Con man who tried to mar his fingerprints admits fraud

A con man who tried to distort his fingerprints after he was arrested in Philadelphia in 2007 pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to fraud and related offenses.

Authorities said Michael Wesley Whitmer II, 32, of Florida, who has been in custody since January 2007, used at least seven aliases and has a criminal history dating from 1995, when he was convicted in Florida of fraud and larceny and dealing in stolen property.

Court papers said Whitmer bought a ticket at the Kimmel Center on Jan. 22, 2007, with a bogus $100 American Express travelers check and later attempted to get a refund.

When he bought it, Whitmer showed a fake British passport bearing the name "Mark Pril" as proof of identification. Authorities later learned that the passport had been issued to a British national and that Whitmer had altered it so that his photo appeared over the original.

Cops learned that Whitmer was staying at the Parker Spruce Hotel, 13th and Spruce streets, and on Jan. 23, 2007, they searched a room rented under Pril's name and confiscated luggage.

The luggage included a laptop computer, a printer, reproduced copies of the bogus American Express travelers check and cut-outs of the check, as well as fake identification documents.

Investigators discovered that Whitmer had used the same American Express travelers check 58 times between Dec. 2, 2006 and Jan. 30, 2007, in a number of states, primarily along the East Coast, court papers said.

Whitmer tried to damage his fingertips to prevent authorities from uncovering his criminal background and his fugitive status. He had been convicted in Dade County, Fla., on charges of simple battery, credit-card fraud, grand theft and other offenses but fled before sentencing in June 2006, court papers said.

U.S. District Judge Anita Brody granted a defense motion for $10,000 on-recognizance bail with electronic monitoring pending sentencing in July, inasmuch as Whitmer already has been incarcerated for almost 27 months.

He faces a 28-month sentence under terms of his plea agreement. But Brody cautioned that if he misbehaved, she would revoke his bail. *