Twice-Convicted Con Man Denied Bail in Latest Case

A federal magistrate denied bail Wednesday to a twice-convicted con artist who promised to go straight, writing a book on consumer fraud that he dedicated to a Los Angeles federal judge who freed him on probation three times.

Steven Robert Comisar, 38, was arrested last week on charges of bilking a new victim out of $100,000.

At a bail hearing Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Atty. Tom Warren quoted from a portion of Comisar’s book, “America’s Guide to Fraud Prevention,” in which he described how he ripped off a woman he had promised to marry.

“I not only broke her heart, but I broke her bank account as well,” Comisar wrote under the name Brett Champion.

Even after allegedly defrauding his latest victim, a retired Iowa engineer, Comisar was busy seeking new victims by placing personal ads on the Internet, the prosecutor charged.

He said Comisar described himself in one ad as “hard-bodied,” single, childless and drug-free. As it happens, the defendant is married, has a 5-year-old child and tested positive for marijuana, according to a probation report.

Warren offered to produce an FBI agent to testify about one woman who was targeted by Comisar through an Internet personal ad.

U.S. Magistrate Rosalyn A. Chapman ruled that Comisar is a danger to the community and ordered him held without bail.

“People have been incredibly lenient with him in the past,” Chapman said, an apparent reference to Comisar’s treatment by U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real.

In 1991, Comisar pleaded guilty to telemarketing fraud before Real, who placed him on five years’ probation. In 1994, he was convicted in another telemarketing fraud scam and was sentenced by a different judge to 46 months in prison. While Comisar still was behind bars, Real revoked and then reinstated his probation to coincide with his release from prison. The judge gave Comisar a third break in 1998 when he was accused of forging records to show he had performed required community service. Real freed him on probation with a stern warning to stay out of trouble.

On the dedication page of his book, Comisar said of Real: “You believed in me and gave me a chance. For this, I will always be grateful and never break the law again.”