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Whatever the allure, Edward Anderton seemed to have lost his head when he met Jocelyn Kirsch, his ex-lover.
Yesterday, he lost his freedom, too.
Anderton, 25, the brainy half of the identity-theft duo known as "Bonnie and Clyde," was sentenced to four years in federal prison without chance of parole.
At the sentencing, Anderton stood before the judge and accepted responsibility and expressed remorse for a year-long crime spree in which he and Kirsch stole more than $119,000 to fund a lavish, jet-setting lifestyle.
"I have absolutely no excuse for my actions and my crimes," Anderton said. "They were absolutely wrong and immoral and I know I'm going to jail and I deserve to do that."
Growing up, Anderton said he never imagined that he'd become a criminal. As the seemingly sensible and studious son of working-class parents, Anderton earned an almost-perfect grade-point average in high school. He went on to study economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, he got a job as a financial analyst. His life seemed full of opportunity and promise.
Then came Kirsch, a Drexel University student and a seductress with sticky fingers.
"I met Jocelyn and she was stealing all the time and I began to participate and I made that choice," Anderton said.
But instead of blaming her, Anderton apologized to Kirsch.
"I was a large part of her downfall," Anderton said. "I'm sorry to Jocelyn for being part of her demise."
Last month, Kirsch, 23, was sentenced to five years in prison. Kirsch and Anderton had each pleaded guilty to conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, fraud and money laundering. Kirsch, however, got a longer sentence because she had a prior history of arrests for retail theft, and she continued to engage in criminal activity while out on bail in the Bonnie and Clyde case.
With his brains and economics background and her charm and apparent affinity for thievery, the pair engineered an elaborate scheme in which they stole the identities of unsuspecting friends and neighbors. They accumulated credit cards, opened accounts on eBay, and forged checks using the victims' names. They funded trips to Paris, Hawaii and the Caribbean, and purchased thousands of dollars worth of clothing and jewelry.
They also burglarized the apartments of their neighbors at the Belgravia, on Chestnut Street near 18th in Center City.
"I was the guy in the hall saying 'hello' and who was being nice to you and it was a lie," Anderton said.
He also apologized to his family, many of whom flew in from out of town to attend the sentencing.
Since being charged late last year, Anderton has been living at home with his parents in Everett, Wash. Yesterday, Kyle Anderton told the judge about a tough-love talk he had with his son in a Philly hotel after his November 2007 arrest.
"I told him he had two choices: He could continue this corrosive behavior and destroy his life or he could step up, do the right thing and take responsibility," Kyle Anderton said.
Kyle Anderton said that his son has been toiling for the past 10 months at a "blue-collar job," waking at 6 a.m. daily to "dig trenches by hand, build fences and move stones." The money he's earned has gone into an account that will be used to pay back his victims, his father said.
Anderton's face contorted and he fought tears as his parents spoke. His mother, Laurie, said that she'll never understand why he did what he did, but "I love Eddie and I will always be there for him."
In sentencing Anderton, U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno ordered him to pay more than $101,000 in restitution.
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