The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds 724 - Garrett Trapnell - part two
Mar 10, 2026
They dig into Garrett Trapnell’s escalating cons, prison breaks, and international bank heists. The story follows bizarre schemes like a dog-farm security plan and yacht-based thefts. Listeners hear about clever identity swaps, insanity defenses, a dramatic 1972 hijacking, and the chaotic fallout that followed.
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Fake Identity, Domestic Life, and the Con That Repeats
- Garrett Trapnell repeatedly assumed fake identities to start normal lives, including posing as Army captain James W. Stewart and marrying Susan while working selling cleaning supplies to an Army base.
- He confessed his crimes to Susan, briefly tried settling (cleaning business, German shepherd farm idea), then relapsed into writing bad checks and large-scale cons that netted ~$600,000 in today's money.
Prison Break Then Bank Jobs in Canada
- Trapnell freed his large friend George Padilla from a mental institution by waiting at shift change, then they fled, robbed a Montreal bank, and returned to the U.S.
- Their crime spree escalated from check fraud to bank robberies, pushing them onto the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Most Wanted list.
How 1970s Convenience Enabled Large-Scale Fraud
- Trapnell exploited social trust and low verification practices (e.g., grocery checks, clerks' deference) to scale petty cons into large thefts.
- Hosts highlight how era-specific conveniences (open checks, weak ID checks) enabled his $600k-plus haul.