Post by Saint on Jul 15, 2003 18:07:39 GMT -5
I found this article in the Denver Post printed on Sunday, July 06, 2003. He is quoted as stating his retirement is Hollywood. Well, despite all the hype, untruths and ongoing criminal activity he will probably realize his goal because very few care about the truth.
Denver Post
Free from the pound, bounty hunter 'Dog' aims for Hollywood
By Chris Frates
Denver Post Staff Writer
The Dog was scared. Not tail-between-his-legs scared, but he had the fear.
By landing the biggest collar of his life, Duane "Dog" Chapman had landed himself in a Mexican jail.
Chapman is, of course, one of the world's most famous ex-cons turned bail bondsmen, or as he prefers, "bounty hunter."
He tracked convicted rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster to Puerto Vallarta and nabbed the bail jumper.
But before Chapman could hustle Luster back to the States and claim his reward, Mexican authorities threw him and his entourage into jail for the Mexican equivalent of kidnapping.
As he sat in a Mexican prison, Chapman worried that a career- long fear would come true.
"I had this fear that the last bounty ... I would be shot dead," he told The Denver Post in a telephone interview.
He said he feared he would never see the fortune, fame and respect the Big One would bring.
But then, a moment of Zen: "I'm not afraid of this anymore, I'm going to face this fear head on, get my ass out of here and tell my story," Chapman said.
Perhaps it is appropriate that the Denver native's first stop after returning to the country was Los Angeles.
Since Tuesday, Chapman has been talking to reporters and his lawyers. The progress of his book, "In Dog We Trust: The Predator's Predator," was significantly slowed by the hunt for Luster.
Chapman has yet to turn his attention back to the Denver-based reality television show and movie he had started developing before the chase began.
He would not say how he was able to legally return to the States or whether he'll have to return to Mexico to face charges. His lawyers, he said, are handling that.
In the interview, Chapman's almost stream-of-consciousness replies ranged from righteous indignation to thoughtful honesty.
Chapman said he couldn't believe anyone would doubt that he had brought more than 6,000 fugitives to justice since 1979.
Then, asked how this high-profile capture changed his life, Chapman quickly clarified that "there's been several high profile cases" before. So he began the tale.
Chapman was in Hollywood in January discussing with Christopher McQuarrie, screenwriter of "The Usual Suspects," the use of his cases as the basis for a possible television drama. When news broke that Luster had jumped bail, Chapman said, a few of his actor buddies challenged him to catch the elusive millionaire.
Luster, great-grandson of cosmetics mogul Max Factor, had been sentenced, in absentia, to 124 years for rape.
For six months Chapman tracked Luster, talking to friends, learning that Luster used a 1-900 dating-service mailbox to trade messages with confidants. Chapman said he even had cellphone conversations with Luster.
Before dawn on June 18, Chapman, with a television cameraman in tow, grabbed Luster outside a taco stand. Not long after, Chapman was thrown in jail.
Since being freed, Chapman has been working on collecting his $150,000 bounty and various other deals. He omits large chucks of his ordeal because, he said, he's saving the details for the movie.
"When you're with the cops or the feds, you get retirement," the 50-year-old said. "My retirement is Hollywood."
Denver Post
Free from the pound, bounty hunter 'Dog' aims for Hollywood
By Chris Frates
Denver Post Staff Writer
The Dog was scared. Not tail-between-his-legs scared, but he had the fear.
By landing the biggest collar of his life, Duane "Dog" Chapman had landed himself in a Mexican jail.
Chapman is, of course, one of the world's most famous ex-cons turned bail bondsmen, or as he prefers, "bounty hunter."
He tracked convicted rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster to Puerto Vallarta and nabbed the bail jumper.
But before Chapman could hustle Luster back to the States and claim his reward, Mexican authorities threw him and his entourage into jail for the Mexican equivalent of kidnapping.
As he sat in a Mexican prison, Chapman worried that a career- long fear would come true.
"I had this fear that the last bounty ... I would be shot dead," he told The Denver Post in a telephone interview.
He said he feared he would never see the fortune, fame and respect the Big One would bring.
But then, a moment of Zen: "I'm not afraid of this anymore, I'm going to face this fear head on, get my ass out of here and tell my story," Chapman said.
Perhaps it is appropriate that the Denver native's first stop after returning to the country was Los Angeles.
Since Tuesday, Chapman has been talking to reporters and his lawyers. The progress of his book, "In Dog We Trust: The Predator's Predator," was significantly slowed by the hunt for Luster.
Chapman has yet to turn his attention back to the Denver-based reality television show and movie he had started developing before the chase began.
He would not say how he was able to legally return to the States or whether he'll have to return to Mexico to face charges. His lawyers, he said, are handling that.
In the interview, Chapman's almost stream-of-consciousness replies ranged from righteous indignation to thoughtful honesty.
Chapman said he couldn't believe anyone would doubt that he had brought more than 6,000 fugitives to justice since 1979.
Then, asked how this high-profile capture changed his life, Chapman quickly clarified that "there's been several high profile cases" before. So he began the tale.
Chapman was in Hollywood in January discussing with Christopher McQuarrie, screenwriter of "The Usual Suspects," the use of his cases as the basis for a possible television drama. When news broke that Luster had jumped bail, Chapman said, a few of his actor buddies challenged him to catch the elusive millionaire.
Luster, great-grandson of cosmetics mogul Max Factor, had been sentenced, in absentia, to 124 years for rape.
For six months Chapman tracked Luster, talking to friends, learning that Luster used a 1-900 dating-service mailbox to trade messages with confidants. Chapman said he even had cellphone conversations with Luster.
Before dawn on June 18, Chapman, with a television cameraman in tow, grabbed Luster outside a taco stand. Not long after, Chapman was thrown in jail.
Since being freed, Chapman has been working on collecting his $150,000 bounty and various other deals. He omits large chucks of his ordeal because, he said, he's saving the details for the movie.
"When you're with the cops or the feds, you get retirement," the 50-year-old said. "My retirement is Hollywood."
