Ashley York and Otis (1 Viewer)

'Otis said:

'Britney Spears said:

Otis> interesting story. We're going to need to see the pics you have (since the blog deleted theirs) please.

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He mentioned a pic of her riding a donkey. I saw those on Facebook a couple years ago. She's super, super hot in those pics. But the pics constantly changed over time. And what was funny is that it wasn't even the same person in all her pics.I dug into my archive from 2005 and found a few pics. I'll try and upload them. They're of different chicks. That was one thing I remember -- back in the day I remember telling Righetti and the fellas that all her pics look like different people. She basically would just post pics of a bunch of hot similar looking blonde girls, and sometimes with angles such that you couldn't easily tell they were different people. But the Greece photos were by far the hottest because they were bikini pics of her riding a donkey and a vespa etc. Sadly I don't think I have those.

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Sounds a lot like Mrs. DaVinci to me.

'RenegadeGM said:

'DrJ said:

'Steve Tasker said:

'Mr. Pickles said:

'DrJ said:

The payoff on this one kind of sucked as well. It was way better before he hired a team of detectives and then eventually gave up.

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I guess it would have been satisfying for them to catch them, but I found it intriguing that they couldn't put it all together. The hardest parts to read were his emails to Ashley. I can't believe he shared something that pathetic with the rest of the world. Much like Manti Te'o, he seemed to live in this duality of understanding it was a hoax but talking about it like it was real.

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The human mind is a fascinating thing. You want something to be real so badly that you ignore all of the warning signs.

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Like when he's trying to come up with a "reasonable" explanation why no one at Elle knows her, but it's still possible she works there. Agree with Pickles, the emails were definitely a big part of the letdown. He does a good job with the setup. You get this sense that something big is going to happen when Troy gets involved. He gets a solid lead in the Kim Daniels thing. And then, he just instantly pops the balloon with those emails in one shot. If I was one of the people on his team that had put man hours into this, that would have been a pretty big letdown.

The imagining Harvard chick riding a donkey in Greece part instead of even trying to follow that lead pretty much blew as well. It just seems that they put a lot of effort in to give up so quickly on the few solid leads that did turn up. As a whole, big thumbs down on the second half of the story.

Incidentally, I've had several Facebook friends requests from hot women, but I just reject when I have no idea who they are. I guess you might react differently if you were single, but it seems pretty strange how people get themselves so involved in something that obviously has a high probability of being a scam.

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He had me thinking there for a bit that it was going to BE Troy. Anyone else think that for a bit?

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Yes...the practice with private caller...then getting the call from a dude when he just described troy's voice.

'WhatDoIKnow said:

Interesting stories. Hell, I would want to meet up with the real person just to buy them drinks and congratulate them. "Well played."I would guess it is an attention thing. I think there are quite of few girls on the dating sites that have no intention of dating. They just like the attention.

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You might end up dead.

'Otis said:

'Britney Spears said:

Otis> interesting story. We're going to need to see the pics you have (since the blog deleted theirs) please.

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He mentioned a pic of her riding a donkey. I saw those on Facebook a couple years ago. She's super, super hot in those pics. But the pics constantly changed over time. And what was funny is that it wasn't even the same person in all her pics.I dug into my archive from 2005 and found a few pics. I'll try and upload them. They're of different chicks. That was one thing I remember -- back in the day I remember telling Righetti and the fellas that all her pics look like different people. She basically would just post pics of a bunch of hot similar looking blonde girls, and sometimes with angles such that you couldn't easily tell they were different people. But the Greece photos were by far the hottest because they were bikini pics of her riding a donkey and a vespa etc. Sadly I don't think I have those.

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Seemed like from the blog, that later on they had pictures of the same two girls (or this guy and his crack crew of detectives didn't notice they were different people). So they were definitely getting a better backing story as they progressed.

'DrJ said:

'Steve Tasker said:

'Mr. Pickles said:

'DrJ said:

The payoff on this one kind of sucked as well. It was way better before he hired a team of detectives and then eventually gave up.

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I guess it would have been satisfying for them to catch them, but I found it intriguing that they couldn't put it all together. The hardest parts to read were his emails to Ashley. I can't believe he shared something that pathetic with the rest of the world. Much like Manti Te'o, he seemed to live in this duality of understanding it was a hoax but talking about it like it was real.

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The human mind is a fascinating thing. You want something to be real so badly that you ignore all of the warning signs.

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Like when he's trying to come up with a "reasonable" explanation why no one at Elle knows her, but it's still possible she works there. Agree with Pickles, the emails were definitely a big part of the letdown. He does a good job with the setup. You get this sense that something big is going to happen when Troy gets involved. He gets a solid lead in the Kim Daniels thing. And then, he just instantly pops the balloon with those emails in one shot. If I was one of the people on his team that had put man hours into this, that would have been a pretty big letdown. The imagining Harvard chick riding a donkey in Greece part instead of even trying to follow that lead pretty much blew as well. It just seems that they put a lot of effort in to give up so quickly on the few solid leads that did turn up. As a whole, big thumbs down on the second half of the story.Incidentally, I've had several Facebook friends requests from hot women, but I just reject when I have no idea who they are. I guess you might react differently if you were single, but it seems pretty strange how people get themselves so involved in something that obviously has a high probability of being a scam.

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I don't think the scams were as rampant in the earlier days of Facebook, etc. so tougher to assume that was what was happening.

'Britney Spears said:

'Otis said:

'Britney Spears said:

Otis> interesting story. We're going to need to see the pics you have (since the blog deleted theirs) please.

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He mentioned a pic of her riding a donkey. I saw those on Facebook a couple years ago. She's super, super hot in those pics. But the pics constantly changed over time. And what was funny is that it wasn't even the same person in all her pics.I dug into my archive from 2005 and found a few pics. I'll try and upload them. They're of different chicks. That was one thing I remember -- back in the day I remember telling Righetti and the fellas that all her pics look like different people. She basically would just post pics of a bunch of hot similar looking blonde girls, and sometimes with angles such that you couldn't easily tell they were different people. But the Greece photos were by far the hottest because they were bikini pics of her riding a donkey and a vespa etc. Sadly I don't think I have those.

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Seemed like from the blog, that later on they had pictures of the same two girls (or this guy and his crack crew of detectives didn't notice they were different people). So they were definitely getting a better backing story as they progressed.

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It definitely seems that it became a more intricate story over time. I think I was in on the ground floor before other people were involved.What's craziest to me about the guy's story is that it requires not only one sociopath involved -- who presumably got off just for the attention she got out of all this -- but now a second person to be actively involved in the Ashley York machine, possibly a guy, possibly some other woman. What the heck did this second person do it for??

'SmoovySmoov said:

'Otis said:

'mr roboto said:

'SacramentoBob said:

'mr roboto said:

The FFA thread is gone. Did Otis get sucked into Ashley York?

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I don't think much sucking in happened.

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That was a softball. Reading that blog saga of York listed below, that's really weird. Does someone just get off doing that?

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Apparently. Over the years I heard from one other dude who got sucked in. But this blog is news to me. It explains a lot. But still nobody has found the chick. I'd love to meet the real chick behind this and spend an hour at a bar with her understanding what the hell motivated her to do this sort of thing.

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I love the fact that Otis can't even fathom the possibility of it being a dude.

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I spoke to her on the phone a bunch and it was definitely a woman's voice. I guess it's still possible that it was a dude with a woman's voice. To me the more likely explanation based on the voice was not a dude but a fairly unattractive woman.

So basically you were giving(whoever it was)the phone bone in hopes of driving the real thing home at some point?Did you send her(whoever) money or did I miss this part somewhere?

By the way, his ultimate finding that this was a couple of girls from Harvard involved in running this makes sense for one reason: she was definitely smart. I can confirm his observations about her being witty, articulate, sharp, knowledgeable about a lot of topics, etc. So it wouldn't stun me if this was a Harvard grad I spoke to.

'tom22406 said:

So basically you were giving(whoever it was)the phone bone in hopes of driving the real thing home at some point?Did you send her(whoever) money or did I miss this part somewhere?

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I guess the first, yes.No money involved anywhere, no money ever requested. I just found a few e-mails from her back in 2005 -- apparently at one point she asked me to read a cover letter for her (I presume for a fake job) and give her comments. Here it is (and it's a pretty awful letter, particularly if she's a Harvard grad):

My name is Ashley York and I am interested in an entry-level reporter position for your station. Currently, I am a recent graduate from Georgetown University with a major in Public Relations and a minor in Law. I have taken many broadcast classes which I feel will be valuable to NBC.My coursework has prepared me well in learning how to produce, edit and report different stories. I have learned specific skills such as field producing, lighting, audio, video graphics, camera operations and video editing. This past year, I learned how to shape a newscast not just as a producer, but also as an editor, anchor, associate producer, writer, and director. I write, edit, report and produce news for television. I also emphasized on reporting, writing, shooting, editing and producing television news packages. Throughout my final year, I have gained valuable skills in editing using Avid Newscutter and linear editing, also writing our scripts and run-downs on the ENPS system.After living in Washington DC for three years and studying abroad in Europe, I feel that I have gained a lot of perspective on the media today. I consider myself to be hard working, determined, outgoing with a lot of positive energy. All of these qualities I hope would be an asset in reporting at NBC.I welcome the opportunity to meet with you for an informational interview. Attached is my resume with my resume tape. Thank you very much for your consideration and I look forward to hearing back from you.Sincerely,Ashley York

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The cover letter mentions a bunch of film editing tools. Hmmm...http://talktvtalkfilmwithashleyelaineyork.blogspot.com

I'm picturing a phone bank of women who all sound the same. First they have a daily briefing on all the fish on the line, then they divy up all the numbers and start making phone love with lonely/horn dog guys.The end game would be finding a fish with a lot of money gullible enough to send large sums of money to his destined love interest.

Fake profile thingy here?My link

Ashley YorkStyle DirectorDiane von FurstenbergEducationBAGeorgetown UniversityExperienceCreative & Style ContributorELLE MagazineFashion & Style ContributorELLE Magazine

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'dozer said:

I'm picturing a phone bank of women who all sound the same. First they have a daily briefing on all the fish on the line, then they divy up all the numbers and start making phone love with lonely/horn dog guys.The end game would be finding a fish with a lot of money gullible enough to send large sums of money to his destined love interest.

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That could be. From the stories we're seeing they haven't asked anyone for money, but it's possible that they got a whale...

Considering the number of 'victims' here and the time involved it seems like there'd need to be many people involved in the scam instead of just two. Maybe they set up a back story that's the same? Still no idea what the scam is though.

'Otis said:

The cover letter mentions a bunch of film editing tools. Hmmm...http://talktvtalkfilmwithashleyelaineyork.blogspot.com

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Shoot her over an e-mail that is posted in that link and see what you find out.

'dozer said:

I'm picturing a phone bank of women who all sound the same. First they have a daily briefing on all the fish on the line, then they divy up all the numbers and start making phone love with lonely/horn dog guys.The end game would be finding a fish with a lot of money gullible enough to send large sums of money to his destined love interest.

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Beat me to it. Exactly what I'm thinking. Otis wasn't gullible/rich/connected enough so he got weeded out before the end game.

'wdcrob said:

Considering the number of 'victims' here and the time involved it seems like there'd need to be many people involved in the scam instead of just two. Maybe they set up a back story that's the same? Still no idea what the scam is though.

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The scam usually tends to be just playing with peoples emotions.

I just remembered her supposed middle name was "Lorelai."

Here's a Google plus profile with one of her pics: My link

Note this was not the same one as the one shown in the Greece bikini photos (the girl in those photos was like an offdee 9; this one isn't unattractive but isn't as good).

Her Twitter account. I recall this photo with the stupid thing tied on her head:https://twitter.com/ashleylorelai

'wdcrob said:

Considering the number of 'victims' here and the time involved it seems like there'd need to be many people involved in the scam instead of just two. Maybe they set up a back story that's the same? Still no idea what the scam is though.

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This to me remains the most bizarre part.

She looks psycho.

Can't follow her on Twitter, but the cached Google page for her Twitter account shows that she's still active on Twitter and still apparently up to her old tricks:

My link

It includes her being at pretty much every big fashion event (Victoria's Secret fashion show for example); hopping between NY, London and Paris; Christmas in London; rooting for the Hoyas. Etc.

'identikit said:

She looks psycho.

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I don't think we know what she really looks like.

'Otis said:

'identikit said:

She looks psycho.

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I don't think we know what she really looks like.

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OK, she sounds psycho.

Good God. A fake cover letter? Freaking crazy stuff.

'Otis said:

Can't follow her on Twitter, but the cached Google page for her Twitter account shows that she's still active on Twitter and still apparently up to her old tricks:My linkIt includes her being at pretty much every big fashion event (Victoria's Secret fashion show for example); hopping between NY, London and Paris; Christmas in London; rooting for the Hoyas. Etc.

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You're already smarter than the other guy.

'wdcrob said:

'dozer said:

I'm picturing a phone bank of women who all sound the same. First they have a daily briefing on all the fish on the line, then they divy up all the numbers and start making phone love with lonely/horn dog guys.The end game would be finding a fish with a lot of money gullible enough to send large sums of money to his destined love interest.

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Beat me to it. Exactly what I'm thinking. Otis wasn't gullible/rich/connected enough so he got weeded out before the end game.

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Still active. Good grief. Yeah, I figured the lazy thing to do would be to keep "Ashley" and come up with a bunch of different last names. I think a commenter on that John Finger blog mentioned an Ashley King as well.

I think she used to go by Pookay82 as her handle on something (IM? I forget).

chet> you don't know any Internet Ashleys, do you?

Dang, this keeps getting more intriguing. Otis is also apparently good at stalking!

'Otis said:

Twitpics

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I was really excited when I first saw this posting. But, it was twitpic instead.

'Otis said:

I just remembered her supposed middle name was "Lorelai."Here's a Google plus profile with one of her pics: My linkNote this was not the same one as the one shown in the Greece bikini photos (the girl in those photos was like an offdee 9; this one isn't unattractive but isn't as good).

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Must have been taken at the AVN Awards. Ron Jeremy is also there.

Damn...

Conversation I had with some dude who contacted me on Friendster about her in 2008 -- he was reaching out to all the dudes who were linked to her to fill them in:> > > > > He wrote:> > > > > > hey buddy heads up, ashley york is a totally contrived identity... she's some crazy chick who strings guys along over the internet/email/phone... so...word...to...the...wise!> > > > Otis wrote:> > > > >> > > > > I'm well aware -- thanks man. I had been chatting with her over the internet/phone/e-mail for a about a year or two before I finally cut her off. She at one point used to call me several times a day at work.> > > > > Crrrraaaaaazy.> > > > >> > > He wrote:> > > > Cool man. Almost none of these other guys knew. They all thought they were like the special person (like I did). So good for you for wising up sooner. I'd only been talking to her a couple weeks before stuff didn't add up and I began checking stuff out...and then when she started setting up dinner dates and then didn't even bother calling to give a fake excuse, i was like, well how many other guys are out there doing this? and the answer is like...70. haha.> > > >> > > > yeah, she's nutso. what was it that clued you in, may i ask?> > > >> > > > glad you like the page! revenge can be pretty fun, no? especially when it's altruistic, too!> > > >> > Otis wrote:> > >> > > By the way, I'm assuming you have it but, if not, her AIM is "pookay82" and her cell number is (201) 638-3893> > >> > > May be worth distributing those to the club in case they want to hand it out around town. Could make for some funny payback...> > >> > > In fact, I think I'll distribute to some of my shadier internet friends and see sparks fly...> > >> He wrote:> > Haha. That's great--yeah, I had her info, but thanks for passing it on. Maybe I'll put it up on Ashley Sporks new page.> >> > Well you seem normal, so here's who I am:> >> > [HE PROVIDED HIS REAL MYSPACE PAGE HERE]> >Otis wrote:>> Cool.>> Yeah you should most definitely post her info on that page. Would be too funny. Though I expect she'll report it and try to get your page shut down pretty quickly. I suspect this is a big part of her life.>> Man, you are in Cali and you were working this??? That's dedication. I was supposedly only a few avenues away in midtown Manhattan, which made this fairly easy.>He wrote: Haha, well yeah she got me by saying we went to school together and she remembered me... and she had all these details, so it seemed real. She could cite professors and classes and dorms and stuff. I mean, you could just look it up, I guess--but I wasn't really in the place then to wonder who would do such a thing. Still, even now, maybe she did go to school with me. I dunno.Fortunately, we only started talking in July and I called her on this stuff in late august.So, anyway, she said she was in LA a lot, so it didn't seem like a terrible idea to see what was what and see if maybe something could happen--given how bright and fun she seemed.Yea, I was wondering what might happen if I posted that info... I mean, I wouldn't mind it if they shut down the page since it's already sort of suited its purpose--and she did take down her myspace page (or myspace did...). To be honest, I felt great about that and closed the book on this, but then when someone I was talking to there said she was on Friendster, I knew my work was only half done. ;-P i'm sure with all these guys on the line, she never suspected it'd blow up like this. haha.

Just a question: Have you saved everything you've ever done on the Internet or something?

Looks like Otis found an unintended love connection there.

'Otis said:

I just found a few e-mails from her back in 2005 -- apparently at one point she asked me to read a cover letter for her (I presume for a fake job) and give her comments. Here it is (and it's a pretty awful letter, particularly if she's a Harvard grad):

My name is Ashley York and I am interested in an entry-level reporter position for your station. Currently, I am a recent graduate from Georgetown University with a major in Public Relations and a minor in Law. I have taken many broadcast classes which I feel will be valuable to NBC.

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Georgetown doesn't have anything like either of those programs. No undergrad classes in public relations or law (or broadcasting), never mind majors or minors.

'Maurile Tremblay said:

'Otis said:

I just found a few e-mails from her back in 2005 -- apparently at one point she asked me to read a cover letter for her (I presume for a fake job) and give her comments. Here it is (and it's a pretty awful letter, particularly if she's a Harvard grad):

My name is Ashley York and I am interested in an entry-level reporter position for your station. Currently, I am a recent graduate from Georgetown University with a major in Public Relations and a minor in Law. I have taken many broadcast classes which I feel will be valuable to NBC.

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Georgetown doesn't have anything like either of those programs. No undergrad classes in public relations or law (or broadcasting), never mind majors or minors.

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You've found another hole in our giant wedge of swiss cheese.

'Otis said:

'Maurile Tremblay said:

'Otis said:

I just found a few e-mails from her back in 2005 -- apparently at one point she asked me to read a cover letter for her (I presume for a fake job) and give her comments. Here it is (and it's a pretty awful letter, particularly if she's a Harvard grad):

My name is Ashley York and I am interested in an entry-level reporter position for your station. Currently, I am a recent graduate from Georgetown University with a major in Public Relations and a minor in Law. I have taken many broadcast classes which I feel will be valuable to NBC.

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Georgetown doesn't have anything like either of those programs. No undergrad classes in public relations or law (or broadcasting), never mind majors or minors.

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You've found another hole in our giant wedge of swiss cheese.

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Seriously, I'm starting to think that she may not even be very pretty.

'Mr. Pickles said:

'Otis said:

'Britney Spears said:

Otis> interesting story. We're going to need to see the pics you have (since the blog deleted theirs) please.

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He mentioned a pic of her riding a donkey. I saw those on Facebook a couple years ago. She's super, super hot in those pics. But the pics constantly changed over time. And what was funny is that it wasn't even the same person in all her pics.I dug into my archive from 2005 and found a few pics. I'll try and upload them. They're of different chicks. That was one thing I remember -- back in the day I remember telling Righetti and the fellas that all her pics look like different people. She basically would just post pics of a bunch of hot similar looking blonde girls, and sometimes with angles such that you couldn't easily tell they were different people. But the Greece photos were by far the hottest because they were bikini pics of her riding a donkey and a vespa etc. Sadly I don't think I have those.

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Sounds a lot like Mrs. DaVinci to me.

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Let's not go there.

'RenegadeGM said:

Just a question: Have you saved everything you've ever done on the Internet or something?

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My interns keep a file.

'SacramentoBob said:

'Mr. Pickles said:

'Otis said:

'Britney Spears said:

Otis> interesting story. We're going to need to see the pics you have (since the blog deleted theirs) please.

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He mentioned a pic of her riding a donkey. I saw those on Facebook a couple years ago. She's super, super hot in those pics. But the pics constantly changed over time. And what was funny is that it wasn't even the same person in all her pics.I dug into my archive from 2005 and found a few pics. I'll try and upload them. They're of different chicks. That was one thing I remember -- back in the day I remember telling Righetti and the fellas that all her pics look like different people. She basically would just post pics of a bunch of hot similar looking blonde girls, and sometimes with angles such that you couldn't easily tell they were different people. But the Greece photos were by far the hottest because they were bikini pics of her riding a donkey and a vespa etc. Sadly I don't think I have those.

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Sounds a lot like Mrs. DaVinci to me.

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Let's not go there.

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It's time.

'Mr. Pickles said:

'SacramentoBob said:

'Mr. Pickles said:

'Otis said:

'Britney Spears said:

Otis> interesting story. We're going to need to see the pics you have (since the blog deleted theirs) please.

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He mentioned a pic of her riding a donkey. I saw those on Facebook a couple years ago. She's super, super hot in those pics. But the pics constantly changed over time. And what was funny is that it wasn't even the same person in all her pics.I dug into my archive from 2005 and found a few pics. I'll try and upload them. They're of different chicks. That was one thing I remember -- back in the day I remember telling Righetti and the fellas that all her pics look like different people. She basically would just post pics of a bunch of hot similar looking blonde girls, and sometimes with angles such that you couldn't easily tell they were different people. But the Greece photos were by far the hottest because they were bikini pics of her riding a donkey and a vespa etc. Sadly I don't think I have those.

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Sounds a lot like Mrs. DaVinci to me.

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Let's not go there.

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It's time.

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Possibly qualifies as a greatest mystery.

'SacramentoBob said:

'Mr. Pickles said:

'SacramentoBob said:

'Mr. Pickles said:

'Otis said:

'Britney Spears said:

Otis> interesting story. We're going to need to see the pics you have (since the blog deleted theirs) please.

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He mentioned a pic of her riding a donkey. I saw those on Facebook a couple years ago. She's super, super hot in those pics. But the pics constantly changed over time. And what was funny is that it wasn't even the same person in all her pics.I dug into my archive from 2005 and found a few pics. I'll try and upload them. They're of different chicks. That was one thing I remember -- back in the day I remember telling Righetti and the fellas that all her pics look like different people. She basically would just post pics of a bunch of hot similar looking blonde girls, and sometimes with angles such that you couldn't easily tell they were different people. But the Greece photos were by far the hottest because they were bikini pics of her riding a donkey and a vespa etc. Sadly I don't think I have those.

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Sounds a lot like Mrs. DaVinci to me.

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Let's not go there.

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It's time.

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Possibly qualifies as a greatest mystery.

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It's top five. *** OFFICIAL ***

I imagine a database containing a lot of the information in these dialogues could be useful. If you branch this out and run various scams to a lot of other target audiences you'd probably have a lot of useful information at the end of the day. Just a question of what value and how much it cost to gather. Making the target run all over the country doesn't make sense though, unless that's just a part of the information gathering process. The amount and value of information you can gather probably directly correlates to how long dude stays engaged in the thing, how far you can take it, etc. They probably have a map of every detail of Troy's buddy's life as well as his internal psyche. And once the mark disengages it's relatively low budget after that point. Hard to imagine this scales well given how much time they spend on a mark, but if you could find a way to do this efficiently, dunno.