A US bounty hunter in Mexico on Wednesday captured the fugitive heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune, who faces 124 years in jail for drugging and raping three women, US authorities said.
Andrew Luster, 39, was arrested along with the man-hunter and a US television crew in the seaside resort of Puerto Vallarta after an attempted citizen's arrest of the heir -- who had been on the lam for five months -- went wrong.
"He's in custody and he is coming back to this country to serve his time," the FBI's Bob Mack said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The FBI and Hawaii-based bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman -- who apparently hopes to cash in on a US$10,000 reward on Luster's head -- were both tipped off by a US tourist who recognized Luster, FBI officials said.
But Chapman got to Luster -- who was convicted in a court in California's Ventura County in January and sentenced in absentia a month later after skipping his US$1 million bail on Jan. 3 -- first.
But Mexican police were called to the scene in the early hours of Wednesday as Chapman tried to slap handcuffs on the make-up heir after witnesses reported a loud street scuffle.
The fugitive, the bounty hunter, two of his assistants and an attendant crew from the US TV crime show "America's Most Wanted" crew were all taken into custody.
Another FBI told reporters that Chapman's actions were not condoned by the FBI and that he would get no help in getting out of jail in Mexico, where bounty hunting is regarded legally as kidnapping.
"He's out there apprehending on his own -- that's not something we endorse at the FBI -- and in another country to boot," he said, adding that the FBI was working to recover Luster either through simple deportation or extradition.
A source in Chapman's office in Honolulu said the bounty hunter had been tracking Luster since he fled mid-way through his trial in January after vowing publicly to find him.
Luster is the great-grandson of Hollywood make-up mogul Max Factor. He lived off a trust fund and real-estate investments believed to be worth around US$31 million.
He was sentenced to 124 years in prison for spiking the drinks of his victims before raping them in his luxury home and videotaping some of the acts.
Luster was convicted on 86 out of 87 charges stemming from his sexual relations with the three women, including rape, poisoning, sodomy, possession of drugs and of weapons.
During his trial, victims testified that Luster spiked their drinks with the "date rape" drug gammahydroxybutyrate, or GHB, before taking them home and raping them while they were unconscious, videotaping two of the assaults.
The allegations against the make-up heir came after a 21-year-old student came forward in 2000 claiming that Luster had drugged and raped her. That prompted a police search of his luxury home, which turned up scores of videos as well as quantities of GHB.
The videotaped attacks involving women who appeared to be unconscious occurred between 1996 and 2000, when Luster was living off his inheritance and real-estate investments. His attorneys claimed the sex was consensual.
The FBI launched an international manhunt after Luster fled with some clothes and valuable archaeological artefacts while he was free on US$1 million bail.
News of his apparent capture prompted the Max Factor company to quickly distance itself from the wayward heir.
"There is no relationship between Andrew Luster and Max Factor and Co, makers of Max Factor Cosmetics," said the Procter and Gamble Co, which now owns Max Factor, in a statement.
Max Factor made a fortune selling cosmetics to Hollywood's elite. His family sold the business to Proctor and Gamble in 1973 for US$480 million.
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