Ex-Hypnotist Convicted, Is Missing

A former nightclub hypnotist accused of bilking cosmetologists out of $1.5 million years ago through his training courses in “permanent makeup” has been convicted of violating orders that prohibit him from misleading consumers in promotional material and training courses. But Ronald Dante, who once was married briefly to the late actress Lana Turner, can’t be found, say officials at the Federal Trade Commission. His last known address was in Huntington Beach. A bench warrant for his arrest was issued Monday after a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted him in absentia of criminal contempt of court. Dante, believed to be 67, faces up to 27 months in prison. The FTC shut down his Perma-Derm Academy in Fountain Valley six years ago, but the agency said he continued to peddle his promises of cosmetic certificates under a new name, Permanetics Inc., and opened a paralegal training school, American Professional Institute, that falsely promised high salaries to graduates.