My first blog article back in January, How many sociopaths are in your town?, was about the fact that sociopaths can be found in any community. Experts estimate that 1% of the people in North America are sociopaths. This personality disorder is not defined by demographics. Sociopaths are male and female, rich and poor, any nationality, race or religion.
In that post I talked about the Lovefraud Risk Calculator, which estimates how many sociopaths are in a given community. (Click on the Risk Calculator link on Lovefraud.com.) I gave examples of a few cities—New York, Phoenix, and tiny Skippack, Pennsylvania. I was a bit nervous about including Skippack, population 706. I’ve driven through this cute country town many times—could there really be seven sociopaths living there?
It’s impossible to know for sure, but the behavior of some people a few miles down the road in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, is certainly shocking.
Board members steal $2.2 million
In March, 2006, three members of the Plymouth Community Ambulance Association were charged with stealing $2.2 million from the nonprofit ambulance service between 2001 and 2005.
According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Harvey Grossman, Jeff Cohen and George Gilliano were unpaid volunteers on the association’s board of directors. District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. said the men used the association’s funds as “their personal ATM machine.” Grossman is accused of stealing $1.3 million; Gilliano, $558,000; and Cohen, $337,751.
A fourth official, Ruthe Ann Volinskie, was charged last week, according to the Inquirer. She is accused of taking $109,672.
What did they allegedly spend the money on? Restaurants; imported cigars; alcohol; travel to Florida, Ohio, Las Vegas and Puerto Rico; clothing; home repairs; appliances; lingerie; jewelry; groceries; furniture; eBay; flowers; health insurance; payments on a Ford Explorer, Range Rover, and BMW; and more than $19,000 on a bat mitzvah party for Grossman’s daughter.
Are these people sociopaths? I don’t know. But as District Attorney Castor said, “The amount of avarice and arrogance is astounding.”
People with defective consciences can be anywhere. Even in Blue Bell.
I just read the “red flags” to look out for and noticed mine didn’t fit all of them…..he was brilliant, talented, able to brainwash, kill and defame to protect a high profile image. He uses clergy as his cover so you would never expect that a man of the cloth would be a sociopath. Others give HIM the credibility………In just a couple of years I lost nearly all I had and ended up in a wheelchair from stress damaging my nervous system. Animals died one at a time…….I was being
‘psyched out’, could not see any household records, got sick and so he had the power…..got sick over and over. He was well educated, and could be whomever he wished….a chameleon. The records show only one marriage, however, the behaviour was masked by this. He belonged to secret/male organizations to use them for power levels and hid me unless it suited his game. I still struggle with the loss and humiliation and in retrospect his behaviour was more like a Ted Bundy. I was able to get out after too many close calls..nothing could be proven……. he convinced me to marry him. I should have listened to my innerself. A preacher who led more than one life………and only for himself. See the movie Gaslight sometime. I still fear him wherever he may be and he continues to ‘get even’ indirectly since I caught him.
They are not all school dropouts…..they are not all young and
for sure the ‘steel cold eyes of no emotion’ is a key……and the staring is like being hypnotized. You find you answer the way he wants you to even if you are hurting yourself. Manipulation…..distortion and feeding on inflicting emotional and physical pain and humiliation.
Interesting that it was an ambulance company. Being an EMT and my sociopathic ex a paramedic. I have thought about the fact that sociopaths would be drawn to a life in EMS. First of all for the excitement, getting to drive fast with lights and sirens. Going to save lives, everyday is different, every call is different. (noticed MANY coworkers annoyed when someone calls for what they consider a “stupid” reason, they call them frequent fliers, and are thourghly annoyed by them.. acting as if they were not worthy of wasting their time). Second you have the factor of.. Built in respect and adulation associated with EMS, when you are in uniform, strangers will walk up to you and thank you for what you do. People automatically think you must be a ‘good guy’ because you save lives for a living. It also gives you credibility with law enforcement. as I found out the hard way.
Now knowing what I know.. In retrospect, I think quite a few of my ex coworkers are probably subcriminal psychopaths.
My warning to anyone would be.. Just because someone has a respectable job/profession (like saving lives) does not automatically mean they’re a good person… Could be a narcissist sociopath who loves the built in respect and constant adulation.
PS.. I also heard A WHOLE LOT of stories about fire fighters who cheat on their wives.
Judge the man, not what he does for a living!!!