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Arizona man gets 10 years for faking death

PHOENIX, March 22 (UPI) -- An Arizona judge sentenced a 73-year-old man to 10 years in prison for faking his death to cover up crimes he committed in the 1980s, officials said.

Robert Arcieri was also given five years of probation after pleading guilty in February to seven felony counts at the Maricopa County Superior Court, The Arizona Republic reported Wednesday.

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Palm Springs, Calif., police arrested Arcieri in June 2011, 24 years after he faked his drowning death on a fishing trip near Page. Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson told the Republic the river was searched but Arcieri's body was never found, and police never believed Arcieri was dead.

Authorities said Arcieri changed his name to Frank Reynolds and moved to Spokane, Wash. He had been accused of a variety of crimes including assaults, burglaries, prostitution and allegedly hiring hit men to kill business associates in the 1980s and 1990s.

Arcieri's family collected more than $1 million in life insurance payments during the 24 years he was missing, the newspaper said.

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