Re: RC: Re: BET - bank routing and acct #

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated Thu, 14 Jun 2001  9:57:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time, OasisArab@aol.com writes:

Quoting Tom Ivers:
<< I would scan this item for Cliff, but he has difficulty with JPGs and his   
legal advisor, Suddenly Silent Smith, can forge documents like this. The   
proof of the pudding will be in the Texas Account tomorrow.   
  
Bill, it's up to you now to wrap this up nice and tidy--put your people in   
touch with Edie. Heidi ain't talkin'.  >>

Actually, Tom, Heidi has a life (had to drive to Missoula, Montana and back yesterday, and then give a historical program on circuit-rider Brother Van to a local group here, so didn't have much time to fiddle with the computer), so it has taken some time to track down information related to me by the "ride manager" who called.  I might have been a bit faster if I had not promised you that I would keep the poor man's name confidential--then I could have delegated some of the work.

For openers, the gentleman who called me and introduced himself as a ride manager seemed to be a real nice guy.  But here's what I found out.  He did not know the names of any vets who had vetted the alleged rides.  (Any RM's out there not know who vets for them??)  After some hemming and hawing, he stated that there was only one "vet" but he wasn't a DVM--he was a veterinary assistant.  He also stated that this veterinary assistant who presided was the only one checking horses, yet Cliff has indicated that there were two sets of handwriting on the vet cards you scanned for him.  He gave me "details" of a ride in Pine Bluff, TX, on private property--didn't know the name of the owner.  (Again, any RM's out there not know who owns the land they ride on?)  As it turns out, Pine Bluff is not in TX, it is in Arkansas.  (Any RM's out there not know what state their rides are in??)  Returning to the topic of the "vet"--he did state that he was quite sure that the "veterinary assistan!
t" worked for a vet in Pine Bluf
f.  He also stated when asked that the ride was advertised locally at feed stores, etc.  He thought the ride was on May 21st, but he didn't know for sure.  (One more time--any RM's out there put on a ride in the last 3-4 weeks, and not know what the date was?)  Turns out May 21 was a Monday--not conclusive, but an odd date to hold a ride.  He volunteered the information that there were 22 riders, but didn't have names of any other than Bill.  He declined to give me a home phone number--just stated that if I had more questions, he could always be reached at his work number.  A reverse number check revealed the engineering firm at which he works.  I called the firm after hours, and got an extension directory.  Since Salmon HAS joined the modern world and now has real push button phones, I was able to explore the employee directory at his company.  Surprise, surprise--he had good reason to know Bill Proctor, as the two of them work for the same engineering firm in Dallas!  This g!
uy must be a real good buddy of 
Bill's to do this for him.

Now, none of this information is positively conclusive.  However, if you'd like me to continue this exercise, I can call every veterinarian in the vicinity of Pine Bluff to inquire as to whether any of their male assistants have "vetted" an endurance ride in the past month.  I can also contact every feed store in the vicinity and find out if they have ever had ride flyers up for this alleged event.  Edie also suggested some further questions for him, and I had intended to call him back and ask them.  (I have a strong suspicion that he was never asked to call Edie, despite the fact that Bill promised that he would--Bill knows that it would be far easier for Edie to check him out so close to the "action" than it is for me here 2000 miles away.)  However, I think this poor man in the engineering firm has been put up to enough, and I understand that Edie has far more conclusive evidence about this sham than what I have just stated.  So I'm not going to contact him again without go!
od cause.

Since you accepted Edie as the one to arbitrate this bet, I'll await her instructions as to where to send Cliff's money--but after talking with her on the phone, I have a strong hunch that I am simply awaiting Cliff's mailing address...  (I don't see much point in wiring at this point, as it will simply reduce the funds by more wire fees--and yes, Edie and Cliff, there is only $990 here as well, as my attorney's bank likewise took out $10 for accepting a wire transfer.)

Sorry if you got duped, Tom--seems like at least a few ridecampers were smart enough to smell a rat early on.  Too bad you were so bent on not listening.  For what it's worth, I still value some of your early research on fit racehorses.  I just hope that in the future, you check out your sources of information a little more thoroughly.  It never pays to insist that you are upholding the truth unless you know what the truth is.

Heidi (who thinks this whole affair should have been entitled "The Virtual Endurance Experience")