Treasure hunter who found a fortune in gold is captured
By AMANDA LEE MYERS and ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A treasure hunter accused of cheating his investors out of their share of one of the richest hauls in U.S. history — $50 million in gold bars and coins from a 19th-century shipwreck — was captured at an upscale Florida hotel after more than two years on the lam.

Federal marshals tracked Tommy Thompson to a Hilton in West Boca Raton and arrested him Tuesday. A warrant had been issued for him in 2012 in Columbus after he failed to show up for a hearing on a lawsuit brought by some of his backers.

The U.S. Marshals Service called him "one of the most intelligent fugitives ever sought" by the agency and said he relied on cash and employed other means to stay under the radar. Authorities gave no details on how they found him.

Thompson, 62, made history in 1988 when he discovered the sunken SS Central America, also known as the Ship of Gold.

The sidewheel steamer went down in a hurricane about 200 miles off South Carolina in 1857; 425 people drowned and tons of gold from the California Gold Rush was lost, contributing to an economic panic.

In a modern-day technological feat, Thompson and his crew brought up thousands of bars and coins, much of them later sold to a gold marketing group in 2000 for about $50 million.

The 161 investors who paid Thompson $12.7 million to find the ship never saw the proceeds. Two sued — a now-deceased investment firm president and the company that publishes The Columbus Dispatch newspaper and had invested about $1 million.

The dispute is a civil action. No criminal charges have been filed against Thompson over the gold.

Columbus attorney Rick Robol, who at one time defended Thompson's company, has said there is no proof Thompson stole anything. He said Wednesday that he has been concerned about Thompson's health, calling the arrest "the best thing that can happen for everybody."

Thompson was arrested along with his longtime companion, Alison Antekeier. The pair had been paying cash for the hotel room, rented under a fake name used by Antekeier, marshals said. The hotel is in an upscale suburban area surrounded by golf courses, country clubs and gated communities.

Federal marshals said that the pair had no vehicles registered in their names and that Antekeier used buses and taxis to get around.

After the arrest warrant was issued, Thompson vanished from his Vero Beach, Florida, mansion, where a search found prepaid disposable cellphones and bank wraps for $10,000 in cash, along with a book titled "How to Live Your Life Invisible," according to court records. One marked page was titled: "Live your life on a cash-only basis."

The couple made initial court appearances Wednesday in West Palm Beach. Authorities will seek to return Thompson to Ohio.

Gil Kirk, former director of one of Thompson's companies, told The Associated Press last year that Thompson never cheated anyone. Kirk said proceeds from the sale of the gold all went to legal fees and bank loans.
___

Myers reported from Washington.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-01-29

The U.S. Marshals Service called him "one of the most intelligent fugitives ever sought"

Not that intelligent... He stayed in the US, anyone with half a brain and a load of cash would be living in Thailand where even if caught, could simply buy his freedom.

With the money he had, He could have bought a new passport and identity. Then moved to a none extradition country

The U.S. Marshals Service called him "one of the most intelligent fugitives ever sought"

Not that intelligent... He stayed in the US, anyone with half a brain and a load of cash would be living in Thailand where even if caught, could simply buy his freedom.

Thailand has its nose jammed so far up Washington's derriere it's laughable.

He should have gone to Brazil & knocked up a hot favella girl.

He could get Brazilian citizenship by doing that & they don't extradite citizens.

The US treasury took most of that $50 million, Thomson also spent a lot of money building the submersibles that picked up the gold. The recovery operation was also a thorough archaeological investigation of the wreck.

Was he considered smart because he outwitted the Marshals service for 2 years? If that is the criteria then 90% of the world are genius's

The US treasury took most of that $50 million, Thomson also spent a lot of money building the submersibles that picked up the gold. The recovery operation was also a thorough archaeological investigation of the wreck.

If you read the wiki on it 92% was awarded to the discovery team and only about 5% of the gold has been recovered to date. How true that is of course is up to debate as we already know that not everything you read on a wiki is 100% accurate.

great book reference

Dah leaving the country requires you to use a passport, and the us can easily arrest people in thailand and they do that all the time, and , also he would have had to take all that cash on him thru the airports, not very safe, and what non - extradition countries are there that he would wanna live in, syria, iran, cuba, russia and chine aint really that safe and once the local heat finds out theres this illegal guy with millions of loot, they wont help the US but they'll go after it themselves.. I think he considered all that and figured florida is best option.

Andorra, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, UAE, and even Bahrain springs to mind for non-extradition, Keep a low profile and you should have minimal problems. Getting your money offshore might be a hassle but then again maybe not if you can get it down to the Caribbean and into an offshore bank there.

Or course it is so easy to look back and say what should have been.

Greedy bastard deserves to spend the rest of his time behind bars...thinking about how things might have turned out differently had he played by the rules...