John Timothy Keehan was a Chicago hair stylist turned karate promoter who rebranded himself as Count Juan Raphael Dante. Famous for placing comic book advertisements selling 'The World's Deadliest Fighting Secrets,' Dante became a notorious counterculture figure in the late 1960s. However, in 1970, Dante took his theatrical flair to dangerous extremes.
Capitalizing on military hoaxes, forged intelligence credentials, and mob connections, Dante attempted to organize a private mercenary force. His goal was to launch a covert invasion aimed at overthrowing foreign leaders and seizing international assets. Dante claimed his unmatched lethal hand-to-hand combat skills were forged in classified military operations, convincing several impressionable fighters and underworld figures to join his cause.
The scheme unravelled when federal authorities intercepted communications involving illegal weapons shipments and mercenary recruitment rings. The scandal exposed a bizarre nexus of martial arts rivalries, fake military records, and Cold War mercenary paranoia. Though Dante managed to avoid heavy prison time for the failed coup plot, the international press coverage turned the flamboyant Chicago martial artist into a profound diplomatic headache for United States law enforcement, forever cementing his legacy as history's most absurdly ambitious fraud.