Forgive Me If You Can

A conversation with con artist turned consultant Frank Abagnale Jr. on regret, redemption, and how he lost "control" of his life story.

Frank Abagnale Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio during filming of Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film “Catch Me If You Can.” (Courtesy of FilmMagic, Inc.)

By Michael Judge

I recently watched Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can” with my 12-year-old son. He loved it, and said to me, as the end credits were rolling, “You know who you should interview next? Frank Abagnale Jr.,” the teenage imposter and “millionaire” check-forger played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2002 film.

I told my son that was a great idea, and that, believe it or not, my dad, his Grandpa Tom, who died in 2014, had met Abagnale decades ago at an event in Chattanooga, Tenn., for Dismas House, a Catholic charity that helps prepare individuals returning from federal incarceration for reentry into the community.

My son was skeptical. And it didn’t help that I couldn’t find the signed copy of Abagnale’s 1980 memoir, co-written with Stan Redding, Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake, that my dad had sent me.

So I made a poi…