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Busting a perp - any ideas?

Started by JayzusB.Christ, 27 April, 2016, 01:07:34 PM

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JayzusB.Christ

Sorry to drag this topic up again but as some of you know, I was recently suckered by a property scam, and lost a lot of money (and more importantly, had a cherished dream of living on my own patch of countryside shattered).

I reported the guy to the police, but nothing has arisen from that angle so far (and judging by all my previous experiences with the Irish guards, nothing will arise either, I'm afraid).

However, a friend of mine in a certain civil service job has tracked the guy down.  I have access to his last known address and his last known car reg; which may well still be his current ones.  The problem is, I'm not supposed to know this information, and if I disclose it, my friend's job may well be jeopardised.  I also don't believe the gardai would do much about it even if they had this information - I have had some very bad experiences with them in the past; they really don't seem interested in small-scale crimes like this  - they already have what I now know are his actual car reg and bank details, and have so far done nothing.

A friend suggested a polite, registered letter to his address, acknowledging some 'crossed wires' and asking that my money be refunded through Western Union (the underlying message being, of course, 'I know where you live').  The guy doesn't know where I live, but he may well still have my phone number (though to be honest I doubt it; given that he seems to have discarded whatever SIM he was using). 

This has been my preferred option so far - there is always the possibility that he's part of a gang, or even some IRA branch, which is a frightening prospect.  All I want is my money back (a bonus would be the knowledge that he won't do it to other people, but that might be asking too much).

Any alternative ideas?
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

I, Cosh

Send him a Tony Lee special.

Edit: Sorry, this is all a pretty shitty situation and I don't have any sensible suggestions.
We never really die.

JayzusB.Christ

Heh.

I do realise it's not an easy one and I'm not really expecting anyone to have the perfect solution - just posting it here on the offchance that someone else had a similar situation.  No worries either way, though; ultimately it's my own problem and I have to decide what to do.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

Theblazeuk

Any reason you can't take him to court sans police?


Old Tankie

My advice would be to walk away unless you are sure you can handle any come back.

Professor Bear

The Sunday World usually loves to rake this kind of muck - even more so if there's the possibility of a terror group angle.  Might be worth seeing if they - or any other Irish tabloids - are interested.

Link Prime

Quote from: Old Tankie on 27 April, 2016, 02:35:03 PM
My advice would be to walk away unless you are sure you can handle any come back.

Without knowing anything about the guy, I'd advise the same.

There is the outside chance that it's some white collar schlob you could send your nephew around to intimidate, but probably more likely that he's a hardened scumbag.

Sorry to hear about the situation by the way, I know you were chuffed about the prospect of living there.

Theblazeuk

Yeah newspapers do sometimes give the cops a kick up the arse, as the bigger (easier) story is often "Police eat doughnuts, do feck all about easily solved case."

No 'popping round' or polite letters I would say though.

JayzusB.Christ

Quote from: Theblazeuk on 27 April, 2016, 03:28:38 PM
Yeah newspapers do sometimes give the cops a kick up the arse, as the bigger (easier) story is often "Police eat doughnuts, do feck all about easily solved case."

No 'popping round' or polite letters I would say though.

Thanks a million, all; appreciate your input. Certainly won't be popping round - he doesn't know what I look like and I want to keep it that way!  As for the letter - well; I won't be doing it just yet.  In any case he doesn't know where I live, or what I look like; and last time I was in touch with him he'd already forgotten my name and phone number. 

In the meantime I've been to the Garda station again - the garda assigned to it is apparently 'away for a month' for training.  I was told the sergeant would call me; I'll believe it when it happens.  But at the moment it's all I've got, so fingers crossed.

"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

TordelBack

#9
I feel so angry every time I think about your situation JBC, but I'd echo the cautious tone of others. Try not to let it get under your skin any more than it has to: my wife was victim of a similar scam when she was in college, and it destroyed her ability to trust people for many years, and damaged her relationship with her father (from whom she borrowed a sizeable amount of money to 'buy' into a shared house that wasn't the conman's to sell) - in fact I know she still feels the effects 25 years on. Far worse than the crime itself.

Zenith 666

Keep annoying the guards till they get off they're arse and do something or they'll never move on it.We unfortunately live in a country with a police force that's utterly useless and incredibly incompetent.have you contacted a solicitor to see were you stand legally.Have you any paperwork documents from this swindler.anything with a signature.His old number could be used against him if he was on a mobile contract.Failing that you could always kill the little shite and I'll be your alibi.

P.s. If you do off the Prick destroy this thread.

von Boom


Dog Deever

Quote from: Old Tankie on 27 April, 2016, 02:35:03 PM
My advice would be to walk away unless you are sure you can handle any come back.

Absolutely this.
Just a little rough and tumble, Judge man.

JayzusB.Christ

Thanks again, all.  I really appreciate all your kind words and your good advice - which seems to be overwhelmingly in favour of not getting involved personally and keeping on at the coppers to do something; which I will do despite my being in total agreement with Zenith666 about how utterly appalling they are at their jobs.  And, as a few of you have also pointed out, there's also the newspaper option - or  Joe Duffy's radio show; which is also terrible but has its uses.

Sorry to hear about your wife being ripped off, TB; I think she's had it far worse than me.  I thought it would hit me harder; but other than a couple of days of crushing disappointment and heartbreak, I seem to be back to my old sort-of-cheerful self again.  But hopefully Missus Back has managed to more or less repair things with her family and get back to a normal life again; it's a fucking horrible thing to do to a young woman just starting out in her adult life and I can see how it would scar her.

Strange
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

The Legendary Shark

I would say the first thing to do is sit down and have a good think about what you want to do. Do you want your money back? Do you want revenge? Do you want to let it go?

You could forgive him (Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.Oscar Wilde) in a letter. "I understand that some people are so poor at business that they have to steal just to make ends meet. It's the nature of things. So what if you'll never be Alan Sugar or Richard Branson? You shouldn't let your inferiority to better businessmen get to you so much. Just know that you are not alone - I feel your inadequacy and I forgive you." Or something.

Or you could find out if he's subscribed to a trade organization or the local chamber of commerce or something like that and go after him that way. Does he go to church? Talk to his priest. Is he a Mason? Send a letter to the Lord High Badger (or whatever they call themselves) of the local lodge saying how disgraceful you now think Masons are if they allow one another to act like that. Put an ad in the local paper; "We are looking for more victims of Mr X to join our class action suit - call (cheap disposable mobile 'phone number) for details."

If you just want to get on his nerves, you have his address so... Sign him up for as much free shit as you can. Introductory offers, free samples, free estimates, quotations, test-drives - whatever you can think of. All this stuff goes on databases and his junk mail and junk calls will increase exponentially. If you want to spend some money, sign him up to a year's subscription to a suitable porn mag or hairdresser's mag or Guns 'n' Ammo or something weird. Something to play on his mind.

Of course, as you have his address you can do naughty things like order pizzas, taxis and meter readings - but I would not advise that as those kinds of things, and lots of other things like those kinds of things, might get him blacklisted and/or be illegal. Don't do anything illegal.

Or you could just leave it to the police, go and see a solicitor (many give free consultations), nip into the CAB or even (and I cannot believe I'm suggesting this) write to or visit your local M.P.

The world is your lobster.

Or you could just let it go.
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