The Curious Cons of the Man Who Wouldn’t Die

In the early 1980s, the gay community was learning about the horror of AIDS. There was no treatment, nor even a test to determine if you were infected with HIV. It took years to know if you had it, and years to die of it. Mark Olmsted watched his brother Luke get sick and fade away for years before he died. Luke used those years to become a doctor, treat HIV patients, and experiment with a cure. Mark had the virus, too, but he wanted to spend what time he had left enjoying himself. And he did, first by cashing Luke's disability checks, then by credit card fraud, and eventually by selling drugs. However, the more crimes he committed, the more HIV research was advancing. Antiretroviral drugs were developed. And although Mark got sick off and on, he kept on living. Eventually he even tried to fake his own death -several times. Read the story of Mark Olmsted and the death sentence that never came. -via Digg

(Image credit: NIAID)


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