I've had glowing references for candidates that turned out to be utterly and irredeemably unsuitable. References don't mean a darned thing unless you have at l

I've had glowing references for candidates that turned out to be utterly and irredeemably unsuitable. References don't mean a darned thing unless you have at least some familiarity with the qualifications and motives of the people giving the reference _and_ are willing to talk to them in depth long enough to get the whole picture about the candidate.