Ex-criminals like Frank William Abagnale — the man who inspired 'Catch Me If You Can' — prove that it is possible for anyone to turn their lives around, even after decades in prison.
We've compiled a list of 11 people — including a former Mafia member and a former target on FBI's Most Wanted list — with amazing stories.
Some are well known, but most are not.
Former hacker Kevin Mitnick was on the FBI's Most Wanted list before launching his own security firm
When Mitnick was 16, he hacked the computer system Digital Equipment Corporation and stole their software, reports Gerry Smith at The Huffington Post.
He was a fugitive for nearly three years before being arrested in 1995 and released in 2002. His new company, Mitnick Security, helps other companies discover security lapses in their systems.
Georgia Durante was a getaway driver for the Mafia before starting a stunt-driving company
At one time, she was known as the Kodak Summer Girl, but eventually, the former model married into the Mafia and became a getaway driver.
Since then, she's turned her life around by starting her own stunt driving company Performance Two that's created scenes for more than 100 movies. She's also published an autobiography, "The Company She Keeps."
Frank William Abagnale was a world-famous con man by age 21. Now he runs a fraud consulting company.
Between the ages of 16 and 21, Abagnale wrote $2.5 million in fraudulent checks and successfully posed as an airline pilot, doctor, lawyer and college professor. He was later apprehended by the French police and served five years in prison.
Abagnale was released early under the conditions that he'd work with the U.S. government.
According to his firm's Web site, he works with consulting financial institutions, corporations, and law enforcement agencies on fraud and security. To date, he has serviced more than 14,000 companies.
His story was made into the film "Catch Me If You Can," which was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
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