The Rise And Fall Of “Frank Sfarzo” And His Disastrous Trip To The US And Canada
[Frank Sforza riding high in his first days in the US]
Part II on Frank
My Part 1 post in this series is just below this post, and others will follow. Much of this first emerged on PMF dot Net. TJMK has posted about Frank in early days, and about the Seattle court.
Who is the real Frank Sfarzo?
Born July 04, 1963, in Rome, his real name is Francesco Sforza. This is confirmed by his passport data which I saw. He tried for years to hide it, and it is of public interest since, when arrested for assault, he again, deliberately misspelled his name. Like Bruce Fis(c)her, he tried to hide his many slanderous and libelous accusations on his blog behind the handle ‘Frank Sfarzo’.
The son of a doctor (like Raffaele Sollecito) he got a degree in philosophy from the University of Perugia (Candace Dempsey, Murder In Italy). Then his peripatetic lifestyle took him from Florence to Naples, a stint in the US, and work as a director of production in the troubled 2006 movie And Quiet Flows The Don.
When the Meredith Kercher case broke late in 2007, he was the first blogger, on his new site Perugia Shock, to write about the case. Moving back from Florence to Perugia, he managed a student flophouse, then he lived with his mother in a flat paid for through her pension check - his pattern for some time had been to live off the patronage of women.
These articles are based on a series of posts I wrote on PMF dot Net - the SfarzoGate Papers. They are also based on interviews of many people who knew him personally - one common theme was how financially insecure he was, often to the point of stealing from their wallets/purses, and getting caught shoplifting from a local Coop store (September 06, 2010)
[Perugia Shock in 2008 stiil supportive of Meredith, sarcastic of Knox]
Insertion into the case
Despite receiving lots of moneys from US supporter networks for his local intelligence (I saw evidence that pointed to a leak from inside the Questura, for which the prosecutors began an investigation against him in January 2009) his big dream was a) to own property and b) write a book/movie about the case.
It was this that drove him into the arms of the Friends Of Amanda (see forthcoming Part III about their support for him and his blog Perugia Shock coming shortly) and to literally “˜turn on a dime’ in 2008 from being convinced of Amanda Knox’s guilt (he has always maintained Raffaele Sollecito’s relative innocence) to becoming, not just a pro-Amanda Knox blogger, but allying himself with the anti-Mignini forces in Perugia who wanted to impede his Monster Of Florence murder investigation.
The war upon Dr Mignini
The MOF series of ritualistic sex based murders took place in the Florence area in the 70’s, and it fell to the prosecutor Dr Giuliano Mignini, with ace criminal investigator Michele Giuttari, to carry on the work of earlier prosecutors. Much of the misreporting on the MOF case was sourced to Mario Spezi, who, allied with American writer Doug Preston, started a campaign of slander against Mignini from 2006 on that continues to this day.
My sources tell me that Frank knows Spezi quite well, and as well he is allied with the Berlusconi forces who wanted to carry out their attack on the Italian judiciary. But, seeing how Doug Preston supposedly got a movie deal with Tom Cruise’s company, then after that with George Clooney, to film The Monster Of Florence, he hoped to have a similar movie made about the Amanda Knox case, with him working on it of course.
Neither movie looks to be made now, which adds to much bitterness in some quarters.
[Knox in Seattle with Frank; she came to mistrust him]
The Perugia domestic dispute
Then, as tends to happen, the wheels came off the PR bus. Frank’s sisters, concerned about how he was taking advantage of his mother, tried to intervene, he became abusive, the police were called for the domestic dispute September 10, 2010; he went ballistic, and attacked them.
It was this incident, with the resulting assault charge he has managed to avoid so far, that he has spun into a web of lies about “˜Mignini’s persecution’ with the assistance of his muse, Candace Dempsey, author of Murder In Italy, the Friends Of Amanda Knox and Bruce Fischer, the co-owner with Sarah Snyder of the for profit Innocence-Anywhere (formerly Injustice In Perugia) website.
[The initial accomodation the Mellases hoped Frank would accept]
His begging for money
His sisters having whisked his mother off to their own home, he was without funds and about to lose his apartment. From a begging e-mail of Frank’s, Feb. 23, 2012: “They knew my sister was against me, the women in my family are unfortunately bad, you guys are saving me, I will always be grateful, I will be filing the complaint to have “˜Piggy’ and his gang tried, I will write the movie about this case, we will do great things together”.
He also claimed it was his sisters who were stealing the family funds, and that Mignini’s actions in the Meredith Kercher case were “˜criminal’ (which is the reason for the criminal defamation lawsuit he must now appear for in Florence).
Pleas for financial assistance ensued, along with hints he might be closing down his rejigged website and moving to the United States for “other journalistic projects”. He actually asked for 10,000 Euros through Bruce Fischer’s website!
His attempt to move to US
The reality was, Italy beginning to pall, and with the outstanding assault charge, he hoped to make a permanent move to the US, with the help (he thought) of his prominent American supporters.
Funds began to flow, and by my estimation he has received “˜donations’ in the tens of thousands of dollars. Which never, sadly, was enough. Just one Canadian supporter, who was abused by Frank after arrival, sent him 7000 dollars (confirmation posted by him on dot NET) in the form of 500 Euro monthly payments, plus his return air ticket.
[The Vashon Sportsmens Club where Frank & the FOA met]
Frank arrives in Seattle
The supporter gave the date of his arrival at Seattle Air Port July 20, 2012, along with fellow Knox supporter Dr. David Anderson, with whom he’d been staying in Perugia.
Frank managed to invite himself to the Mellas household, promising to reveal all about the investigation that would blow it wide open. He also claimed to have copies of the Amanda Knox “˜interrogation’ by the police and PM Mignini, which also, turned out to be a lie.
[The FOA publicity planning meeting inside the bar]
His first accomodation
Offered a bunk in Chris Mellas’s boat parked in his driveway, he threw a fit, and demanded to be housed in their home.
Where he ended up, staying with them for two months beginning July and including the Canadian interlude. Judge Michael Heavey who also had been sending regular monthly contributions (I am told around 300 Euros) escorted him around Washington State, then took him and Dr. Anderson to another of his pro-Knox anti-Mignini Rotary Club Club meetings on July 25, 2012.
The problem was that the Mellas clan and Bruce Fischer had already planned the big Vashon Island get together at the Vashon Sportsman’s Inn, Saturday July 28, 2012, to plan and coordinate the PR push for the shortly to be released books, and thank her supporters.
Therefore, not wanting to risk a blowup, they tried to placate him, while complaining to themselves about his behavior.
Knox stepdad Chris Mellas even told the Canadian supporter that Frank was a “˜difficult house guest’, this a week after he’d arrived (!) while Candace Dempsey, sitting next to them, nodded agreement.
[The FOA publicity group photo inside the bar. Some in hiding, we have other photos]
Frank Sforza and Amanda
Frank sat all day next to Amanda, who seems in her pictures to have a horrified fascination with Frank, who posed front and center for many group photos, and grandiosely boasted how he was going to “˜reveal all about the gang of criminals’.
The supporters, who numbered over 60, including Judge Heavey, Steve Moore, Tom Rochelle, Joe Bishop, and Bruce Fischer, all lapped it up. Later, when the infamous finger salute Group Photo was taken, it was with the instruction to “send a message to Mignini”. Shouts of “Pignini” rang out.
Frank was working very hard after that to find a way to stay in the US. He looked into obtaining a Green Card, but most of the female supporters were already married/not interested. Photos taken of him with them at the time show an adoring, rapturous group, though that changed after the stories came out.
[Frank points to Screech Rum bottle from “Bill Williams” in kind host’s house. He looks very angry]
Frank’s Canadian interludes:
His first visit over the border for a week, went well. His Canadian supporters, one of whom, “Bill Williams” (a Canadian reverend) posts thousands of Groupie posts, met him with a bottle of “Screech Rum”.
The second visit, though, was when it all began to unravel.
A Canadian border service agent intercepted Frank, and, not believing his story why he was visiting Canada, seized his passport, and ordered him to report back to the agency the next day, August 25, with his Canadian sureties, “Bill”, and “Peter”. He was allowed to stay over, but things began to unravel after that. (I saw the passport seizure document)
Frank became increasingly erratic. Not satisfied with the money already received from his host, “Peter”, he requested a “˜business loan’ of $25,000 to set up a beach bar. “Peter”, a successful retired businessman, was struck by Frank’s lack of business acumen, said the plan was unfeasible, and declined.
Frank Sfarzo, who had never held a long term job or owned property in his life, began to insult him, calling his $750,000 home a “˜barn’ and other personal insults. Yet all he did in the nearly a month he was there was watch soap operas all day long, plus work on his blog, which his supporters helped him edit.
In the end, when one of Frank’s tirades became too unbearable, his host, concerned for his safety, called the RCMP at 4:00 AM in the morning, who then escorted Frank, uttering threats of “suing” everybody, to the border, and expelled him from Canada. He is now barred from entering the country. In turn, Frank accused his 71 yr. old host of sexually molesting him! The police didn’t believe him, of course.
Frank is back in Seattle
Frank returned to Seattle, where he was asked to leave the Mellas home after making a pass at Amanda Knox. Chris Mellas famously called him a “mooch” and an “exploiter”, and asked the Hawaiian supporter to delete Amanda’s personal information from Frank’s telephone, but everyone was too scared of him to do much else.
Frank then stayed a few days Edda Mellas’s sister, Janet Huff’s home (he calls her and her daughter a “˜bitch’) then various homes until he ended up in a rooming house owned by another supporter, at 2283 Viewmont Way W. Seattle, on a three month lease beginning October 01, 2012 at $525 a month (paid for by the FOA, Frank’s funds were running low)
[The hotel where Franks kind host paid his bill]
Frank’s Hawaiian adventure
Frank’s visitor’s permit running out, he accepted an invitation from another American supporter, then a long standing member of Bruce Fischer’s forum. He thought she was rich, she thought he was a misunderstood soul who corresponded with her regularly (she paid for a month’s rent, sent a ticket as well to Kona airport).
Frank arrived November 08, 2012, on a seven day ticket. He was due to return November 14, but his plans were to get married, and obtain a Green card.
Surprise. She wasn’t rich, wasn’t interested in marriage, and lived off the land in a little mountain community. He started the usual pattern of verbal abuse. They were peasants, she was a “˜loser’, etc. The people there were going to beat him up, she saved him from that. Even the dogs hated him.
Trying to salvage the trip, she took him to a hotel room (which she paid for) for the last day on the island. Frank started with the abuse again, struck her, she fled to the desk and called the police. She just wanted him removed and to catch his flight, he threatened to sue the police, they arrested him for assault. He claimed she threw luggage at him, but it was she who had the bruises to show to the police. She fled the room right after.
He was held overnight, released the next day and told to appear in court the next week on assault charges. Which he did, and she, just wanting to have him leave the island, declined to press charges, which can still be reinstated, should she chose to do so. Copies of all his arrest warrants and charges have already been published on PMF dot NET and PMF dot ORG.
[Seattle Municipal courthouse where Frank was supposed to attend trial December 31, 2012]
Denouement:
When the news of his arrest broke, there was shock all around at PR central and Bruce Fischer’s ORG. Bruce tried to cover it up, deleted his forum member’s allegations (I found and saved it in the hour it was up)
I expressed sympathy on PMF dot Net, she read it, contacted me, and the rest, as they say is history. Bruce tried to intimidate her by revealing her past sexual history, which Frank passed to him (so she posted it herself, she’s a victim of sexual assault, and decided she didn’t ever want to be a victim again)
Then when Peter, the Canadian host spoke up on her behalf, Bruce tried to pass it off as “˜just too much to drink on both sides’ and this caused an uproar in his own forum, as members, appalled, quit in droves. And some of them, contacted me.
Of course, Bruce, who likes to intimidate and abuse, (as former friend Steve Shay found out) allowed Knox “˜family friend’ Karen Pruett to reveal the accuser’s identity, even though we had obscured her name in our reporting.
Frank got into an argument with two men at the rooming house who called him out on his behavior, he sucker punched one from behind and bit another, a disabled person. He was arrested and charged with assault, held overnight, arraigned the next day, probable cause found, and he was told to appear in court December 31, 2012. Which he didn’t, having fled back to Italy.
Just like in Hawaii, he provided false ID and was charged as “Francesco Sforca” though we were able to locate the court records anyway. His supporters say he was stopped at the border from returning, but that is a lie. He was in Italy throughout that time, my sources tell me. Someone is out $2,500 bail money.
[Seattle airport where Frank took off from after arrest, never to return]
Postscript
Francesco Sforza, also known as Frank Sfarzo, who travelled with and left behind files, photos and videos of a murdered girl in three different cities, should know that all his “˜property’ has been forwarded to the authorities to return to their rightful owner, whoever that might be. I do not know whether that forms or is part of an investigation into his activities, nor do I care.
(To be continued in Part III, Frank Sfarzo and the FOA, due sometime this weekend)
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Great narrative there. Gee thanks Frank. Everybody seems stunned that you just left all this stuff lying around.
Five years ago every reporter we know (and we know a lot) quite liked Frank and some valued his help. Now its an open secret that too much cocaine use or something has addled his brain. The old Frank is gone.
In Ergon’s shots everybody is grinning, except Frank in the last shot (who I think is making a joke about the Screech brandy, okay, its not exactly a cognac).
But (as well as some nice people like one of those in Canada and the lady in Hawaii) there are some really nasty crackpots in that group.
They ostensibly set out to help Amanda Knox - by creating real hurt. Both Sforza and Fischer (each of whom lack a career of their own) mounted extremely nasty ad-hominem campaigns against fine reporters of the mainstream press.
And guess what? Knox’s cause is lose-lose-lose now. Sollecito has won some sympathy for at least turning up and making a pitch for a reduced sentence, rather than as Knox has unwisely done, doubled down on her dishonest claims toward the police.
At present the final sentences might differ by 4 years (26 and 30 years) but Knox looks set to get more and RS to get less.
If he wants to help AK then Curt Knox should “fire” the whole lot of those above, and at least tacitly renounce their silly campaign by heading for Italy, alone, and sitting next to Sollecito’s dad.
*********
By coincidence, last January my wife Hope stayed in that same Kona hotel (the Seaside Inn) while she did scuba and looked for tropical birds. She loved it, and by Hawaii standards prices are good. It is about 100 yards from the shore.
I don’t know if Curt Knox has much of a relationship with Amanda now, Pete. He was an absent father, critical, through much of her early years, And now he has two young girls he wants to protect from the circus. I do feel very sorry for them.
I also can’t help but wonder if what Amanda writes about him in her book is a glossing over of their relationship. It clearly impacted on her psychology.
We know the backstory to Curt is worse though AK sure said a lot.
That’s the whole problem. There isnt a sympathetic one among them to front aimiably for Knox.
She is now headed for her late 20s. Maybe she could? Novel thought…
SeekingUnderstanding argues in post after post that Knox has to be the one to decide to make the first move.
I don’t think Amanda Knox ever will recover from what ails her until she pays her debt to society, Peter.
Right. I dont think any of us are holding our breath. She has done massive harm, a real Typhoid Mary on a scale rarely seen in our lives.
Besides she was happy enough in jail. In Seattle she’ll remain as unemployable and friendless as she is now, in Italy she’ll be despised for Meredith’s cruel death, her callous arrogance, not paying Patrick.
Maybe deep down she’s even invoking that prison term?
Thanks Ergon. Your detailed reports on “Frank” reveal a character who is explosive in all senses, especially for the Amanda Knox PR campaign. I cannot fathom why central figures in the campaign continue to cater to “Frank”, in spite of the animosity he generated chez Knox-Mellas.
The only reason I can think of is that “Frank” knows too much (maybe even has his hands on damaging documents or correspondence), and so some members of the campaign pay lip service to his own needs for time under the spotlight.
Over on Twitter, I see Chris Mellas buddy Joe Starr making excuses for “Frank”, so there seems to be some recognition in the Entourage that he has to be dealt with with kid gloves in order to avoid a nasty explosion in their own faces, Wile E. Coyote style.
“Offered a bunk in Chris Mellas’s boat parked in his driveway, he threw a fit, and demanded to be housed in their home.”
LOL. This almost makes me feel sorry for him.
A degree in philosophy doesn’t mean that the world owes one a living.
You’ve certainly kept tabs on Frank, Ergon. Well done!
Thanks, Kermit and James. The study of Frank turned out to be a study of the friends of Amanda Knox, and turned up so much about the PR campaign. Funny, that the viper turned up in the Mellas bosom, er, home, and they are still scared of him. In RR land, it now is Frank Who? As if they never made him the focus of their anti-Mignini campaign with CPJ and Doug Preston, and so kudos to you and all the others who trained an intense spotlight on him all these years.
Part III will detail all these links, and thanks go to all of you for this.
If there is a big enough stick or carrot to make Frank do a u-turn he could discredit the entire campaign and all its massive presence on the internet going back years, and help assure legal outcomes against it and real legitimacy to any confirmation of the RS and AK guilty verdicts.
At the same time he is in a strong position to shake down many for big bucks - the Knox-Mellases, Ann Bremner, Doug Preston, Mario Spezi, Bruce Fischer, David Anderson, Michael Heavey, Nina Burleigh, Candace Dempsey, Greg Hampikian… who else might be added?
At the same time… they dont know what else Ergon has, and he continues to acquire more goodies. Demonising him as Fischer always stupidly does is a sure way to keep him going.
One thing I learn is just how desperate Frank has been all along to get his hands on some money.
On the two PMF forums they found evidence of several failed projects on the Internet, and film-making (if that is what he did) renders most involved very low-income - waiters in restaurants are often between jobs as film-makers.
Praise above for Ergon’s tenacity from Kermit and James is encouraging indeed. James and Kermit posted our bedrock Powerpoint #14 on the hard evidence:
Kermit has always seen the origin of the demonization campaign in Preston’s blubbering meltdown in front of Mignini who KNEW Preston and Spezi had been planting evidence and using false names to frame someone for the MOF murders.
Mignini let Preston loose with a caution - after which Preston went haywire.
Spezi then “acquired” Frank, though that seems to have been some months after Perugia Shock was launched - Perugia Shock was always a bit snarky toward the cops and Mignini from the get-go but the big u-turn (in front of our disbelieving eyes) was in late 2008.
Up to then Skep had helped with his editing but he brushed off her good advice at the end. In December 2008 Skep posted our first exposure:
http://www.truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/ads_by_google_misreporting_by_frank/
Later she posted a huge report - a translated interview by CNN of Mignini - in which Mignini himself puts the lie to all of the mad claims about him.
Thereafter Kermit did a major expose of Franks false claims against Mignini for his domestic-violence arrest, and a second major expose of the false claims of Preston and Spezi about Mignini. Scroll down for all of Kermit’s posts in this group:
http://www.truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/C705/
After he maybe thought he was home free Spezi is back now to facing several trials which could land him in prison, and Preston’s comfort level must be at rock bottom. Has anyone seen him “reporting” lately?
And Frank and Joel Simon and Doug Preston could all still be charged for falsely claiming Mignini had anything to do with the cops descending on Frank for beating up his family.
So Frank may make money (Ergon saw him driving a new car) in the short term, but it is maybe only a matter of time before the Curse of Knox whacks him definitively.
Thanks Ergon
He is definitely another character with issues surrounding authority, and clearly he is yet to find his own.
A missing/lacking father, or father figure? They seem to abound in this case, talk about no-father central. Maybe it’s some kind of strange and little understood swarming behaviour!
You mention mother and sisters but not father in your post, unless I missed it - is he long gone?
Hi Odysseus,
Frank Sfarzo’s father has indeed long been gone. FOA stalwart Doug Bremner has a movie in post production “Catania!”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2279956/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1
It closely mirrors his family history, though Doug claims the writing credits, of course 😊
Peter said:
“If there is a big enough stick or carrot to make Frank do a u-turn he could discredit the entire campaign and all its massive presence on the internet going back years, and help assure legal outcomes against it and real legitimacy to any confirmation of the RS and AK guilty verdicts.”
That’s what I was about to say as well. If a person of substantial means decided to sponsor a pro-Meredith media campaign, complete with a number of paid positions, Frank would be all over it like a starving lion (apologies to any lions who might interpret this as slander).
The justification for his U-turn would be that the FoA/the Sollecitos/Amanda’s cats, etc. threatened to beat him to a pulp if he didn’t cooperate, and this is why he’s been telling “bullshits” and collecting donations all these years.
I, along with many PMF members, have long believed the demonization of PM Mignini began because of the MOF murders, with Mario Spezi as the eminence grise of the PR campaign.
Many sources have told me that Frank Sfarzo knew and was influenced by him, and indeed he was living in Florence at the time of Meredith Kercher’s murder.
As Peter points out, there are mafia connections as well. I was able to look up the decades long troubled history of the 2006 movie And Quiet Flows The Don which Frank was production director of. Rupert Everett writes wittily about his main character role in it, and how it got taken over by shady figures who helped complete it with the help of “briefcases full of cash from Naples”. It was indeed taken over a Rome production house backed by that hidden money, and we know that Frank had ties with them.
This brings us to the meaning of Frank, and his importance to the case. Some argue he is merely a side character, and what is the point of bringing up his foibles and if he hustled the Knox, so what? It is all just distasteful.
I disagree. Frank now has several dates with justice, not only for the defamation against Mignini, but also as a witness in the further calunnia trials against Amanda Knox and, her parents. Did he collude with them and their PR flunkies? The evidence points to that, it will be examined in a trial process.
And we, are reporting on that.
Hi Ergon
I guess those who have plaintively said “nothing to see here, lets move on” are mostly Bruce Fischer, who is clearly in way, way over his head.
Fischer has only survived with the help of his gullible wife’s family and has been desperate for a separate stream of income and some reputation other than as a moocher.
There are a number of mafia fellow travelers in the whole demonization crowd eager to bring Italian justice down a peg, and they know full well that they are fellow travelers.
Spezi is one, Aviello is one, the editor of Oggi is one, Sollecito is emerging as one, and so on. Giulia Bongiorno defends a lot of mafia. Frank Sforza may already be one - he has a sweetner of a contract with Oggi
Then there is that second kind of beast, the useful idiots who carry water for the mafia, who like Fischer are getting in way over their heads.
We could include among the useful idiots Preston, Michael Heavey, Steve Moore; the Knox-Mellases, Ann Bremner, Doug Bremner, David Anderson, Joe Bishop, Nigel Scott, Nina Burleigh, Candace Dempsey, and Greg Hampikian.
Hmmm. The full powers of Italian justice to deploy against mafia are awesome, and some of the legal actions now set in motion are already making use of those powers. Tough choices are coming up.
Will the useful idiots be waking up to horseheads in their beds to keep them on the straight and narrow? There ya go, Frank. This looks like a great movie.
Hi Peter
“This looks like a great movie.”
I’ve got a title - “God(lack of)father”.
@Peter
In the beginning, I too thought that there is nothing to see here…
But then I was ignorant. I knew too little. I just thought that this man is just another foot soldier of the great army…
Everyday, I devote approximately 1 hour reading your and others’ posts here and learning the details.
In my little opinion, Judges are usually conservative in the sense that they use their powers quite sparingly and are usually resistant to be dragged into petty controversies. They will rather ignore these petty shrills…
The traditional mafia is long dead. But they have metamorphosed into a new breed- with the same old goal- power. But rest assured that it is Mariotte only who is laughing all the way to the bank! They prefer to stay in the background and just count the greenbacks.
Amanda never knew that a murder in a small Italian town will finally expose to many…
So many men look so similar under their clothes…
Chami
Very true. On another level, the mafiosi will always (?) be with us as long as “mutual protection rackets ” exist, and I think the breeding ground for all that is the nuclear family. I think we are seeing their close affinity in this case.
I don’t have any solution or alternative, although people seem to be working out other ways of relating these days. I doubt that is going to amount to much: children will still be bought up in some kind of nuclear family situation, even if partners are co-habiting, gay, etc.The dynamic isn’t changed by calling it something else.
The eternal difficulty is that most of us are raised in good faith etc. but the whole story isn’t given to us, because it wasn’t given to our parents, nor their parents before them, and so on. There is no short-cut; we individually have to venture forth towards the sunlit frontiers, not hang out with dumb, evolutionary dead-ends like Frank-what’s-his-face. Awful little creep.
Bruce Fischer, who seems to be not spending as much time over at his for profit “Innocence Everywhere” site, has been doing damage control as a result of the SfarzoGate papers.
Some talking points stated there need to be addressed:
a) They want me to provide names and documentation of my sources/claims.
- Not going to provide anything that will ‘out’ a source, but nice try anyway.
b) What Frank Sfarzo called Janet Huff’s daughter:
- Yes, he said that, which speaks to his character.
c) ‘Theft’ of hard drives, and insistence I provide names.
- I received information about them anonymously, from several sources, plus about Google Docs left on people’s borrowed computers. You have no idea how many people contacted me, but keep believing what you wish. I won’t hint, or post anything that reveals or hints at the identity of a source, known or anonymous.
d) The information received included pictures of Meredith’s body, instantly denied.
-How would they know what I have or haven’t seen? I’m not going to publish them, ever, and the real question is how he came to be in possession of them.
-If they were leaked to him by a source within the Questura, that is of interest, and if from the defense team and there is proof of collusion with them in demonizing Migini, then that, too, is of interest.
cont’d: But understand this: if any of this should come out in any legal proceedings against Frank Sfarzo, in the US or Italy, he only has himself to blame.
And his supporters, too.
Screech is actually rum and not brandy. I’m a proud Canadian and it’s the kind of thing you’d buy for visitors and wouldn’t really drink yourself. “Real” screech is supposed to have been a water rinse of old whiskey barrels. Kind of a poor man’s moonshine.
It’s laughable that Frankâ„¢ thought he might have been able to operate a “beach bar” in Canada. Beaches are not privately owned here and you’d need all kinds of licensing and other provisions before you could even try something close to what he’d envisioned. North Saanich, the Gulf Islands, Whistler, Squamish, and other regions I believe he visited, are more likely to support homemade crocheted hat boutiques or weekend wood carving seminars.
Fine article, Ergon. Frankâ„¢ really is a slimey critter, to put it mildly. I feel the worst for his family members back in Italy. At least, in North America, he can just be put on a plane to somewhere else. They’re stuck with him.
Thanks for the reminder, Stilicho. Never having had Screech myself, but it is Rum, now corrected 😊
Yes, his Canadian host tried to explain to Frank about the byelaws and how even $250,000 would not be enough to set up what he had in mind. I mean, Surrey, B.C?
That’s when Frank started abusing this 71 year old guy, hid his wallet and cellphone, and forced him to barricade the doors and call the cops at 4:00 AM.
And, after he backed up another victim in the forum and not getting any support from Bruce and Co., he talked to me. Once the story broke out, he was banned by Bruce for the supreme crime of “talking to Ergon”.
Well, Bruce does not know how many others did talk to me.
This is so wonderful. I am reminded of the old TV show ‘The A Team’ At the end of which the main character, Hannibal Smith as played by George Peppard always said. “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Does anyone really think RS is going to return in January? Me - no. I wonder if he can be extradited or not. He seems to be banking on ‘not’.
What could Edda and Chris have been thinking to harbor this odd and possibly dangerous Frank guy for two whole months in their home, with a family full of teenage girls? You have to really wonder at that judgement call.
This case gets stranger all the time with all these revelations.
One more thing ol’ Frankie forgot to mention to the FOA. While waiting at the Hawaii hotel drinking FOA provided drinks and waiting for his court appearance, he used the hotel computer to access his files, just saying.
Don’t underestimate what I do know 😊
The Knox/Mellas clan and the FOA don’t seem to have the ability to judge character or read people very well - even their own flesh and blood it seems.
Their wacko FOA people like Michelle celestial easterly (whatever that means in her head) exclaiming that ‘Raffy’ is a “hero” is hysterical.
They really are an odd lot.
Sforza being paid a salary by ‘judge’ Heavey and accommodated at the Mellas home is a true sign of desperation.
How they must rue the day now.
Stilicho’s comment and Ergon’s response made me laugh.
Vancouver is a lot of fun to drive with its wonderful vistas, and the view down from the top of the cable car is like no other in the world. My first view of the center of town was from the point out to the west where the university is, and as they say, my jaw hit the ground.
So I know where Surrey BC is, its a so-so suburb east of downtown a long way from Puget Sound and there sure are no beaches around there (it does front the river though).
Philadelphia has increased its fortunes by making flowers and gardens and a green economy its big thing, and every March it puts on the biggest flower show in the world. Vancouver (and, I’m told, Victoria) also makes flowers a really big thing, and the botanical gardens are great.
An email from someone in Italy (not a reporter) who knows Frank slightly says his mental oddness goes back many years. There is a popular old film in Italy called (translation) An American in Rome in which the main character, who is very funny, puts down all things Italian and elevates all things American; the emailer said that apart from his complete lack of a sense of humor, Frank could be that guy.
Guede was never a drifter, he held an okay job up north until it collapsed and his confidence with it (he had been planning a restaurant of his own) but Frank seems the real thing - a drifter with a Walter Mitty complex (like Fischer and so many others) who doesnt hold a job one could respect and exploits his scared family and cons a lot of people along the way.
DF2K’s remark just above is extremely interesting, that the Knox-Mellases might all have problems reading people and picking good guys for their team. Something for our psychologists perhaps. Chris Mellas came onto the predecessor of the PMF forums years ago almost like a puppy, so eager to talk. This was back when few people were sure of guilt. He was asked some mild questions but went absolutely ballistic in a very spontaneous way, flaming the other posters, and finally disappearing, to organize attack sites and attack posts against us everywhere.
The whole PR campaign also seems to demonstrate this same tin ear. Grahame posted on the case of Robert Durst who even admitted killing someone (and probably killed two others including his wife) but got off because his lawyers argued that he couldnt read people or relate, and so had built up this huge anger and so the murder was the result of that, something he just couldnt help. The trial outcome didnt set a precedent and in fact it outraged many others who self-diagnosed that they have a similar syndrome but dont go around flaming or murdering people and learn to cope.
Hi, believing, I agree that Chris and Edda Mellas used poor judgment bring Frank into their home, though perhaps they were just as taken in by his flim flam. Not for long, which is why he never lasted long in any one’s homes (he stayed at other supporters besides Janet Huff)
But the teenage daughters were Curt Knox’s and it is clear he kept them well out of the way of the circus. The gala event at the Vashon Sportsmens Club was not attended by him or his family so it was interesting to see Cassandra Knox at the Sollecito Honor Bound book signing event at UW.
Curt has indeed, kept a very low profile since then, and certainly not allowed the two younger children to be used as props in the publicity campaign.
Hi Ergon
Very interesting, this whole line of thought, that before they actually met him so many had sized up Sforza wrong.
I’ve met with or heard from many dozens who are appalled at the nasty PR campaign and the legal dirty tricks and unfair sliming of Italy and Italians, and believe they didnt deserve that.
So far I havent encountered even one who overstated who they were or pumped themselves up.
If anything readers here are much more high-achieving than they readily let on. Our Seattle group all of whom I’ve met are without exception highly qualified and successful and on educational and economic and social planes way above the Knox family and entourage.
But as for their side? Time and again wild posturing by those often using false names comes to be exposed.
“Bruce Fisher of New York” posted about his sheer amazingness on the PMF and other places, before we all found out he is the archetype of mundane. Steve Moore is a walking example of security-guard complex, rendered almost invisible at the Pepperdine campus after a mundane FBI career.
Seems they are finding out the sad truth really isnt this below - Frank & the money-grubbing elements among them really are dogs:
Ah, the psychology of Frank and the FOA. Certainly, in my next piece, coming up before we get to the thrilling closing arguments expected in court.
Just an aside, I have been engaging with the Amandii foot soldiers on the Patrick Moore crime blog. An intellectual exercise for the brain cells. They certainly display similar psychological traits, I guess like attracts like 😊
Here’s my response to long time FOA foot soldier “Francisco” who disputed my statement that the presence of many bruises of varying sizes, as seen in the autopsy photos, as well as being accepted by Massei, prove to me there was more than one attacker.
You are one longwinded bloke, aren’t you? The experts didn’t specifically say there was one attacker, they just wouldn’t exclude that possibility.
It is up to a court, in the US, Italy, or wherever, to decide which scenario is more likely, and I quoted Judge Massei and also reported the conclusions of the Guede trial judges, that there were multiple attackers.
As to the autopsy photos, the judges noted that a) Meredith had been restrained by more than one assailant, and b) the lack of significant defensive wounds supported that argument, and c) there had been more than one knife used.
This last point is one that convinced me, actually. The lesser wound and fatal, greater one in Meredith’s neck, of different widths, show the use of two knives. And as (prosecutor) Crini points out, the imprint of the knife on the bed cover matches the dimensions of the kitchen knife. Which had Meredith’s DNA on it, trace 36-B. Can you point to any expert, who actually testified in court, that it wasn’t her DNA?
It is not experts, or a preponderance of experts, that convict or exonerate a defendant, but judges and juries, which is as it should be.
I mention the knife imprint because I have also been working on an analysis of it (there are two, actually) and will post that as well later.
And I don’t intend to port their excesses here, but this comment in the same blog by “Francisco” is apropos:
” I got a copy of the recording of the interrogation of 5/6 Nov and it’s worse than we expected. 3 or 4 interrogators at a time, insulting and threatening her, smacking the back of her head, lying to her, telling her it would be worse for her if she had a lawyer, refusing any breaks of any kind, actively trying to convince Amanda she met with Patrick and the two of them went to the cottage.”
This is interesting because that was Frank’s long used ruse that roped in the groupies, that he had access to the ‘missing/destroyed’ interrogation tapes. Sigh. If copies were made, then why weren’t they released to the various courts before, when it could have made a difference?
It was something that intrigued me for some time, but my conclusion is that there aren’t any, just a PR exercise.
As to dogs, Peter, and I do love them to bits, on Hawaii, even the dogs hated him 😊
The puffed-up phony Francisco’s claim that there was a recording and he has it is so lame. There is a correct description of the interview here.
http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/The_Amanda_Knox_Trainwreck_knox_invents/
Knox herself told multiple versions of the witness interview but even she never claimed remotely what Francisco claims, and her own lawyers certainly dont believe or repeat that crap.
Dozens of crime series air in the US everyday adding up to dozens of fictional witness interviews being shown many based on the real thing. Most are away from the police station on the streets or in offices and houses.
Not only are they not required to be recorded, it is illegal to record them in person or on the phone unless the witness (or a judge) gives consent.
I find it very interesting to note, having been the recipient of several vitriolic posts at the Knox sites that when you get under their skin (So easy with thin skinned people) That you are attacked over and over. Usually by either Michelle Moore or some twit called Denver who it has been suggested is an alias for Curt Knox.
Towards this end, congratulations to Peter, Ergon and several others who have elicited lies and just plain stupid comments regarding our lineage among other things.
Frank is just another bottom feeder obviously and it must really stick in the crew of these people to realize they have been taken for fools and duped into providing funds for Sfarzo anyway.
Which begs the question. I wonder how Heavey among others feels? Great joke eh?. “Dem Chickens is a-comin home ta roost.”
Hi Peter, I would like to clarify one thing. People did not size Frank up wrong per se…he was telling lies. A different one for each patron.\
I had no idea he left his stuff all over USA…but, he was just that wiggy.
Ergon, thanks so much for your efforts. I think it is vastly important that readers understand how he took from everyone. Even those who gave so willingly. Mr Homburg did donate close to $10,000 when all was said and done.
Awesome job…and Kudos Frank for being the worst of the worst and bringing down AK/RS. Maybe that was always your grand plan?? Hahaha
Hi Bettina. We were all rather hoping you would add a bottom line. Well done.
Thanks Ergon for this excellent series of posts exposing Frank Sforza for the obnoxious and violent man that he is. I’ve been reliably informed that he does have previous. I’m looking forward to seeing justice finally catch up with him in the new year. It hard to believe that this Walter Mitty character was taken seriously by some mainstream media organisations such as the BBC and CBS as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists.
I am slowly getting the flavour. He is the perfect man to defend the AK&RS; but he needs the base of the pyramid scheme. And cash.
So, he does not have a regular job? How does he pay for his breakfast? Or, is he a 100% conman? And he hoped that nobody will find out?
I think people who “used” frank knew his “qualities” very well. Because these are his “essential qualifications for the job on hand”. At least the people at the top knew.
Unfortunately these schemes have only a short shelf life. They get exposed sooner or later. And in this case, he got exposed sooner- mainly for his greed.
Successful conman is an oxymoron.
Thanks to Ergon for the excellent job. It is really enlightening.
Hi Pete…as always, a fond hello.
I reread the piece again this am, and the absurdity called Frank is astounding. One horrible scene after another!!! Just wow. He is a cartoon.
All the details are correct save a few small tiny ones that involved me. They are not important.
Thanks again Ergon. And thanks to the many spirits out there, working to bring the truth of The Big Lie into the public arena.
Ergon’s meticulous and well documented posts seem to be getting to the increasingly isolated and disdained Bruce Fischer. It cannot be easy for him to explain to his little gang how he did so much to put Frank’s phony claims and scams for money front and center. Now Fischer has posted this:
http://www.injusticeanywhereforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=125653#p125653
I dont see any death threat in that. Its pretty academic anyway, theres no obvious way that Knox gets off now. Knox only provisionally got off in 2011 because the defense forces bent the Hellmann court and the C&V consultancy. Plus Grahame uses his real name.
Fischer is already under examination for mafia fellow-traveling. Dr Mignini and the others have had numerous threats through the mail and via email as a result of Fischer whipping up hysteria.
Dr Mignini was even attacked in person - by Michelle Moore, to whom Fischer first povided a platform - which shocked a lot of people in Perugia, and new precautions were taken. The Carabinieri concluded that she’s somewhat unhinged but could have brought charges.
With the involvement of the Communication Police now in the anti-mafia-fellow-traveler pushback, all of the posts of Fischer and his group which contain false accusations of crimes and falsification of the evidence - of which there are thousands - have been captured pending action.
Sigh. It seems to be the only way Bruce can whip up his troop of white knights, by saying we ‘threaten’ her, or ‘condone’ threats. Yet it is Bruce Fischer, who once again crosses a line.
And who can forget ‘Karen for Hair’, who suggested to report every negative comment about Amanda Knox to the ‘hate crimes’ line at the FBI?
AN OPEN LETTER TO BRUCE FISCHER
Dear Bruce
I hope you are well. I wish to clarify some points of yours.
One..
I have been called a ‘guilter’ by you and your minions. That is totally correct because that is what I am. I have followed this case from the 1st of November 2007 when your little killer, Amanda Knox and Raphael Sollicito slit Meredith Kerchers throat and left her to die in the agony of her own blood while that famous defecater Rude Guede ran away first. It always amused me as well since of course Knox never flushed either, which was one of the sources of friction, that and Knox bringing strange men she’d just met back to house for sex. But I digress.
Two…
I have never hidden or made any attempt to hide. That being the case, if you want to confront me directly, then please do so, after all you know where I live. Of course you won’t because just Frank Sfarzo, Michelle and Steve Moore, Curt Knox or any of Knox’s family you are a coward.
After all you have changed your name time out of mind. I can prove this, and unlike me you hide all the time behind pseudo-names just like that silly sod Denver (vette357 indeed!)
Three
There used to be a saying in England, where I am from originally. It’s called a ‘Hue and Cry” Wikipedia has it in common law where “A hue and cry is the process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been witnessed in the act of committing a crime.”
This is Knox’s future because if for some reason she does not serve time for her crime of murder then she will be hounded until the end of her life. She and Sollicito have no escape at all anywhere in the world, unless they admit to the crime of the murder of Meredith Kercher.
Merry Christmas X0X
Sincerely Grahame Rhodes
Grahame,
Should Amanda Knox be acquitted of Meredith’s murder, then I for one will not engage in hounding her and certainly not to the end of her natural life. “Hounding” is not a word I like and it’s not what I’ve been doing anyway. For me it will be enough to express strong disapproval of such a verdict but then let her get on with her life in peace.
However should she, her family and any PR campaign attempt, beyond a simple reporting of the verdict, to proselytize her innocence in the media and attempt to gain pecuniary advantage from doing this, then I will certainly feel compelled to remind people of the evidence and that she was a very lucky girl indeed to have been acquitted. I don’t think that would be hounding anyone, just giving them the facts.
I hope that this is what you meant.
Knox and Sollecito have certainly ratcheted public anger against them up a few notches, with the nasty false claims in their books and on TV and their money-grubbing ways; Knox not paying Patrick his damages and avoiding court have been huge mistakes.
But at the same time, this really is not Perugia 2011 Part Deux. Knox and Sollecito themselves didnt throw the process their way in 2011, their people unknown to them did, and every precaution is being taken in Florence and Rome to stop that happening again.
So many other corrective actions are happening or headed down the pike. If guilty is the outcome, and it seems a sure thing, their time in prison and forfeiting of financial gains seems assured. There’s no need that I can see for gloom and doom.
As for Fischer Sforza had already neatly put him on the shelf. We can even be amused that in destroying themselves they are doing a great job. Note for the most part their downcast public quietness now.
Where next:
Click here to return to The Top Of The Front PageOr to next entry The Rise And Fall Of “Frank Sfarzo” And How Knox-Mellas PR Eagerly Propagated His False Claims
Or to previous entry After 6 Years Heavey Is Still Heedless Of His Errors Pointed Out Again & Again & Again