Amen to that, brother.

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

Great multitudes of good people on this forum. I've only met one in person, but consider several to be good on line type friends.

Only had one really bad experience with a member on the sell of a gun that went south, but I'd like to think the majority around here are most CooL!

I apologise for starting this thread. It wasn't my intent to cause all of this emotion. I have just recently read some of The Ringo Kid's threads, and wasn't aware of the history, as I seldom go to the lounge section.

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"Happiness is a warm gun"

===============================

No, you are not the cause of any of this drama, the responsibility rest solely with Ringo.

I agree. It would be nice to have the truth be told. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Don't think twice.
No fault on you for asking about a well known member.

I was alerted last week by some members, and gathering data.
It was going to come up soon one way or another.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

As a former Brand paid enforcer for two seperate forums ,my job was to dig to find out Trolls real identities.I will tell you that a lot of good folks participate on forums like this place.But There are a lot of physco's out there as well. Hiding behind a screen name without personally being held responsible for statements said is appealing to so many people.Which is why the you can never be too trusting to someone unless you really know them.

I have not dealt much with Ringo, but I have read many of his posts, and this thread thoroughly. Having been a teacher and an avid student of History, I strive to understand. I am not looking to make excuses for "The Kid". Before we can pass total judgement, we need to know his intent.

Having dealt with some who suffer from mental illness, I see more symptoms of mental illness than I do malicious intent. I believe that he thrived here because of the understanding people here ... their compassion and friendliness most likely helped him fill a void. Yes, in the process, some of us may have felt used ... that is understandable and to be expected.

Remember, we have also lost a respected member who made a world class error in judgement and action sometime last year. Let's hope TRK finds the help he desperately needs.

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Judge control not gun control!

A justified thread. An eye opener for many, and lessons for all.
A sad situation.
I wish someone would close the thread.

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"from my cold dead hands" C.H.

I really liked the evil home depot thread.

I wonder if anyone remembers it?

It comes to mind when I'm flipping burgers. Anyone else?

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Dum vivo cano

Wow! This forum now has its own soap opera. Can't wait to see how this finally plays out.

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

My Guess is we wont hear from the Topic Personage again
& the Closing of this thread will be the end of it

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Compact 9mm Just my $0.02

I don't quite know what to think of someone who accepts money under false pretenses, even though that money wasn't directly solicited by him.

"Scammed" or "conned" are strong terms, usually used to denote illegal activity of some sort. I wouldn't take it as far as calling this case "illegal", but there are ways of soliciting funds without directly asking for them. "I could do so-and-so if I only had x-number of dollars", or "I wouldn't get kicked out of my apartment if I had a bit more money to pay the rent this month". And so on and so forth.

I'm wondering if the Ringo Kid accepted funds from members of other forums.

I'm wondering if the Ringo Kid will be permanently banned from this forum as a result of what's come to light here in the past couple of days.

He's certainly had ample opportunity to offer up some explanations, but hasn't taken advantage of those opportunities.

I personally don't care, one way or another, if he ever posts here again.

I do sympathize with those forum members who actually sent the guy money, because I believe y'all have been had.

Hopefully - assuming that after the tread is closed his user account will be closed as well...

Soap opera, no. It's a perfect Dr. Phil topic.

Like I said last night-

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

He told me he was part Cherokee. Now I wonder.....

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Keep on Chooglin'

Uhhh boy....

Okay. In the words of Paul Harvey, "Here's the rest of the story."

A respected member of this forum found out about what Carl was doing in regards to the various and sundry "Sabrina stories" and he also found out that Carl had been accepting money based on those falsehoods. He confronted Carl personally and told him that if he would never post on the Smith and Wesson forum again, he would not "out" him.

Carl agreed. That's why we haven't seen any of Ringo's posts in the last few days. However, Carl went behind this person's back and started sending PM's to various forum members saying that he was being persecuted by a couple of members. Oops. Big mistake, Carl. Now the secret is out.

In regards to him receiving funds from members of other forums, we haven't been able to ascertain that as yet. As he did with the folks on our forum, he's not going to go public and tell everybody he's getting money from forum members. Of course not. He doesn't want to kill the "golden goose." If more people think he's struggling financially, they are more apt to send cash his way.

Sadly, Sabrina isn't the only one of Carl's lady friends who has died. On another forum, we have discovered that "Suzie" has also recently died of cancer. We're not sure just how many times Suzie has passed away, though.

As has been stated, it's probably time this thread got closed. I think Lee saw wisdom in keeping it open in order to alert forum members of what was going on and to protect the good, caring, generous folks here who thought they saw a need and were more than willing to help.

Bless you all for your kindness.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

Not to flog a dead-horse, and I haven’t been around here long enough to ‘know’, nor would I if I had been because I don’t pay close enough attention to enough threads, nor do I have time or interest in playing P.I. with various members backgrounds, past posts, forum memberships etc, etc,...

But the few compulsive liars I have encountered were part everything, part anything, professional everything, allllll over the map/globe/history-of-creation.

Helicopter pilot no Race Car Driver no Astronaut no Mob Underboss no Pro Surfer no ...

But for me, in my kitchen, they were a Cook. Or just a dishwasher.

Well, I must confess, my problems are not with Carl, or The Boss, or anyone else on this forum. I have more problems with the guy I see in the mirror than 10 other people combined. I sure can't cast stones.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

OH! There was a Saturday Night Live skit, with Jon Lovitz in The Lead. Decades ago. THIS..

Despite all the above this is still a friendly, helpful place.

I once belonged to an Internet forum full of factions, backstabbing and downright hatefulness. I was even an after hours moderator on it for a while trying to help fix it. But it was beyond saving.

I don’t now what drives Ringo, but I have known people who need drama in their lives and people round them to offer support to feel validated.

I have also known several habitual liars who can’t keep their stories straight and end up contradicting themselves eventually, hoping their listeners do not have reliable memories. When I encounter these people I remind them that I have been employed for decades just so people can lie to me every day.

But the vast majority of people (over 99%) are good people with hearts. Those are the people I try to surround myself with in every aspect of my life, although it is hard given my job.

I had him on ignore for the past two years, as I felt his was not very honest from the git go, and some comments he made about ww2.

Regardless of the man here, certainly, never give someone you don't know a large sum of money. There are plenty of good charities that will take your money and use it for good.

, mule, that's not correct, at least in my case.
carl did send me a note, but he just said he was leaving the forum n suggested we keep in contact via email.
i saw nothing underhanded there.

i'm just sad he hasn't confronted these charges.

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susie

Well I have to say that Im very sorry to see this happening , but I’ve always taken things pretty much in stride. Even though this has come about I must say that there are still plenty of good people here and I’m glad to be associated.
Just sorry to see this arise with Carl / Ringo. Hope everything straightens out for him!

I confess I sent Ringo two pillows for his new top of the line mattress.
Poor guy didn't have a good night's sleep years.
Then the next day he's talking about buying a $400.00 kitten?
The thing that popped my cork.... adopting a kid.
The only thing I can say is I'm glad the pillows I sent weren't "MY PILLOW'S.com"

Chip, thanks for your input and the revelations.

Hopefully, this somewhat sordid little drama will end tonight.

That's all I have to say about it. Nothing left to see here.

Susieqz, sorry if I made a mistake. I thought you were one of the individuals who said that ringo claimed he was being persecuted by two members of this forum. Again, sorry if I misunderstood.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

Thanks, but believe me, it hasn't been fun. I was asked to dig into this mess and perhaps shed a little light on some unpleasant business. Lee, pawngal, and others have done a heckuva lot in trying to protect the members of this forum. My hat is off to them.

As most of us know, Lee and the other moderators have a thankless job in trying to keep all of us in line. I sure don't envy them.

I think we've kicked this can around the block enough. I'm going out to feed the mules. Good night.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

This really sucks. I liked Carl, or at least the person I thought he was. I enjoyed reading his posts and the quirky threads he started. I too, noticed inconsistencies, but just chalked it up to his being scatterbrained. I didn’t pay much attention to the Sabrina/Shasta deaths, I just remembered his mentioning them. He never asked me for money or anything and I’m guessing that those who did send him money took it upon themselves to help a fellow forum member in need. I feel kind of empty right now, more because I feel like I’ve lost a friend than a feeling of being taken. Carl, if you’re reading this, respond and make things right. You were well liked here and things can be forgiven, given the proper apologies being made. I’d like to think you’re a good person with a good heart who just went a little astray. Heck, there was even a thread started by Snubby in which I said I thought you had a heart of gold. I’d really like to think I wasn’t wrong about you. If you don’t come back, take care of yourself and I hope you find whatever it is that you are searching for. *Aloha*

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

When I was in the middle of the side effects of the radiation from my throat cancer, he was very kind and supportive. Talked often via PMs and he was going to send me some Salsa (which I declined as anything stronger than applesauce caused my mouth and throat to burn like fire).

I liked him and felt sorry for him since he didn't seem to have a lot in the way of money or "things."

Then I started to wonder when the girlfriend got cancer and died. I had prayed for him and her, and as Rusty said, that's God's job to determine the validity of the prayer request, even though there was just something about that situation that seemed a bit off.

I also was somewhat surprised and, at least a bit suspicious, when he began the Home Depot saga. Lots of retired LEOs end up working part time at HD and Lowes and the things he was accusing HD of doing seemed the opposite of the stories I heard from several of them.

I put that off to either exaggeration or a rogue store manager and continued to pray for him. But his stories seemed to get more...bizarre, maybe, and I began to wonder if he was for real.

Guess he wasn't and that's too bad. I hope he gets what ever may be his problem squared away and I am sure there are many here who wish the same thing.

Bob

She did say that, see post #53

He could come back, under another name. I was taken in too. I just thought he was having rough times, as we all have. This thread has put it all together. Unfortunate result, but i appreciate Pawngal for bringing it to light.

It is with sadness that one of our members had to be outed. But it had to be done. Kudos to Pawngal, Lee, and probably another one or two that I haven't mentioned for bringing this to We other members here on this forum.

Soon this thread will be closed, and will go down in history. To be sure, it will no doubt be talked about in a future thread or three.

But as a reminder to all, Once honesty is forsaken, it cannot ever be returned to its original status.

I bid thee farewell Carl Evans/RingoKid and in my own way, I pray that you too will have learned and will somehow go forward in a positive way.



WuzzFuzz

well, yeah. but both statements were true. he said he was leaving n asked that we stay in touch via email.
he did say this was because of persecution from two unnamed persons.
i told him to stand n fight

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susie

One of the two must be himself. He was ultimately undone by his own posts. I don't believe any of us wanted this to happen. I can only hope he has learned not to prey on the simpathies of others.

If it should happen that some of us examine our own motives for why and what we post so be it but I'm confident of the timbre of folks here that will find no reason to change how we interact with each other. The heart, spirit, generosity and "eyes open" attitude of the members and powers that be of this forum is one that I rarely encounter in any group.

"A MAN'S TONGUE CAN DIG HIS OWN GRAVE" Randolph Scott- Cowboy

To throw a little more "fuel on the fire" before Lee locks the thread
For those that didn't follow Ringo's threads.

I just got a call from the vet. Shasta has passed away.

Thank you all for the many donations. Shasta's bills are fully paid.

Well, isn't this an interesting thread. I'm as sorry as I can be to hear this. I also feel tricked. I never sent any money, but this is still troubling.

Some of the members here have been the best I've ever dealt with on the internet. I'm truly grateful to be part of this community. That's what makes this so disturbing. I guess you just can't tell sometimes.

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Freedom isn't free.

Whether his original intention was to scam money from people is of little consequence.
He accepted donations from people based on lies.

If he took people's money based on lies in the sales forum here, he'd be banned & tagged with a "Banned SCAMMER" label under his name.
Spinning tales of cancer and dying loved ones is much worse, especially knowing that several people on this board have lost spouses, etc. to cancer. Lying about something like that is plain rotten.

I've seen the generosity of people on this forum and have been the beneficiary of the generosity of strangers myself a couple times.
The thought of somebody taking advantage of the genuine caring people on this forum is infuriating.

As far as I'm concerned, he is a liar and a cheat. If he never comes back and just fades away into the sunset, that'll be fine with me.

I used to counsel young police officers that the most important possession they own is their integrity. You’re born with it, but you have to hold on to it tightly and protect it because once you lose it, no matter how hard you try, you can never get it back.

Man, I just found this thread, and was totally unaware of any of this.

I don't think that I'm the only one here who actually received something from Carl. Last year he mailed me a package which contained a set of grill tools. I think several of us received them as well.

I'm not sure how that fits in with the big picture, but I know that it convinced me that there was a real person behind the screen name. His name and address were on the package. I have a photo of them somewhere, and the package was stamped from the city he claimed to be from.

Just trying to figure out what all this means. By the way, I just met a bunch of forum and SWCA members in the flesh at the N.E. Ohio "Bunching" last weekend, who can verify that I'm a real person!!! (Although I don't really look like Lee Marvin....Well, maybe just a little....).

I'm pretty sad about all of this. Jeeze... Most of us would like each other even with warts and all, if we just told the boring truth about ourselves!!

I guess that the first glimmer that I had was when pawngirl gave us the link to that website where that girl from the "gym" picture was actually lifted from. That was pretty revealing.

Jeeze...

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

That was what pretty much started my research. Then the picture of the "Spanish Pen Pal" led me to the Histomil forum and the rest is as posted.

RIP.......

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I am the Majority
How about u

Wow! I saw his cat died but never responded or looked again at the thread. He knew what he was doing obviously.

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Dum vivo cano

Well, I gotta add this: despite what seems to have occurred, this is one of, if not THE best run forums anywhere on the Internet, and that is partly because we have vigilant moderators, and of course Lee, .... But also because we "self-police" to a certain extent.

I refuse to allow something like this to cause me to distrust my fellow forum members. I have been the recipient of kindnesses from fellow members, and have in my small way contributed to others small fits of parts and so forth. I've bought items from fellow members, and never had a bad exchanges. I know that most of you are real people, and have an address book full of "real" names and addresses, along with emails, phone numbers, street addresses, etc. this is a great place to interact with like minded collectors, admirers, shooters, gunsmiths, reload ers, and so on.

And no one should be able to take any of that away from us.

Thanks to everyone who helped bring this to light, and I hope that "the Ringo Kid" will find peace wherever, and whoever he is.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I think we have covered it.
I do not think the ringo kid will reply.

Thankfully, we'll put this down now.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett