ELEGANT ELLIOT OFFEN, RIIIGHT!!!

Elliott Keith Offen, who is accused of swindling $15 million from
manufacturers and who has eluded authorities for three years, has been
captured in New York.

Prosecutors immediately will seek Offen's extradition, which could take
anywhere from a week to several months, Dave Casey, spokesman for the
Broward State Attorney's Office, said on Saturday.

''We're definitely happy to have him in custody,'' Casey said. ''He is a
wanted, well-known fraud artist. And we'll be happy to see him.''

Offen, 35, has been one of South Florida's most wanted fugitives since he
was charged in December 1985 with operating a planned bankruptcy, or
bust-out, in Broward and Dade counties in 1984 and 1985.

He was arrested by detectives about 4:30 p.m. at a phone booth at 58th
Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, said New York police Lt. John
Kelly.

''He was terribly surprised because he's very disciplined and very
intelligent and thought he was above arrest,'' said Kelly, commanding
officer of the police department's special fraud squad.

Offen, who used as many as 50 aliases and a variety of voices, was
charged with grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, criminal
impersonation and interstate flight to avoid prosecution, Kelly said.

He is wanted in Broward County on racketeering, organized fraud,
conspiracy and grand theft charges.

He has been described by authorities as being brilliant and having a Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality -- one moment a smooth-talking con man
and an irrational, violent paranoid the next.

Offen, who has an extensive criminal past, also reportedly switches
addresses every few months and has cash or valuables stashed in safe-
deposit boxes scattered from Fort Lauderdale to New York.

Authorities say he snatched his daughter from his wife and kept the child
a prisoner for seven years, not allowing her to have friends, attend
school or even know her real name.

His former girlfriend, who lives in Tamarac, has said Offen
psychologically dominated her for a ''terrifying'' two years and that he
beat her and hinted that he might kill her.

Offen was using the alias of Jack Gordon when he was charged in December
1985 with using four companies and six warehouses to order merchandise
valued at $30 million retail without paying for it.

To earn the trust of manufacturers, Offen would learn the names of key
people such as the warehouse manager and he would haggle during the buys
just like a legitimate buyer.

He had the merchandise trucked to warehouses that he would rent for a day
or several days and would resell the items without paying for them.

Officials said that about $15 million worth of goods he ordered while
working in Broward was confiscated before he could finish the deals.

Offen worked exclusively by telephone, using aliases and disguised
telephone voices to cloak his identity, Kelly said.

''He was terribly, terribly intelligent,'' Kelly said. ''He was virtually
a phantom, a voice on the end of a line.''

Broward prosecutors had been tracking Offen's whereabouts, and most
recent reports were of him being seen in New Jersey, Connecticut,
Massachusetts and New York, Casey said.

Police say his schemes also reached into New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia,
Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.

Manhattan police had not located any of Offen's money and did not know
where Offen lived or what he did with the money, Kelly said.

''We feel he has hidden it someplace. We feel he made enough money that
it would be difficult to spend it all,'' the lieutenant said.

Offen refused to speak to police and had asked for an attorney, Kelly
said.