Live and Learn

[TR3BGeorge]

Hey Folks,

 

First, my thanks to Alex, who put me in touch with the Worcester police, and a few others who had some input on my dilemma.

 

Well, I just had a very enlightening conversation with my local police department here in Allen. To make a long story, here are the cold, hard facts:

 

1. The crime was committed in Allen, Texas, NOT ENGLAND.

2. No District Attorney in the United States of America is going to extradite a Brit for a $150 crime, probably not even a $10,000 crime.

3. The West Mercia Police Authority can do absolutely nothing - they have NO JURISDICTION in this case, as the crime happened stateside.

 

This is why Gerald Blas will deal only with Americans. (IIRC, a local guy wanted to visit Gerald to look at his brake calipers, and Gerald never got back in touch with him.)

 

So, I learned a $152 lesson. And, of course, now that this is history, 60-spoke wheels are showing up on eBay!!

 

Thanks again.

 

But still in matters vegetable and animal and mineral,

I am the very model of a modern major general.

[doctr]

Hi George,

 

My sympathies that you have been ripped off and there seems little redress. It is particularly ironic after your 'blessed plot' post, but perhaps your conman isn't from the UK after all. The race-cars.com thread gives his ip address as 196.1.177.6 which traces to an address in Texas.

 

But before you go back to your local police, he may not even be in the US! An earlier reply on the race-cars thread is from a scammer called Jerry McRichards, who may well be the same Gerald Blas as same sort of message and false business address, but his IP address traces to Nigeria! Presumably the IP addresses have been hijacked.

 

I don't know much about using Western Union (and I'm even more reluctant to use it now) but if the money has to be collected in person, perhaps they can help pinpoint this guys location? Would your local police be more interested in tracking him down if it could be shown the conman was somewhere in the US?

 

Hope you find the perfect wheel soon.

 

Neil