By all accounts, Stephen Stanko is a smooth talker.
At 6 feet, 3 inches tall, with a shock of dark hair, Stanko was a striking man in his mid-30s. He would brag about being rich, buy drinks for everyone in the bar and hand his phone number out to women.
But those who saw through Stanko knew he was no Prince Charming, but a smalltime con artist.
Stanko's various lies included, according to archived news accounts: that he was a millionaire, he owned multiple hamburger restaurants, he had an engineering degree from a prestigious university, and he made bigtime deals in oil and real estate.
"He has a need for grandiosity," one forensic psychologist observed on the witness stand, according to a 2006 report in the Myrtle Beach Sun-News. Another one simply said: "Mr. Stanko is a psychopath."
