I Was Willing; He Was Abel   

I first met Alan Abel in 1986, at a New York restaurant – but he wasn't Abel. He introduced himself as Ralph Sturges, an ex-con who headed Females for Felons, a group of women dedicated to having sex with male prisoners.

He told me the women donated their bodies to help relieve the tension of prison life. He said his group was bankrolled by companies that had executives behind bars.

Sound ludicrous? Sure – yet believable enough to fool a 25-year-old New York Trib reporter looking for a big score.

Sturges hardly seemed threatening; he was frumpy, his thinning hair was disheveled and he sounded just a bit wacko – much like Abel. Immediately he asked if my newspaper would reimburse me for the meal. Assured that it would, he ordered one of the most expensive dishes. Later, he let me take him to lunch again, and again after that.

His story was worth it: women spending weekends with inmates. Cooperative wardens. A hundred dollars a day for the "volunteers."

Verification? He had a business card. He had news clippings. He had applications that asked the women for their opinions on premarital sex and Watergate. He provided the names and phone numbers of people who told me they were clients or volunteers.

Fortunately, I hit snags. Among other things, the Ohio prison where Sturges said he'd done time had no record of him, and an Atlanta "psychiatrist" I spoke with wasn't licensed in Georgia.

Still, I couldn't believe anyone would do all this for a joke. I arrived at our third lunch interview determined to get some answers. Somewhat nervous, Sturges handed me an envelope of clippings about Alan Abel, media hoaxer.

I was angry. I was relieved. I wrote an article about the merry prankster, thankful that my editors didn't ask for their lunch money back.
– P.B.