Arizona Cold Case Solved In Thousand Palms

A man faked his death in 1987 to avoid conspiracy to commit murder charges in Scottsdale, Ariz., and more than two decades later, Robert George Arcieri was found alive.

He was tracked down Wednesday in Thousand Palms and placed under arrest.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Robert Monzingo, a neighbor.

But it’s true.

The man they knew as a fun-loving guy with a deep passion for golfing was hiding a big secret — living a double life.

“It’s kinda a shock to us,” said Mike Hillenbrand, a neighbor. “You never know who you’re neighbors are.”

Arcieri used to be part of a criminal syndicate that targeted people they knew to burglarize, according to the Phoenix police.

In 1984, he attempted to rob a friend’s house in Scottsdale, but at the time, a 34-year-old woman was still in the home, and walked in on the robbery.

“She was beaten severely and actually left for dead,” said Sgt. Tommy Thompson, with the Phoenix police.

But the woman lived.

In 1986, Arcieri was arrested for his part in that crime.

Then, when authorities learned of his connection to several other crimes, that case was dismissed, so that it could be re-filed with additional charges.

But on Jan. 18, 1987, authorites said Arcieri went fishing at Lee’s Ferry in Arizona and faked his death.

“He and some other individuals feigned that he had fallen in the river and presumably had drowned,” said Thompson. “In fact, it is my understanding that an extensive search of the Colorado River was made, and of course it didn’t turn up Mr. Arcieri’s body.”

In Arizona, he went by the name Robert George Arcieri.

Authorities said that’s his real name.

In the Coachella Valley, he lived in Thousand Palms in the Tri-Palm Estates next door to Mike Hillenbrand.

Hillenbrand knew him for at least four years, and said he was shocked by the allegations and the arrest.

He also knew Arcieri by a different name — his alias — Frank Roman Reynolds.

Hillenbrand said Arcieri was taken into custody on the golf course.

“He wasn’t a drinker or a smoker,” said Hillenbrand.

Neighbors said Arcieri was married to his longtime wife Vicki.

Hillenbrand said Arcieri never mentioned his time in Arizona — his past was a secret.

Arcieri voluntarily agreed to return to Phoenix, and flew back on Wednesday.

He was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on 16 charges including three counts of conspiracy to commit murder.