileged and
confidential information

from hundreds of
community members.

He then used that knowledge
to order credit cards

in the names of his
fellow church goers

and their deceased relatives.

He would use the information
he obtained about other people

to build resumes, obtain credit
cards, establish bank accounts.

And with his credit
cards, he even assumed

the identities of females.

And he would charge things
on these credit cards.

And nobody would ever
question the fact

that he was signing what would
appear to be a female name,

simply because it was Hispanic.

And he would explain to them
that sometimes a name that you

would assume would
be female was not

because it was a Hispanic name.

And he got away with it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
For most con men,

that would have been enough.

But Carlos Garcia was also
something of a ladies' man.

One woman, whom
we will call Anna,

dated Carlos for six years and
never got the slightest inkling

that he was up to no good.

When Carlos learned
Anna's mother had

a large sum of money to
invest, he encouraged

her to put the funds in a CD.

He had told her that
the interest rate would

be better at his credit union.

And he had already picked up the
signature cards and everything,

and brought those with them.

So she filled out
the application

and the signature card.

And he took the money.

He put it in the credit union.

It's an excellent investment.

Thank you, Carlos.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Unbeknownst to Anna

and her mother, Carlos
cosigned the signature card.

Before long, he had emptied the
account to the tune of $25,000.

Thank you very much.

It hurts.

It hurts that all
of these years,

you thought that
someone cared about you.

And, really, they
were just using you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
For eight years,

Carlos Garcia operated at will.

Finally, one of his
class became suspicious

and contacted the IRS
inspection office.

The taxpayer alleged that she
had given Carlos cash monies

for three consecutive
years for Carlos

to apply and send to the
Internal Revenue Service.

She subsequently
learned that Carlos--

that IRS did not have
any record of her filing,

or any payments made to the
Internal Revenue Service.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): In 1983,

the client made a
phone call to Carlos

to discuss her situation.

Carlos had no idea that IRS
inspectors were listening in.

Carlos, I'm calling
because I've received

some letters from the IRS.

And they say that they haven't
received payments from me.

And, you know, I
paid you in cash.

And I don't have
any record of it.

Obviously, there's
been a terrible mistake.

I will call them on Monday
morning and straighten

this whole situation out.

So you do have
the record then?

You can prove to them that I
gave you the payment in cash?

Yes, I've got those records.

I know you paid me.

I've got everything right here.

I will take care of it.

Do you understand?

OK, then I'll wait
to hear from you.

Thank you, Carlos.

Bye-bye.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Carlos Garcia

was arrested a few days later.

He soon posted bail.

Within a week, Garcia
slipped out of Virginia Beach

and vanished.

When investigators searched
through Garcia's records

and documents, they
discovered his true identity,

Fernando Zapico.

Zapico, a native of Argentina,
is a career con artist

whose life of crime spans
more than four decades,

and includes at
least 17 aliases.

Authorities say that
Zapico has bilked hundreds

of victims up and
down the east coast

out of millions of dollars.

Probably even greater
than the loss of funds

from our Hispanic community
has been the loss of trust,

and the real betrayal that
people have felt of someone

whom they loved and respected,
and truly looked up to as

a leader of our community.

And now they find that
they've been betrayed by him.

INTERPRETER (VOICEOVER): Our
dreams came rushing down.

And now, we can't
trust anyone anymore.

We're afraid something
like this will

happen again, because he was a
man who belonged to the church.

It was impossible
to conceive that he

would steal from the church.

And, yet, that's what he did.

I still have times when it
is hard for me to accept this.

I still have times
when I feel like cry,

when I feel depressed,
because I trusted him.

I believed in him.

He took money from people
that were simple people--

again, people that trusted him.

And these people will never
be the same again We all--

the whole community will
never be the same again.

[music playing]

Join me next Friday for
another intriguing addition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[music playing]