The Murder of Radio Legend Steven B. Williams

  

No doubt about it, Harvey Stephen Morrow had a way with money and could lure others into believing whatever story he wanted to spin, authorities say.

This had devastating consequences for anyone close who entered Morrow's orbit.

In the 1980s, he helped run a boiler room operation in Florida where bad stocks were sold to investors. The U.S. Attorney's Office eventually caught wind of this and charged the company officers with corruption. Everyone was caught except Morrow, who kept out of sight for years, until the statute of limitations expired and he was home free, Clark said.

A thinly veiled account of Morrow was depicted in the 1987 novel The Halloween Ball, Clark said. In the book, a materialistic drug dealer named Joel Harlowe lived a fast-paced life with tragic consequences.

Morrow surfaced in Colorado, where he married lawyer Deborah Read and had children. The couple had a huge house, matching Mercedes Benzes, nine motorcycles, and great clothes. Everyone was told that Morrow was an investment banker with an Englewood brokerage firm, but he was actually only a human resources officer, The Denver Post reported in 2006.

When Read filed for divorce, Morrow set fire to one of her dresses. He was convicted of misdemeanor arson in 1996, the Post reported. Morrow moved to Texas and remarried in 2000 to someone with a similar name — Debbie. He lived in a luxurious lakeside home, Read told the Post.

In 2003, he ended up in Los Angeles portraying himself as a retired Wall Street executive, said Clark. Debbie often worked out of state and the pair didn't always live together.

"People who didn't know him thought he was worth between $12 and $30 million," Clark said. "But for the people who do have money and meet him, within the first five minutes they know he is full of b.s."