After Morgan's capture, Meisner gave a short statement to the press, saying simply, "I'm just so happy that they finally caught him. Hopefully, he'll learn his lesson and quit."
The Eagles' publicist initially suggested the ex-Eagle might want to discuss the case for this article. But, true to lifelong form, Randy Meisner eventually decided to stay in the background.
Prisoners in orange jumpsuits pace the floor of the jail like cats in a zoo. A few pass by Lewis Peter Morgan, and nod hello. But not many. On the inside, fraud is a white-collar crime, something pussies do. Morgan's restless. He thinks he's been mistreated. When he was busted, he says, the arresting officers played the old game of good cop/bad cop with him. And they actually handcuffed him. He mimes the act of getting cuffed, as if it's the most insane thing that could ever happen to someone accused of a felony crime.
He ran his scams in California and Las Vegas, Morgan says, but he never did anything in Reno. When asked whether he once claimed to own a boat, he reacts with a quick laugh. Yeah, that was a good one.
He doesn't want to talk about himself, though. Other than to say that he's from Atlanta, and that he moved to California as a young man, and that he's worked in sales and marketing, Morgan is tight-lipped and surly.
But he's keenly interested in reading about himself. He wants to see the articles about his arrest, wants to know who's been talking about him.
He is evasive and contradictory. One minute he's boasting that he's been doing what he was convicted of doing for 20 years, all over the world. And the scam was ridiculously easy. He didn't need any identification or other proof -- he just said he was Randy Meisner.
The next minute he's contrite, meek. He just wants to go in, serve the time, and get out. He's tired of living his life like this; he wants to put it behind him and start over.
And then he answers as many questions as he'll probably ever answer about being a long-term Eagles impostor. No, he says, he doesn't know how to play or read music. He's never seen the Eagles in concert, nor was he ever a fan.
Then why pick them?
He shrugs. "Heard 'em on the radio."
Why Randy Meisner?
"No reason."
What do you know about him?
"I heard he's a nice guy." Morgan pauses.
"He's a partier. He's got a reputation. Life in the fast lane." His tone suddenly grows accusatory, as if his own actions pale in comparison. He leans in and makes an extraordinary statement:
"He's an uneducated man."
And that condescending judgment is the last thing Lewis Peter "Buddy" Morgan would like to offer about the 10 years he spent living the life of Randy Meisner.
