Craig Glazer was an ordinary college student when he planned and successfully executed his first fake sting to get back at some drug dealers who had robbed him. The rush he got from the experience led him and a crew of 11 accomplices to mastermind a two-year, 33-sting spree that stretched coast to coast, posing as everything from local police to IRS agents and hotel managers.

Glazer and Donald Woodbeck, his partner in crime, sniffed out some of the most sought-after drug lords in the country for the FBI and DEA like bloodhounds. For a while, the plan worked—until Craig’s world came crashing down.