Mike Harvey
Veteran
Worlds worst Ebay auction. Ever. It even involved NCIS.
Friend/Coworker was/is a big into ham radios and Rolex watches (odd combo, I know). He also had a knack for finding ridiculously good deals on radios and watches and turning around and selling them for a handy profit. All legitimate. Made enough money to buy a tricked out VW Jetta (he's also into European cars). Anyways, so he managed get his hands on a batch of Motorola radios and turns around and sells them on Ebay for a nice profit. One of the buyers turned out to be a local "Private Investigator" (and I use that term loosely). Friend/Coworker is adamant in both the auction listing and in correspondence with said "PI" that these radios do not come with any pre-programmed frequencies, that you need to program the frequencies you want yourself. Fine and good.
Two weeks after the sale to said "PI", the guy files a complaint with Paypal about getting defective goods. Friend/Coworker asks what going on, and the PI says he's not picking up anything. Coworker asks if he programmed in the frequencies. "No, you never said I had to do that. Why would you sell me a radio that didn't have any frequencies?" Coworker points out to both him and Paypal that that was made adamant in both the listing and correspondence (he made sure to only communicate through Ebay). Guy says he doesn't care, and threatens if he doesn't get his money back, he "and some of his M.P. friends from McChord Air Force Base (which is close to where he lives) were going to drive up to Seattle and take care of business". Coworker reminds "PI" that's a bad idea, as we work at a TV station with a decent sized news department.
"PI" tells coworker that if they meet at a McD's in between locations and just program in some frequencies, he'll drop it. Coworker, frustrated with the "PI", agrees. So they meet, and coworker starts programing the radio. As they do this, "PI" whips out his new Glock 17 pistol... in full view of everyone... to show off to coworker. (Side note, said G17 was kept in his pants without a holster, an absolutely stupid thing to do, as it too easy for something to get caught in the trigger well and cause the gun to go off... but I digress...).
They part ways, the guy removes his complaint and Coworker files a complaint with Lakewood PD (yes, the same Lakewood PD that just had four officers murdered, but again I digress...). Officer on phone tells Coworker that they are well aware of "PI", and that this isn't the first complaint they have received about him, but there is nothing they can do. Coworker shortly afterward shows me "PI's" website, which shows him in front of his vehicles with flashing blue lights (which is hugely illegal in the State of WA... flashing blues are reserved for Police, Fire, and EMTs/Paramedics only), and the guy's bomb sniffing dog... a little foo-foo Pomeranian. A real piece of work.
But wait, there's more.
About two months later, Coworker gets a call from Naval Criminal Investigative Services. Turns out a radio he sold to Dallas (or Houston... a decent sized Texas city) Fire Department quit working, so they sent it into Motorola. Motorola took one look at it, and realized that it was part of a shipment of radios sold to the Marines that contained classified frequencies and encryption that had been stolen. Motorola calls NCIS, who calls Dallas FD, who give them Coworker's name. NCIS agent makes clear that Coworker isn't in any trouble, but needs to know who he got the batch of radios from, and who he sold them to. NCIS informs him that he (and his buyers) aren't supposed to talk about it for a year until the investigation is over, but that the buyers will be compensated for their loss eventually.
Guess who one of the buyers was? You guessed it, the "PI".
"PI" calls coworker in a rage and demands his money back. Coworker informs him that he is as much a victim, and the Navy/Marines are going to compensate him eventually, and he's not supposed to be talking about it. So "PI" files a complaint with Paypal. Paypal says no go, you already filed one, and that's your limit. "PI" claims it was stolen property, and then forged documents to back up his case. Paypal docks Coworker money from his account. Coworker complains to NCIS agent, but is told his hands are tied until investigation is over.
Then to make matters worse, "PI" contacts Consumer/Investigative Reporter at competing TV station, and C/I Reporter does a story about how "PI" was defrauded and how Coworker was selling stolen goods. Doesn't name coworker, but displays his Ebay username prominantly in story. Coworker was never once contacted about the story, and only learned of it after another person pointed it out to him.
Coworker posts all this in a Motorola forum he posts on with a link to the story, and calls the C/I Reporter a few choice names. C/I Reporter gets wind of this, and leaves coworker a profanity laden voicemail saying Coworker had no right to say what he did, and claiming he was going to make the story look a lot worse for Coworker. Coworker and C/I Reporter than get into a heated argument over the phone I had the misfortune of partially overhear in which C/I Reporter was somewhat put in his place.
The beautiful justice of all this? About six months later, we did a story on the "PI", who had been arrested for impersonating a cop, as he threatened to give some people tickets for parking in a handicap spot, and was spotted by a store employee who knew he wasn't a cop. He is currently facing a slew of charges I'm told.
Friend/Coworker was/is a big into ham radios and Rolex watches (odd combo, I know). He also had a knack for finding ridiculously good deals on radios and watches and turning around and selling them for a handy profit. All legitimate. Made enough money to buy a tricked out VW Jetta (he's also into European cars). Anyways, so he managed get his hands on a batch of Motorola radios and turns around and sells them on Ebay for a nice profit. One of the buyers turned out to be a local "Private Investigator" (and I use that term loosely). Friend/Coworker is adamant in both the auction listing and in correspondence with said "PI" that these radios do not come with any pre-programmed frequencies, that you need to program the frequencies you want yourself. Fine and good.
Two weeks after the sale to said "PI", the guy files a complaint with Paypal about getting defective goods. Friend/Coworker asks what going on, and the PI says he's not picking up anything. Coworker asks if he programmed in the frequencies. "No, you never said I had to do that. Why would you sell me a radio that didn't have any frequencies?" Coworker points out to both him and Paypal that that was made adamant in both the listing and correspondence (he made sure to only communicate through Ebay). Guy says he doesn't care, and threatens if he doesn't get his money back, he "and some of his M.P. friends from McChord Air Force Base (which is close to where he lives) were going to drive up to Seattle and take care of business". Coworker reminds "PI" that's a bad idea, as we work at a TV station with a decent sized news department.
"PI" tells coworker that if they meet at a McD's in between locations and just program in some frequencies, he'll drop it. Coworker, frustrated with the "PI", agrees. So they meet, and coworker starts programing the radio. As they do this, "PI" whips out his new Glock 17 pistol... in full view of everyone... to show off to coworker. (Side note, said G17 was kept in his pants without a holster, an absolutely stupid thing to do, as it too easy for something to get caught in the trigger well and cause the gun to go off... but I digress...).
They part ways, the guy removes his complaint and Coworker files a complaint with Lakewood PD (yes, the same Lakewood PD that just had four officers murdered, but again I digress...). Officer on phone tells Coworker that they are well aware of "PI", and that this isn't the first complaint they have received about him, but there is nothing they can do. Coworker shortly afterward shows me "PI's" website, which shows him in front of his vehicles with flashing blue lights (which is hugely illegal in the State of WA... flashing blues are reserved for Police, Fire, and EMTs/Paramedics only), and the guy's bomb sniffing dog... a little foo-foo Pomeranian. A real piece of work.
But wait, there's more.
About two months later, Coworker gets a call from Naval Criminal Investigative Services. Turns out a radio he sold to Dallas (or Houston... a decent sized Texas city) Fire Department quit working, so they sent it into Motorola. Motorola took one look at it, and realized that it was part of a shipment of radios sold to the Marines that contained classified frequencies and encryption that had been stolen. Motorola calls NCIS, who calls Dallas FD, who give them Coworker's name. NCIS agent makes clear that Coworker isn't in any trouble, but needs to know who he got the batch of radios from, and who he sold them to. NCIS informs him that he (and his buyers) aren't supposed to talk about it for a year until the investigation is over, but that the buyers will be compensated for their loss eventually.
Guess who one of the buyers was? You guessed it, the "PI".
"PI" calls coworker in a rage and demands his money back. Coworker informs him that he is as much a victim, and the Navy/Marines are going to compensate him eventually, and he's not supposed to be talking about it. So "PI" files a complaint with Paypal. Paypal says no go, you already filed one, and that's your limit. "PI" claims it was stolen property, and then forged documents to back up his case. Paypal docks Coworker money from his account. Coworker complains to NCIS agent, but is told his hands are tied until investigation is over.
Then to make matters worse, "PI" contacts Consumer/Investigative Reporter at competing TV station, and C/I Reporter does a story about how "PI" was defrauded and how Coworker was selling stolen goods. Doesn't name coworker, but displays his Ebay username prominantly in story. Coworker was never once contacted about the story, and only learned of it after another person pointed it out to him.
Coworker posts all this in a Motorola forum he posts on with a link to the story, and calls the C/I Reporter a few choice names. C/I Reporter gets wind of this, and leaves coworker a profanity laden voicemail saying Coworker had no right to say what he did, and claiming he was going to make the story look a lot worse for Coworker. Coworker and C/I Reporter than get into a heated argument over the phone I had the misfortune of partially overhear in which C/I Reporter was somewhat put in his place.
The beautiful justice of all this? About six months later, we did a story on the "PI", who had been arrested for impersonating a cop, as he threatened to give some people tickets for parking in a handicap spot, and was spotted by a store employee who knew he wasn't a cop. He is currently facing a slew of charges I'm told.
