The Nicholas Alahverdian Story

[Anroth]

Michael Cockram sounds like someone Bart is pranking Moe for. Had to be said.

(This isnt in itself a negative thing, we in the UK enjoy a good name-based prank as much as anyone.)

[Smiley]

Yes, it's not terribly convincing I must admit.

...

Should've picked a more professional-sounding name for sure.

Maybe that's why journalists aren't getting back to me?

.......

[Midsize Jake]

Doctor Todd Grande's analysis starts at: 8:02

Maybe it's not all that necessary to say this here, but the term "victim narcissist" is relatively new, applying to narcissists who pretend to be "victims" to gain unwarranted sympathy or to excuse their own failings. It should not be confused with the term "narcissist victim syndrome," which applies to victims of narcissists and their various efforts to psychologically manipulate and gaslight people.

So if I didn't know any better, which I don't, I might even suspect that this confusion is deliberate — i.e., part of a propaganda/disinformation effort to make people think that people who are victimized by narcissists like, say, Donald Trump, are somehow actually narcissists themselves — and therefore not worthy of sympathy or any other consideration. The "term "reflected narcissism" is sometimes used in the same way, when describing people like Trump, Putin, and other demagogues as "aspirational figures" to the people who inexplicably support them, even to the point of wanting to take on the demagogue's obvious psychological maladies as their own.

The more accepted term among psychologist types (for someone like Mr. Alahverdian) is actually "vulnerable narcissist," which also has the advantage of not dubiously implying that the narcissist is a victim of something, or for that matter, anything.

[Giraffe Stapler]

Michael Cockram sounds like someone Bart is pranking Moe for. Had to be said.

(This isnt in itself a negative thing, we in the UK enjoy a good name-based prank as much as anyone.)

That whole "Ed Balls" bit was pretty good, but I thought the joke went on longer than necessary.

[Smiley]

Ed Balls.

Hold on, the same Ed Balls who pretended to be a Nazi for a laugh?

Ah yes, according to the Daily Mail...

The Nazi uniform? It was just a laugh: Balls brushes off university prank saying he is 'not embarrassed' about photo

Shocking behaviour.

[Smiley]

The wmf has restored Nicky's photos that were previously deleted.

[Vigilant]

Sex fiend fugitive wanted for rape & kidnap charges in USA is freed on bail in Scotland – despite fears he offended here

[tarantino]

FUGITIVE beast Nicholas Rossi has shacked up with a mystery woman in a £250,000 flat as he fights extradition to America on rape and fraud charges.

The sex offender is visited by Police Scotland officers daily and he's had home ventilation equipment, oxygen canisters and wheelchairs delivered to the home while he's looked after by a woman who claims to be his wife.

...

During his covid battle. a woman saying she was his wife regularly visited him in hospital and was later clocked at the flat he's living in.

Rossi received a delivery of oxygen on Tuesday which was accepted by her along with a home ventilation machine. She's also answered the door to police when they have checked on Rossi daily.

Also, behind a paywall at ProJo

Pawtucket police reports detail allegations by women against Nick Alahverdian. ... Between July 2010 and May 2011, the man who would fake his death a decade later, only to reemerge last month on a ventilator in a Scottish hospital, would be the subject of at least four Pawtucket police complaints by women, records show.

[Vigilant]

FUGITIVE beast Nicholas Rossi has shacked up with a mystery woman in a £250,000 flat as he fights extradition to America on rape and fraud charges.

The sex offender is visited by Police Scotland officers daily and he's had home ventilation equipment, oxygen canisters and wheelchairs delivered to the home while he's looked after by a woman who claims to be his wife.

...

During his covid battle. a woman saying she was his wife regularly visited him in hospital and was later clocked at the flat he's living in.

Rossi received a delivery of oxygen on Tuesday which was accepted by her along with a home ventilation machine. She's also answered the door to police when they have checked on Rossi daily.

We can also reveal he hatched a plot to escape hospital in Glasgow - where he nearly died of covid - by hiring a private ambulance to take him away.

"But I'd heard that he tried to hire a private ambulance to try and escape.

"He's facing life imprisonment when he returns so he won't want to come back."

A cop was stationed on the door of his hospital room once his sneaky move was uncovered.

I suspect we've heard the last from 'the widow'.

[Giraffe Stapler]

The wmf has restored Nicky's photos that were previously deleted.

The WMF took the DMCA complaint at face value despite the warning signs. And that's a perfectly fine cover-your-ass strategy. The alternative would have been to contest it. No one should be surprised that Joe Sutherland has not yet managed to get an answer from WMF Legal yet...

I just want to note that The Daily Mail attributes a cropped version of File:Vice President Mike Pence and Nicholas Alahverdian.jpg to "Courtesy Brian Coogan". --Jonatan Svensson Glad (talk) 20:50, 17 January 2022 (UTC)
Thank you JSutherland (WMF)! Are you at liberty to provide details if these were undeleted following a counternotice sent by a community member (or perhaps issued by the Office of General Counsel themselves), or if the original takedown request was deemed improperly sent and not meet the requirements needed per the statue to constitute a proper takedown request? --Jonatan Svensson Glad (talk) 20:58, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Hi Josve05a, it's a holiday for most of the Legal team today, but I'll ask them tomorrow. Joe Sutherland (WMF) (talk) 22:48, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

I'm willing to bet money that once they found out that Alahverdian wasn't dead, they retroactively decided that the takedown request wasn't valid and restored the images. I don't pretend t be a lawyer, but I don't think that's how the process works.

[Vigilant]

Ad hoc dipshittery from the legal brain trust that okayed Sefidari's contract after talking to 'more than 35 people'?

:shocked face:

[tarantino]

'Evil' American fraudster, 34, who faked his own death but was caught by FBI on COVID ventilator in Scotland goes on the run AGAIN after being freed on bail

A fugitive who faked his own death to escape sex and fraud charges in the US - only to be nabbed after catching Covid and nearly dying in a Scotland hospital - is on the lam again after skipping a court hearing.

Scottish officials confirmed to DailyMail.com yesterday that Nicholas Alahverdian, 34, failed to appear for an extradition hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday and that a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Who could have guessed that was going to happen?

[Vigilant]

When they catch him again, that will be the last day that he experiences life outside prison.

[Anroth]

I don't pretend t be a lawyer, but I don't think that's how the process works.

I pretended to be a lawyer for awhile (and by pretended, I mean, actually worked at a law firm suing people).

You would be surprised how often that is the reality. The legal process only goes so far - at some point (in civil law) you reach the question of "Is this person likely to sue us even if we dont follow the process?"

Now reputable and by the book lawyers will make the right choice. Guess how many others make the "Ah fuck it" choice?

[tarantino]

That was quick.
US man who faked death re-arrested in Glasgow

[Vigilant]

[Beeblebrox]

That was quick.
US man who faked death re-arrested in Glasgow

Huh, it says in there he is believed to be a flight risk. I wonder whatever could possibly have made them think that?

[el84]

Yea, you don't fuck with the Scottish.

[The Garbage Scow]

Yea, you don't fuck with the Scottish.

link

[Giraffe Stapler]

The Scottish Sun has details of the "dramatic" standoff and arrest, with video of Alahverdian being huckled into a police van. Yes, huckled!

FUGITIVE NABBED US fugitive arrested at Glasgow bolthole after standoff as rape suspect huckled into police van

[Zoloft]

The Scottish Sun has details of the "dramatic" standoff and arrest, with video of Alahverdian being huckled into a police van. Yes, huckled!

FUGITIVE NABBED US fugitive arrested at Glasgow bolthole after standoff as rape suspect huckled into police van

Ok, we are either gonna have one hell of an update, or a Part Two with a link in Part One.

[Anroth]

I had to look up 'huckled' in that context. Bonus points for the Scottish Sun for using it.

[Smiley]

Nicholas Alahverdian: Pinstriped, panama-hat wearing ‘English’ academic was FBI fugitive
Marc Horne, 21 Jan 2022, The Times

”Arthur Knight” told his neighbours in Glasgow that he was from Bristol

An American fugitive who faked his death and fled to Scotland disguised himself as a dapper university professor who wore bow ties, had a blond moustache and spoke with a cut-glass English accent, it has emerged.

Ah yes, that famously cut-glass Bristol accent...

[Midsize Jake]

[Smiley]

I wonder where he got the money for that nice flat? Woodlands is one of the swankiest bits ay Glesga.

[Vigilant]

I wonder where he got the money for that nice flat? Woodlands is one of the swankiest bits ay Glesga.

Probably from someone else's credit card.

[tarantino]

We're too busy trying to get the casting sorted for the film.

Suggestions welcome by the way.

This woman suggests Jonah Hill as little Nicky.

This must be Louise.

[Giraffe Stapler]

This must be Louise. link

Rebekah Brooks?

[Vigilant]

I can't imagine the local authorities will be very impressed with someone who aided an internationally wanted fugitive.

Nick sure seems to have invoked the malevolent god of karma.

[Smiley]

I wonder where he got the money for that nice flat?

Probably from someone else's credit card.

I have reason to believe Nick raised money for charity and redirected the funds...

[Jim]

https://www.scotsman.com/news/crime/nic ... es-3537564

A wheelchair bound man has appeared in court and denied being an international fugitive who was discovered in a Scottish hospital whilst being treated for Covid 19.

...

The man denied being 34-year-old Nicholas Rossi during a hearing before Sheriff Alistair Noble on Friday afternoon at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

However, Sheriff Noble remanded the man after prosecutors described him as being a “significant flight risk”.

...

On Friday afternoon the man was brought into court by paramedics and was attached to an oxygen cylinder. An oximeter - which measures blood saturation levels and is used to assess Covid 19 patients - was attached to a finger

He was wearing pyjamas and socks and his head was covered by a towel.

When proceedings started, the man -who his lawyers described as being called Mr Knight - no longer had the towel over his head. But his mouth was covered by a mask delivering oxygen.

The clerk of court asked the man: “Are you Nicholas Rossi?”

The man started started to cough and said something. Sheriff Noble asked his lawyer Fred MacKintosh QC: “Was that a yes?”

Mr MacKintosh replied: “It’s a no my lord.”

...

The court heard that prosecutors had information that the man who appeared before the court had 16 aliases - some of the identities used by the man on documents which have been recovered by law enforcement officials include the names ‘Arthur Knight’ and ‘Nicholas Brown.”

The court heard that the man has an Irish driving licence in the name of Nicholas Brown.

...

The sheriff said he required further treatment but it does not require him to be in hospital. He said: "I am told that the treatment required can be provided in prison."

The sheriff said it was a case in which remand was appropriate. He said: "It appears to me appropriate to revoke the person's bail."

The case will next call for a procedural hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on February 10 2022. A full hearing on whether the man should be extradited will be held at the court on February 17 2022.

I mean, when they do turn this into a Netflix movie, the scriptwriters will have so much material that the difficult part will be deciding what to leave out...

[Smiley]

[Vigilant]

Thus begins the rest of Nick's life behind bars.

[Giraffe Stapler]

Thus begins the rest of Nick's life behind bars.

I'm hoping for a desperate mid-air escape during transport (with the long-suffering Louise waiting in the Atlantic with a dinghy).

[Vigilant]

Thus begins the rest of Nick's life behind bars.

I'm hoping for a desperate mid-air escape during transport (with the long-suffering Louise waiting in the Atlantic with a dinghy).

Her best bet is to walk away.

[Jim]

Thus begins the rest of Nick's life behind bars.

I'm hoping for a desperate mid-air escape during transport (with the long-suffering Louise waiting in the Atlantic with a dinghy).

Well, D. B. Cooper got into an episode of Loki in almost that way, so we can live in hope. Hiddleston might not be the best casting for Nick, though - I'm not sure how well he'd carry off the pyjamas, socks, head-towel and oxygen cylinder in that scene, and, well, he's probably just too good-looking to play Nick convincingly...

[tarantino]

Thus begins the rest of Nick's life behind bars.

He's been sick for over a month. If he's lucky, he'll die before he lands in prison. Maybe he's pretending to be sicker than he really is, though. From this article:

On January 18 this year, Mr Ross(sic) was found in his bed. He had a quilt that covered his face. But officers found that he was not using the oxygen that had been provided by the NHS.

The duvet was pulled from his face and while he was wearing an oxygen mask, the oxygen tank he was attached to was not turned on.

also

The court heard that the man has an Irish driver’s license in the name of Nicholas Brown.
...
A marriage certificate found his name to be Nicholas Brown.
...
[prosecutor]Ms Johnston said police and hospital staff identified the man as Nicholas Rossi from tattoos on his body. Photos obtained by police show that Rossi had tattoos on his arms.

Ms Johnston said: “They have noticed tattoos and scars on her(sic) other arm which are believed to have come from trying to remove the tattoos.”

[Vigilant]

My casting for Nick would be Seth Rogen.

[Anroth]

I also vote Jonah Hill. I think Seth is just too tall.

[Vigilant]

How about Rowan Atkinson?

[Midsize Jake]

I'd go with Henry Zebrowski, though he'd obviously have to get a dye job.

[Jim]

Ok, I have to confess Seth Rogen does have my vote so far, but if I had to add a name to the poll, Sean Astin.

[iii]

The Daily Mail reports

After their final falling out, Coogan said the alleged conman created a meanspirited, fictitious Wikipedia article about the lawmaker.

Hmm... Brian Coogan (politician)‎ (T-H-L)

I guess add Higlo12 ‎ (T-C-L) to the pile of socks.

[Smiley]

It looks more like Higlo was Coogan himself, or possibly Alahverdian acting on his behalf?

24.250.20.100 added negative info and that photo.

[Vigilant]

You're finally notable, Nearly Gotaway Nick.

[Vigilant]

From the article talk page

New Projo article detailing multiple other assaults

I want to lead this with a warning that while I know WP isn't censored, I feel it appropriate to give a trigger warning. A lot of the article deals with intense domestic abuse, physical, mental, financial and emotional as well as rape.

here is a new projo article, it's behind a paywall but has some interesting tidbits that just came to light. He is accused in 4 cases, at minimum currently, including a kidnapping, rape, assault (beating) and sexual assault. He also resisted arrest and was carried out of his apartment (third floor) in Pawtucket (see below quote). He also plead no contest to domestic assault but the charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct were dropped. In another incident in 2010, Alahverdian allegedly was enraged (after their first date) that she declined having sex with him after repeated attempts and forced her to drive her car to an ATM and remove $200 as a repayment to get her cell phone back (which he took) and as payment for their dinner and then forced her to return to his apartment to sign a document stating she would not press legal charges and the last RI charge is for one of his ex-wives after he violated a restraining order (which I believe has been discussed but previously was redacted.)

My favorite bit

"Police had to physically carry him out of the apartment, and once in a cruiser he “continued to yell and scream very loudly and started hitting his head up against the bars on the back window.” Police said they used pepper spray to get Alahverdian to stop banging his head."

[Smiley]

RI man Nicholas Alahverdian ordered held in Scottish prison years after he faked his death
Tom Mooney, 21 January 2022, Providence Journal

[The appropriately named] Michelle Baillie, the criminal office manager in Edinburgh Sheriff Court, told The Journal that Alahverdian’s next court date is scheduled for Feb. 13.

That's a Sunday, and I know from bitter experience having also been arrested for skipping bail on a Friday, that the courts are closed on weekends here. But then again, they did turn his hospital room into a makeshift court; maybe they're happy to work overtime on this case? I certainly was.

[iii]

It looks more like Higlo was Coogan himself, or possibly Alahverdian acting on his behalf?

24.250.20.100 added negative info and that photo.

Higlo didn't seem too bothered by the additions (or didn't notice them?!) in November 2016. The smear (but not the mug shot) was quietly removed a year later by fly-by-nigher Smileams (T-C-L) which Girth Summit (T-C-L) patrolled away. Then, a year after that, Higlo must have felt the time was right to fix it up which was reverted by ST47 (T-C-L) who suspected paid editing.

Higlo retorted

Not a paid editor nor do I have any personal or public interest in the subject.

No personal interest in the subject! That's why a Wikipedia user normally creates an article, surely!

[Smiley]

The Rhode Island political scene is hilarious

Former R.I. state rep Brian Coogan arrested in theft of political signs
Richard Salit, 25 Oct 2016, ProJo

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A longtime local politician who recently lost a bid to return to the General Assembly was criminally charged on Tuesday with attempting to steal the political signs of another candidate.

A witness identified Brian Coogan as the person who drove a motorcycle up to a house at 141 Summit St. and then directed his female passenger to remove from a fence a sign for City Council candidate Bruce Rogers, according to Lt. Thomas Rush.

But things went awry when "the motorcycle tipped over and [a different] stolen sign fell off the bike," Rush said, and then "they couldn't get the sign off" the fence because it was too tightly secured.

Rush said that Coogan and his passenger stood the motorcycle back up and drove off, leaving behind the dropped sign and the one on the fence. Rogers, a candidate for City Council, later told the police that both signs belonged to him.

The witness identified Coogan from a photo lineup at the police station, said Rush, adding that a 2016 Harley Davidson is registered to Coogan.

On Monday, Coogan, 46, was read his rights at the police station and declined to give a statement, said Rush. He agreed to turn himself in to District Court, Providence, on Tuesday, where he was arraigned on one count each of three misdemeanors: attempted larceny (the sign left on the fence), receiving stolen goods (the sign he dropped) and conspiracy.

Rush said the woman, who was wearing a helmet, has not been identified.

Coogan lives at 109 Summit St., near the location where the attempted theft of the political sign took place. It's the same residence listed on campaign documents as the home address of Anna Sousa, Rogers' opponent in the council race.

"I'm divorced. I live with her," Coogan said when reached for comment. "She's not my girlfriend."

Coogan, a former state representative, denied stealing the signs and said the allegations are political retaliation.

I have to admit to being somewhat skeptical.
But Higlo assures us that:

Coogan was later exonerated and the charges were dropped, sealed, and expunged.

<ref>{{cite web |title=In re: Brian Coogan |url=https://www.courts.ri.gov/ |website=District Court |publisher=Rhode Island Judiciary |accessdate=16 November 2019}}</ref>

I can't find any evidence that this was the case, probably because it's all been vigorously expunged.

...

[Smiley]

The court heard that the man has an Irish driver’s license in the name of Nicholas Brown.

A year ago...

Seems to have been resident in the UK or Ireland in the last year or two.

Pretty likely in my opinion but I'm kinda burned out ...