5 ms·

The Lives and Lies of a Professional Impostor

75 points by rmcpherson 11y ago

rcurry 11y ago
This reminds me of a great documentary I watched a few months ago, about this guy named Frédéric Bourdin who managed to impersonate (from a jail cell in Spain) a boy who had gone missing in Texas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imposter_(2012_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imposter_(2012_film) These guys are creepy, for sure, but also fascinating for their ability to assume new personas at the drop of a hat.
- jeffmould 11y ago
  Just watched that the other night. Had never heard of the case previously, but it was interesting to see how far he was able to get with such ease. It goes to show emotions can weaken your senses of reality.
- mtalantikite 11y ago
  There was a great New Yorker article a while back about him. I'm sure the documentary covers the same stuff as the article, but in case anyone wants to read it: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/08/11/the-chameleon-annals-of-crime-david-grann http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/08/11/the-chameleon-a...
  - salmonet 11y ago
    The documentary is so good though I recommend going into it knowing nothing
rudolf0 11y ago
Pretty interesting article. The guy's clearly quite intelligent. He could have been a successful (albeit likely sociopathic) entrepreneur or scientist if his life circumstances were a little different.
- chris_wot 11y ago
  He would have ruined just as many lives.
  - rudolf0 11y ago
    Maybe. Considering the rest of his family sounds somewhat normal, it's possible a big reason for his behavior is a result of environmental rather than genetic causes. Perhaps with a different upbringing, he would have a different personality.
    - chris_wot 11y ago
      Psychopathy isn't necessarily inherited.
      - rudolf0 11y ago
        No, not necessarily, but in many cases it has a significant genetic factor. Sometimes that genetic factor doesn't result in truly sociopathic behavior (perhaps just courageousness or diminished emotionality and affect) until it's combined with environmental factors. And sometimes someone without any of the known genetic factors becomes psychopathic due to a terrible upbringing. But I think there's evidence of a genetic component for "true" sociopaths/psychopaths in a significant proportion of cases.
TaylorGood 11y ago
Stopped reading halfway through.. made my stomach sick. More specifically, the part where he tranfers his hosts SSN in court through forged documents while he was staying there.
chris_wot 11y ago
This guy seems to tick most of the boxes on the Psychopathy Checklist: [1] Facet 1: Interpersonal Glibness/superficial charm - needed to be an imposter with this much success, for so long Grandiose sense of self-worth - evidence of this in spades in the article Pathological lying - definitely Cunning/manipulative - as an imposter, definitely Facet 2: Affective Lack of remorse or guilt - none whatsoever Emotionally shallow - seems to be the case Callous/lack of empathy - look at the way he treated his family! Failure to accept responsibility for own actions - boasted nobody knows who he really is, doesn't care about what he did to his victims Facet 3: Lifestyle Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom - pretty self-evident, look at what he was doing! Parasitic lifestyle - the very definition of an imposter of this nature Lack of realistic, long-term goals - definitely, went from victi to victim, got caught, did jail time, went straight back to it Impulsivity - pretty obvious I'd say Irresponsibility - highly! Facet 4: Antisocial Poor behavioral controls - obviously! Early behavioral problems - detailed in story, early larceny and violent crime with a crossbow Juvenile delinquency - as above Revocation of conditional release - yup Criminal versatility - absolutely! Many short-term marital relationships - no evidence of this, but used Angela K. Stamm Promiscuous sexual behavior - no way of knowing --- In short, this is a very dangerous guy and I'd say he has no prospect of rehabilitation. It's not often you read a story of someone who satisfies every criteria and partially matches one, with the final one uncertain without delving into their past deeply. I'm a believer in restorative justice, but in this case, for the good of society, it would be best not to let him out for a very, very long time. I'd very cautious of accepting his contrition because it was qualified and it is almost certain he doesn't care about the terrible things he put his victims through. Psychopaths know how to manipulate, and there is definitely something wrong with them. They literally have no conscience! 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy_Checklist https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy_Checklist
- chris_wot 11y ago
  I know I shouldn't comment on being downvoted, but I'm genuinely curious as to what is so wrong or offensive about this post! It went from 2 to now 0, so evidently there are people who agree with me.
  - 11y ago
MollyR 11y ago
The line about how people want to believe other people and how he took advantage of that really freaked me out. I'm definitely thinking twice about simply listening and believing people.
- chris_wot 11y ago
  Good!

75 points by rmcpherson 11y ago

This reminds me of a great documentary I watched a few months ago, about this guy named Frédéric Bourdin who managed to impersonate (from a jail cell in Spain) a boy who had gone missing in Texas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imposter_(2012_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imposter_(2012_film) These guys are creepy, for sure, but also fascinating for their ability to assume new personas at the drop of a hat.

jeffmould 11y ago
Just watched that the other night. Had never heard of the case previously, but it was interesting to see how far he was able to get with such ease. It goes to show emotions can weaken your senses of reality.
mtalantikite 11y ago
There was a great New Yorker article a while back about him. I'm sure the documentary covers the same stuff as the article, but in case anyone wants to read it: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/08/11/the-chameleon-annals-of-crime-david-grann http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/08/11/the-chameleon-a...
- salmonet 11y ago
  The documentary is so good though I recommend going into it knowing nothing

rudolf0 11y ago

Pretty interesting article. The guy's clearly quite intelligent. He could have been a successful (albeit likely sociopathic) entrepreneur or scientist if his life circumstances were a little different.

chris_wot 11y ago
He would have ruined just as many lives.
- rudolf0 11y ago
  Maybe. Considering the rest of his family sounds somewhat normal, it's possible a big reason for his behavior is a result of environmental rather than genetic causes. Perhaps with a different upbringing, he would have a different personality.
  - chris_wot 11y ago
    Psychopathy isn't necessarily inherited.
    - rudolf0 11y ago
      No, not necessarily, but in many cases it has a significant genetic factor. Sometimes that genetic factor doesn't result in truly sociopathic behavior (perhaps just courageousness or diminished emotionality and affect) until it's combined with environmental factors. And sometimes someone without any of the known genetic factors becomes psychopathic due to a terrible upbringing. But I think there's evidence of a genetic component for "true" sociopaths/psychopaths in a significant proportion of cases.

TaylorGood 11y ago

Stopped reading halfway through.. made my stomach sick. More specifically, the part where he tranfers his hosts SSN in court through forged documents while he was staying there.

chris_wot 11y ago

This guy seems to tick most of the boxes on the Psychopathy Checklist: [1] Facet 1: Interpersonal Glibness/superficial charm - needed to be an imposter with this much success, for so long Grandiose sense of self-worth - evidence of this in spades in the article Pathological lying - definitely Cunning/manipulative - as an imposter, definitely Facet 2: Affective Lack of remorse or guilt - none whatsoever Emotionally shallow - seems to be the case Callous/lack of empathy - look at the way he treated his family! Failure to accept responsibility for own actions - boasted nobody knows who he really is, doesn't care about what he did to his victims Facet 3: Lifestyle Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom - pretty self-evident, look at what he was doing! Parasitic lifestyle - the very definition of an imposter of this nature Lack of realistic, long-term goals - definitely, went from victi to victim, got caught, did jail time, went straight back to it Impulsivity - pretty obvious I'd say Irresponsibility - highly! Facet 4: Antisocial Poor behavioral controls - obviously! Early behavioral problems - detailed in story, early larceny and violent crime with a crossbow Juvenile delinquency - as above Revocation of conditional release - yup Criminal versatility - absolutely! Many short-term marital relationships - no evidence of this, but used Angela K. Stamm Promiscuous sexual behavior - no way of knowing --- In short, this is a very dangerous guy and I'd say he has no prospect of rehabilitation. It's not often you read a story of someone who satisfies every criteria and partially matches one, with the final one uncertain without delving into their past deeply. I'm a believer in restorative justice, but in this case, for the good of society, it would be best not to let him out for a very, very long time. I'd very cautious of accepting his contrition because it was qualified and it is almost certain he doesn't care about the terrible things he put his victims through. Psychopaths know how to manipulate, and there is definitely something wrong with them. They literally have no conscience! 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy_Checklist https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy_Checklist

chris_wot 11y ago
I know I shouldn't comment on being downvoted, but I'm genuinely curious as to what is so wrong or offensive about this post! It went from 2 to now 0, so evidently there are people who agree with me.
- 11y ago

MollyR 11y ago

The line about how people want to believe other people and how he took advantage of that really freaked me out. I'm definitely thinking twice about simply listening and believing people.

chris_wot 11y ago
Good!