Inside hunt for most-wanted man 23 years after chilling final picture

COMPUTER salesman John Ruffo swindled banks out of more than $350million before becoming one of the FBI’s most-wanted men.

The conman mysteriously disappeared in November 1998 when he was about to start serving a 17-year prison sentence and hasn’t been found.

Cops, family members, and FBI agents have spent more than two decades searching for Ruffo since.

Ruffo’s cousin thought he had spotted the swindler among the crowd at a LA Dodgers game in 2016, but it turned out not to be the fugitive.

The fugitive’s disappearance is the subject of the Hulu series “Have you Seen This Man?” which airs today – March 24.

Ruffo, who was born into a working-class family in Brooklyn in 1980, earned a degree in computer science.

He worked for New York firm Computer Systems LLC before founding his own business Consolidated Computer Services.

Ruffo then met Edward J Reiners – a former employee of tobacco firm Phillip Morris.

Reiners was dismissed and approached Ruffo with a proposal that involved soliciting banks.

He and Ruffo would tell banks they were spearheading a research program on tobacco alternatives for Phillip Morris.

Ruffo’s computer business was supposed to be providing the PCs for the project, NBC reported.

Seven foreign and domestic banks had loaned the duo more than $350million. They never received a computer.

It’s not known how Ruffo invested the money as his ex-wife Linda Lausten said: “He was not living a millionaire’s lifestyle.”

He tried to make regular interest payments to avoid any suspicion.

CHARGES FILED

But, in 1996, a Japanese bank grew suspicious about the documentation Reiners had produced.

Reiners was arrested in March that year and cops issued an arrest warrant for Ruffo.

Ruffo faced 150 charges of bank fraud, money laundering, wire fraud, and conspiracy.

The FBI considered the New Yorker to be a flight risk as his bail was set at a whopping $10million.

The computer salesman was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 17 years behind bars.

VANISHED

Ruffo was last seen on November 9, 1998.  He went to court to hand over the electronic tag that he was required to wear.

He also dropped his wife Linda off at a train station – that was the last time they were ever to see each other.

And, that night, CCTV footage captured the conman withdrawing $600 from an ATM in Queens, New York.

He left his rented Ford Taurus in the long-term parking at JFK airport before mysteriously vanishing.

Linda said she got a phone call from the FBI as they quizzed her about her husband’s whereabouts.

She said: “They were screaming at me. Where is John Ruffo? The blood rushed down my body. My face turned to ice.”

Linda claimed she found a suicide note at their home, but she was skeptical.

Cops believe that more than $13million of stolen money, which has never been recovered, helped his disappearance.

Ruffo remains missing decades after his disappearance.

ALLEGED SIGHTING

Reports circulated that the most-wanted criminal may have been seen at a Los Angeles Dodgers game in 2016.

His cousin Carmine Pascal was the one who called the cops.

But, the man in question wasn’t Ruffo, USA Today reported.

US Marshals said: “In response to recent widespread media coverage, a tipster came forward and provided credible information as to the identity of the Dodgers game attendee.

“The tipster and family members were fully cooperative with law enforcement and provided detailed information regarding the attendee.”

Cops used fingerprints to help identify the man at the Dodgers’ match.

Ruffo remains at large and the manhunt continues.

‘HAUNTING QUESTIONS’

Linda told NBC that she’s been left with “haunting questions”.

She and his mom were forced out of the homes that they’d put up for his bond.

Linda said: “I want to tell him how bad he hurt his mother and everybody else.

“I’d like to ask him: ‘When did you stop loving me? When did money become so important that you could do this to us?”

Online sleuths have speculated about the fugitive’s potential whereabouts while he remains at large.

Some claim he may have developed ties to the mafia and potentially moved to Italy, Newsweek revealed.

But, Robert Boyce, a former Chief of Detectives in the NYPD, claimed the fugitive’s actions would’ve been “frowned upon” by the Italian mafia.

There’s no evidence to suggest that the swindler fled to Italy.

Other theories include claims that the fugitive has mixed into public life or dead.

In the note that Ruffo apparently left for Linda, he said that he’d decided to give himself to “God”.