The New England Patriots were three days away from the Super Bowl.

But, for about 10 fans, the suspense was not at the stadium in Jacksonville but at the airport in Orlando.

They each had shelled out about $7,500 for a pair of seats to last year's game through a dealer they found on the Internet. The tickets, they say, were supposed to have been sent to their homes but never arrived. So, they flew in on faith, relying on assurances from the young ticket-seller that he would have the tickets at the airport.

Now, at a Hertz counter, they had cornered the 20-year-old man just in from Boston who had their cash and, they hoped, their tickets.

When the seller tried to put them off, one of the buyers called the police on a cellphone. An officer arrived but refused to make an arrest, saying the seller had until the start of the game to deliver the tickets.

Then, in a twist that stunned the angry crowd, the young man turned to the officer and asked for protection. She shooed away the buyers, and the man drove off in his rental car.

Another close call for Michael R. Deppe.

Tomorrow, the resident, at various times, of Stow, Shrewsbury, Marlborough, and Hudson is scheduled to go on trial in US District Court in Worcester. He is accused of failing to deliver to 68 people goods worth $370,000 in Internet-related transactions. Among the witnesses may be a woman who was among those left standing at the Hertz counter 14 months ago.

Deppe faces six charges of fraud stemming from the Super Bowl incident. He has pleaded guilty to 10 other federal charges involving merchandise sold over the Internet. Neither he nor his lawyer, Steven Rappaport of Lowell, would talk about the case for this story.

Even those closest to him are puzzled by his journey from enterprising baseball card collector to an Internet wheeler-dealer vilified on blogs and chatrooms.

''It's almost like he's two people," said his mother, Catherine Grayzel.

Grayzel laughed as she recalled looking out the window and seeing 6-year-old Michael, sprawled in a lawn chair and wearing sunglasses, surrounded by his and his sister's toys.

His mother asked him what he was up to. He said he was holding a yard sale. Did his sister know he was selling her toys? No, he said, and then added, ''I've marked them up so much that nobody will buy them."

Deppe was born in 1984 in New Jersey. His father, Gunther Deppe, now 67, is a butcher who had immigrated to America from Germany in 1953. His wife, 22 years his junior, trained to be a nurse after Michael's younger sister was born and now works for a lawyer evaluating personal injury cases.

In 1997, after Grayzel had divorced and remarried, she and the children moved from New Jersey to Stow.

Deppe's childhood passion was sports.

Starting in elementary school, he played goalie on schoolboy and pickup hockey teams. Later, he switched to forward.

''He always wanted to roller skate, ice skate, and hockey skate," his father recalled in an interview. ''He was a great hockey player."

Michael could also reel off batting averages with authority, said Alan Silvestry, one of his teachers at the Hale Middle School in Stow.

Michael also collected baseball cards -- but less for pleasure than for profit, Silvestry said.

''He always seemed older than everybody else," Silvestry said in an interview. ''He was always looking for an angle."

Grayzel shared her son's love of sports. As a treat after his eighth-grade graduation, she took him on a three-day bus trip to New York to see the Red Sox play the Yankees.

She said he was affectionate, holding her hand in public even during the awkward teenage years. She also said he made sure to call his grandparents frequently.

That gentle side contrasts with the memory of one of his middle-school classmates. Caitlin Makary remembered Deppe as a ''smart aleck" who often made ''fun of people . . . not in a mean way, but kind of sarcastic."

She told of one instance in which Deppe jeered at her for wearing a 2-inch crucifix around her neck. She told him others would think him bigoted if he mocked religious customs. He made fun of yarmulkes, too, she said, calling them ''dumb."

A teammate who played high school hockey with Deppe remembered him as a bit of a loner.''Mike knew a lot of people, but I don't think he had any friends," Matt Biegler wrote in an e-mail.

While at St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, Deppe participated in the Model UN Program in which students from all over the country debated world problems. ''Michael could debate anyone on anything and usually win," Grayzel said.

At 13, Deppe already was dealing in collectibles. Among his first products: Beanie Babies, the pellet-stuffed creatures that were becoming a craze. ''He rode the wave," said Grayzel, who took him to trade shows. ''His business instincts were very, very good."

Grayzel said several key events might have influenced her son, one being the breakup of her marriage. Her former husband agreed. ''I was never there, as far as relationships go," Gunther Deppe said.

The young Deppe faced a physical blow as well as an emotional one. When he was a junior in high school, doctors discovered a benign tumor on his femur. He could no longer play hockey. His mother said that led him to spend even more time with his computer, online.

One evening, the phone was ringing off the hook. Deppe kept running to answer it before anyone else in the family could reach it.

Grayzel said her daughter told her that Deppe had posted a notice on the site of Ty Inc., the company that makes Beanie Babies, alerting potential customers he could obtain a new product, Princess the Bear, which commemorated the recently deceased Diana. The bear had yet to go on the market.

Grazel said she asked her son about the calls, particularly about how he could offer a product that he could not deliver. She said that Deppe replied: '' 'I just wanted to know if I found one how much I could get for it.' "

''That's when we knew we were in trouble," Grayzel said.

Deppe got his own phone, computer, and post office box. Grayzel said she didn't realize he was still doing business until she asked him why he never received mail at the house.

At about that time, the Stow Police Department began what became a thick file on Deppe, according to Sergeant Timothy Lima. The officer said that Deppe and his family filed complaints with the department that disgruntled customers were threatening to come to their doorstep. ''He was receiving so many threats, it was hard to keep track of them," Lima said.

Still, he marveled at Deppe's salesmanship: ''He could talk a dog off a meat wagon."

Grayzel said she and her son had fierce arguments about limiting his computer use.

In June 2002, she filed for a restraining order against her then 17-year-old son. ''I am now afraid that, should he return to the house, he will further attempt to injure my daughter, my husband, or myself," she wrote, according to documents filed in Concord District Court.

The order required Deppe to stay away from his family.

Deppe spent the summer of 2002 with his father in New Jersey. Gunther Deppe described how his son worked feverishly on his business, using the phone and computer. What Gunther Deppe didn't know until too late, he said, was that his Social Security number had been used by Michael to apply for a credit card. ''It's my identity and everything," Gunther Deppe said in an interview. ''It caused a lot of hardship. I was getting bills." The father said that none of the transactions resulted in criminal charges against him.

Michael Deppe moved back to Massachusetts. For a while, he stayed with a couple in Rutland, whom he had met over the Internet through his interest in Beanie Babies. The family, who asked that their names not be disclosed, took Deppe to services at their church. It was there that Deppe met his future wife, Jessica Hoye, who had grown up in a strict religious family, Grayzel said.

Deppe dropped out of high school during his senior year, but obtained a General Educational Development, or GED, high school equivalency diploma. He rented an apartment in a house in Shrewsbury that stood high on a dirt road overlooking Lake Quinsigamond. From there, he conducted his business on the Internet, accounts of which eventually would be recorded in a local police report and state and federal indictments.

In early 2004, a Worcester County grand jury indicted Deppe on 19 counts of larceny. He was accused of failing to deliver $30,000 to $40,000 worth of promised goods, including Rolex watches, a plasma television, a digital video recorder, sports memorabilia, and six tickets to a Celine Dion concert at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

This reporter visited him about that time at his apartment.

Deppe, then 19, padded about barefoot on the kitchen floor while chatting with cheerful animation at staccato speed. He boasted about the success of his business, rolling up his sleeve to show off a watch he said was a Rolex. He admitted to making side deals off eBay, but denied doing anything wrong. ''I'm absolutely innocent. I have not defrauded people."

During a pretrial hearing in March 2004, Judge John McCann said Deppe could remain free without bail, but ordered him to stay off computers.

Court records detail Deppe's business operations. He used several monikers to identify himself on eBbay. One handle he favored was Luxury Brokers. Deppe would find customers bidding on eBay and contact them to ask if they would like to make side deals off the Internet site. The customers would wire him payment, and he would send them their supposed item. Sometimes he filled orders as promised, according to court records, but sometimes not.

He continued his Internet dealings while awaiting trial on the Worcester County indictments, according to federal court records.

Among the people Deppe is expected to face in his upcoming trial is Brian Bell of Hilton Head, S.C. Bell is now a commercial airline pilot. As a sideline, he operates a luxury watch business, primarily over the Internet.

In an interview, Bell recounted his dealings with Deppe. He said that in fall 2004, Deppe e-mailed and phoned him, offering to sell Rolexes. Bell said he was interested in buying more than $100,000 worth but decided to be cautious and start with four or five.

They made a deal. After Bell wired Deppe $17,600, Deppe agreed to ship the watches overnight, according to court records. He gave Bell a postal tracking number for the shipment.

Bell said that day after day Deppe promised the watches would arrive, but they never did.

Using the tracking number, Bell asked the post office to investigate. It turned out that a package had been sent to a different address. The person who received it said it contained nothing but old newspapers, according to court records.

Bell said Deppe blamed the mixup on his ''assistant," whom he identified as Jessica. Bell faxed this reporter what he said are records of the transaction. On it are printed the names Michael and Jessica Hoye and an e-mail address.

''He was as sharp as a tack," Bell said in the interview. ''If he told you he was going to call at 12, he called at 11:59. Then all of a sudden he got stupid."

At the time, Bell said money was tight for his family. His wife had left her job to take care of their 3-month-old son, and he had not yet gotten his current job as a pilot.

''I think it would be hard on anybody's family," Bell said. ''It's a significant amount of money. That's a year of house payments."

Bell said he never got the watches or the money back. But the transaction would come back to haunt Deppe.

Meanwhile, Deppe was having money problems of his own. His Shrewsbury landlady, Mary Borgatti, 75, said that he fell three months behind in his $950-a-month rent. When she visited him, she recalled, he said something that astonished her: ''I'll get out if you pay me."

Borgatti said she didn't take Deppe up on the offer. As it turned out, he moved out one night without telling her and without making good on the rent, she said in an interview, adding that she had not pursued payment.

Deppe moved from Shrewsbury to Marlborough, and then to a rented house on Bennett Street in Hudson. His girlfriend, Jessica Hoye, a student at Framingham State College, moved in.

In August 2004, the couple were married at Niagara Falls. Grayzel said the ceremony was arranged in three days after the couple decided against eloping. Grayzel described them as ''very much in love."

In December, Deppe faced new legal charges. He was accused of cashing a bad check. According to a police report, he deposited a check for $5,340 made out to his business, Luxury Brokers, at Citizens Bank in Stow. Before it had time to clear, he had withdrawn $5,350 with a personal check. The Luxury Brokers check was returned with a ''payment stopped" notice. When the bank discovered he had nothing in his account to cover the amount, it unsuccessfully attempted to recover the money, according to a police report filed in Concord District Court.

Stow police charged Deppe with larceny. He was supposed to be in court on Jan. 27, 2005, for a pretrial hearing, but the court accepted a note from him saying he would be out of town through Feb. 7 ''on business in Jacksonville, Florida."

When Deppe arrived at Orlando International Airport on Feb. 3, 2005, two men -- one in New Hampshire, the other in South Carolina -- took note.

Michael Blanchard, an 18-year veteran of the US Postal Inspection Service, had been following Deppe's Internet escapades since March 2003 from his office base in Manchester, N.H. He was made chief investigator by the US attorney because the allegations against Deppe involved the US mails.

Helping keep Blanchard abreast of Deppe's activities was Michael Bell, the watch dealer.

After the Rolex deal fell apart, Bell jumped on the Internet to find out everything he could about Deppe. Bell made it his mission to keep track of Deppe's activities and posted alerts on websites that served as watchdogs for Internet dealings. Bell said he received numerous e-mails and phone calls from people concerned about Deppe. He would direct them to Blanchard.

In the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Bell and Blanchard fielded calls from people who said they had bought tickets from Deppe.

Bell said he tracked down where Deppe and his wife were staying in Florida, and alerted police and some of the customers.

Because Bell also posted articles from The Boston Globe, this reporter also received calls. One occurred at 3 a.m. from an angry customer from Philadelphia who had not received Super Bowl tickets from Deppe.

Another irate customer from the Philadelphia area was Jennifer Serpico, who had expected to get two tickets for herself and her uncle to attend the game. She met Deppe at the baggage-claim area in the Orlando airport, followed him to the Hertz rental car counter, and stayed in cellphone communication with other customers searching for him. Serpico, who said she never received the tickets, said she has been asked to testify against Deppe.

Law enforcement officials in New England and Florida also exchanged numerous calls, leading to a federal arrest warrant naming Deppe a fugitive from justice in Massachusetts.

Police found Deppe at his hotel room in St. Augustine about 6 the Friday evening before the game. While the Patriots were defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, Deppe was in a jail cell.

The day after the game, federal authorities in Jacksonville took custody of Deppe.

On Feb. 23, Deppe was charged in US District Court in Worcester with fraud worth about $115,000 in connection with the sports memorabilia, watches, and other merchandise. A second federal indictment a month later combined the February charges with the Super Bowl scam, which was put at $255,000. In all, Deppe was accused of cheating 68 people. They come from all over, New Jersey to California, Toronto to Texas.

Deppe was set free in March of last year on $150,000 unsecured bond. In arguing for his release, Deppe's attorney cited a letter from a minister, Brian Reynolds, of New Creation Family Church in Worcester. Reynolds wrote that Deppe had served in the church's youth and hospitality ministries. Reynolds described Deppe as ''a faithful giver" to the church.

US Magistrate Judge Charles B. Swartwood III banned Deppe from using computers -- the second time Deppe had received such an order from a judge. Swartwood had some cautionary words for Deppe before letting him leave the courthouse. ''They're going to be watching you," Swartwood said. ''And if you want to ignore all this and get into trouble, go ahead, because you're going to be right back in front of me." Swartwood also ordered Deppe to get a job.

Deppe did attempt to secure several jobs in automobile sales; however, his employment record over the summer and into the fall became increasingly spotty, according to federal court records.

In October, he told a pretrial services officer that he had gotten a job with Concord Chrysler-Jeep in Concord. Three weeks later, Deppe had not produced any of the required earnings statements and said he had been laid off.

Michael Voller, general manager of Concord Chrysler-Jeep, said in an interview that Deppe had applied for a job. Voller said Deppe arrived for his interview in a late-model Mercedes, saying he had bought it from another dealership for which he had worked. Voller hired him but said Deppe didn't show up. More than a week later, Voller said he received a call from Deppe, who said he had been moving to a new house. Voller said he turned Deppe down when he asked if he could still have the job.

The 11-room Colonial on Old Stow Road in Hudson was purchased in October, under Jessica Deppe's name. She had secured two mortgages -- for $556,000 and $139,000 -- with no money down.

In November, Deppe was back in court facing a hearing to determine whether he had violated terms of his release.

Assistant US Attorney Adam Bookbinder said that Deppe had failed to abide by the order to stay away from computers. One instance occurred while Deppe and his wife were at the real estate broker's office buying the house. Deppe wandered off and used a computer on the premises, according to court records.

Bookbinder noted Deppe's involvement with his wife's company, New England Auto Sales. Three customers who contacted the company about prospective sales reported that they got Michael -- not Jessica -- Deppe, court records show.

Charles Fial of Lafayette, Colo., said in an interview that he received an e-mail from Jessica Deppe after he lost his bid on a Corvette Z06 -- a limited-edition sports car that Fial calls ''a very hot item on eBay."

Fial called the phone number in the e-mail and Michael Deppe answered. Deppe said he wanted $4,000 down on a car that would cost about $70,000, Fial said. But Fial never made a deal because he said something about Deppe's demeanor put him off.

''He talked too much, for me," Fial said. ''The item doesn't have to be presold. People are waiting in line for this car."

None of the charges Deppe faces concern automobile sales. Jessica Deppe has not been charged in connection with her husband's activities.

In addition to Deppe's job status and computer use, officials raised a third issue -- gambling.

Deppe called Hudson police in August last year asking protection from a bookie he said had visited his house seeking payment of a $107,000 debt, according to court records. Bookbinder called gambling ''clearly illegal activity in violation of standard conditions of release."

Deppe's bail was revoked in December 2005. He returned to jail and has been there ever since.

Last month, Deppe asked Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to be released so that he could be present at the birth of his first child, expected this month. The request was denied.

Deppe could face up to 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on each of the 16 counts. He has not been sentenced on any of the charges to which he has pleaded guilty.

However the court case proceeds, Deppe will not have it easy. His home is on the market for $799,900. He may have to pay restitution to many former customers if the money can be located or secured from the sale of his house and other property.

Deppe also has left behind plenty of bruised feelings.

''I love the kid with all my heart," his mother said. ''He doesn't understand how all this affects us. It's very, very painful."

Bell, the pilot, said he has compassion for Deppe, but that ''it's time for justice."

''He's caused so many hardships in other people's families -- people who have children and responsibilities," Bell said. ''It's time for him to face the music and deal with his responsibilities."

Connie Paige can be reached at cpaige@globe.com.

The path to trial

Jan. 13, 2004 Michael R. Deppe is indicted in Worcester Superior Court on one count of identity fraud, 13 counts of larceny over $250, and two counts of larceny under $250. Deppe pleads not guilty.

March 3, 2004 Deppe is indicted on four more counts of larceny over $250 in Worcester Superior Court. He pleads not guilty.

March 23, 2004 As terms of his release pending trial, a judge orders Deppe to stay away from computers.

Feb. 4, 2005 Deppe is arrested in Florida as a fugitive from justice after a federal warrant is taken out against him in Massachusetts for wire fraud.

Feb. 6, 2005 New England Patriots defeat Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.

Feb. 7, 2005 Deppe is arraigned in Florida, and federal authorities take custody of him.

Feb. 23, 2005 Deppe is charged in US District Court in Worcester on eight counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud relating to the sale of sports memorabilia, luxury watches, and other merchandise involving the Internet. The indictment states that Deppe defrauded 27 victims out of $115,000. He pleads not guilty.

March 3, 2005 Deppe is released on $150,000 unsecured bond, and is ordered to get a job and not to use a computer.

March 8, 2005 State charges are dismissed as the case has become a federal matter.

March 30, 2005 A new indictment in federal court wraps in the previous federal charges and adds four counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud, involving 41 customers who paid $255,460 for Super Bowl tickets.

Nov. 29, 2005 Deppe is arrested again. The prosecution tells the court over two days of hearings that Deppe was seen using a computer, had failed to obtain steady employment, had engaged in a questionable scheme to sell luxury autos, and had gambled.

Dec. 5, 2005 Judge revokes his release and orders him back to jail, pending trial.

March 8, 2006 Deppe pleads guilty to eight charges of wire fraud and two charges of mail fraud connected to merchandise. He has yet to be sentenced.

April 24, 2006 Deppe's trial is scheduled to start in front of Judge F. Dennis Saylor in US District Court in Worcester. Deppe faces six fraud charges in connection with the Super Bowl incident.