The sportswriters have run out of adjectives. They can't find superlatives big enough to describe yesterday's incredible, improbable, amazing victory of the Philadelphia Eagles football team over their archrivals, the New York Giants. The Eagles were losing 31-10 with only 8:09 left in the game. They scored 28 points—four touchdowns—to win. The Eagles were powered, almost single-handedly, by quarterback Michael Vick. This is the same Michael Vick who, in 2007, was convicted running a dog-fighting ring and served 18 months in prison. I've been writing about Michael Vick since the Eagles hired him for the team in August 2009, a move that outraged thousands of fans, myself included. After …
Proving the truth in the Elizabeth Smart case
Brian David Mitchell, who supposedly believed he would gather a number of wives and lead them out of Babylon, was convicted last week of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart. This case has been in the media for years. Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped at knifepoint as she was sleeping in 2002, when she was 14 years old. Mitchell held her captive for nine months, and over that time, sexually assaulted her continuously. The facts of the federal case were never in dispute. What was disputed, however, was Mitchell's sanity. Some experts thought he was delusional. Some thought he was a psychopath. In the end, thankfully, the jury rejected the insanity defense. Mitchell, however, was good. He kept the …
It sometimes pays to act like a psychopath … sometimes not
Editor's note: Be sure to read both articles that Ox Drover links to. By Ox Drover I ran across two articles in NY Times that sort of got me to thinking about how it sometimes does pay off to act like a psychopath—in business or other ways. The following (quite long) article tells how an Internet seller terrorized his customer. I think that many people who have been the victims of psychopathic-like stalking can relate to this woman's story. The fact that it was over such a relatively small amount of money is amazing to me, though. The lengths to which this stalker pursued his victim are also amazing to me. Read A bully finds a pulpit on the web on NewYorkTimes.com. This fol …
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No shame: Disgraced sociopathic governor repackages himself
There's a little TV in the corner of my kitchen, and in the morning, as I make breakfast, I usually have it tuned to CNN. Today I was shocked to see Jim McGreevey, former governor of New Jersey, talking about his new involvement, an organization called “Faith in America.” You remember Jimbo. He was the governor who, after someone threatened to expose his alleged affair with a male staffer, decided to spill the beans himself. On August 12, 2004, with his traumatized wife at his side, McGreevey announced to the world, “I am a gay American.” I don't believe it. McGreevey isn't gay—he's a sociopath. Many sociopaths, if not most of them, are neither gay nor straight—they're sexual opport …
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Police seek con man Dwayne Keith Gardner
Police in Alpharetta, Georgia, have asked the public for assistance in tracking down Dwayne Keith Gardner, who has a history of conning women. Here's a report from Fox TV in Atlanta: Police say Dwayne Keith Gardner travels the southeast claiming to be an attorney for an NFL team, a former navy seal or a retired naval officer. He targets single older women by conning the women into lending him large sums of money. Gardner also steals physical items from his victims. After committing the theft, he flees the area, say police. Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for felony theft against Gardner. Gardner is believed to be in the Metro Atlanta region. Police believe there are other …
If only the media added educational to the sensational
A Lovefraud reader frequently sends me links to stories in the Daily Mail, a tabloid based in the United Kingdom. Here are some recent articles: Newlywed ”˜murdered his wife of just five months after she discovered his affairs on Facebook' (September 3, 2010) Bigamist who claimed to be decorated Falklands hero to woo fifth wife then fleeced her of £50,000 (September 6, 2010) Cheating husband bludgeoned wife to death before going Christmas shopping with mistress (September 9, 2010) Internet Romeo conned dozens of women out of £500,000 pretending to be terminally ill (September 15, 2010) Here at Lovefraud, we can recognize that the bad actors in all of these cases are likely soci …
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Freedom to lie: Stolen Valor Act ruled unconstitutional
The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 makes it illegal for anyone to claim military decorations that he or she did not earn. It's a straightforward law that states: Whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces of the United States, any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration, or medal, or any colorable imitation of such item shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than six months, or both. On August 17, 2010, the law was found to be unconstitutional by the United States Court of …
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The “productive sociopath”
Yesterday, Dr. Liane Leedom wrote that “false beliefs about sociopaths are very dangerous.” She quoted a judge who said: “Well I tell you, the world is full of productive sociopaths. Some of them hold high public office. Some of them are lawyers. It could be that a couple of them are judges, and sociopathy by itself is not necessarily a dangerous condition. It can be productive. I think it was Clarence Darrow who commented on that”¦” Today I'd like to present a case to prove her point. Over the last 10 days, the Philadelphia Inquirer has been reporting about Carl Greene, the executive director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA). The agency Green heads is the c …
A cautionary tale: Rock star psychologist gets it wrong
“When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail.” Abraham Maslow I have a book in my library by J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., called The Psychopathic Mind—Origins, Dynamics, and Treatment. I struggled through about half of it, and finally gave up. Meloy is a forensic psychologist, and the book appears to be for professionals in the field—he's written 10 books and authored or co-authored 180 peer-reviewed papers. Meloy's specialties include stalking, violence, threat assessment, mass murder, serial killing and sexual homicide. When mass murders go on a rampage, the media often turn to Meloy for commentary. After the Fort Hood shootings in 2009, for example, ABC …
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Quarterback Michael Vick possibly in trouble again
Almost a year ago, Lovefraud wrote about Michael Vick, the NFL quarterback who was convicted of running a dog fighting ring, released from jail and hired by the Philadelphia Eagles. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) objected to Vick's reinstatement in the NFL. They wrote to Roger Goodell, league commissioner, stating that the quarterback fit the profile for antisocial personality disorder. Last year's Lovefraud article asked the question, Can Michael Vick change his behavior? The answer, unsurprisingly, may be no. Unlike most sociopaths, Michael Vick is subject to a very public probation. Everyone knows he did time. Everyone knows that for him to keep his job, …