New article on Vreeland

[seventhson]

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041026/NEWS08/410260391/1010


Arrest stops man wanted on 16 warrants

An alleged con artist who claims to have information about terrorist cells in the United States was arrested last week in Iowa.

Delmart Vreeland, 38, was arrested Wednesday along Interstate Highway 35 after trying to use a flagged credit card to buy gas.

Franklin County Chief Deputy Ken Lubkeman said Vreeland was wanted on 16 warrants from several states and Canada, on charges ranging from child prostitution and arson to identity theft and fraud. Vreeland is somewhat of an Internet celebrity; his name commonly appears on message boards used by government conspiracy theorists. News of his arrest sparked discussion last week.

Lubkeman said Vreeland was very believable, but other officials warned that he's a phony. "He is an excellent con artist, one of the best I've ever seen," said Detective Bruce Lidgard of the sheriff's office in Oakland County, Mich.

[maxsmom]

1. what's the latest word

on this situation? One of the threads has been locked and two others I was following have had no posts for awhile. Is there any way we can be kept apprised? Thanks.

[sangh0]

8. The latest word is "gossip"

Someone on DU has claimed to have spoken to Vreeland shortly before (or while) he was being arrested. Vreeland told this DUer that there was going to be an attack on the Twin Cities sometime before the election.

There is an active thread on Page 1 of GD. I started it. It shouldn't be hard to find

[chimpy the poopthrower]

10. Yes, and I asked for a summary there, too.

Funny how some of the posters who are pushing this have hours to devote to arguing with the people like you who are trying to debunk it but can't spare even a few minutes to write a brief summary for those of us who are asking for one. You'd think they'd want such an important story to be widely distributed and understood.

[northernsoul]

2. key phrase here, people

"He is an excellent con artist"

'nuff said

[myrna minx]

3. Thanks NS.

:hi: It's interesting how there has not been a thread about how we Minnesotans feel about these allegations. It is as if we don't even exist.

[northernsoul]

5. I've been keeping up with it a little bit

seems like the tinfoil-hatters would rather keep trying to out-crypticize eachother than provide the people they think are going to be incinerated soon with any kind of relevant information. My hunch is that this is all about a few people with massive delusions of grandeur trying to impress eachother with how much top secret information they're privvy too.

I wouldn't care so much if they weren't discussing our allegedly imminent deaths like it was a lost episode of Star Trek or something.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

4. Can someone please summarize for those of us who just got here?

I know there have been many long, heated threads regarding Vreeland and the Twin Cities and other matters. They are hard to follow, especially for those of us who are just entering the discussion. Can someone please try summarizing what is known or suspected? Why should we care about this?

[Texasgal]

6. Agreed....

Call me stupid, but I have no idea who this vreeland person is.....

[sangh0]

9. Then do the math

SOmeone on DU has claimed to have spoken to Vreeland, and that Vreeland said there was going to be an attack on the Twin Cities in the very near future.

Pretty hot sounding stuff, huh? And you haven't heard about it, right?

Obviously, someone is not getting very excited over the info they've recieved about the impending death of thousands (or more). Kind of odd, don't you think?

[northernsoul]

11. y'know, a post to the Minnesota board might've been in order

I love how all the Vreelanders here made sure to let us Minnesotans know what is allegedly coming down the pike. Seems like they mostly want to make their opaque, cryptic references and lash out at anyone who questions them. Sounds pretty credible to me.

[sangh0]

12. Ya think?

eh, maybe

maybe not

Maybe I'll just think about it for another week or two.

[H2O Man]

14. The theories are being promoted

in large part by a fellow who claimed on another GD to have expertise "as an Attorney with over 30 years experience" on COINTELPRO cases. What struck me as curious was that he did not get the word "COINTELPRO" correct in any of his posts on the thread, until I pointed it out. Also, he incorrectly identified something as "evidence" that was a third person version of a prediction that Vreeman may have made; unless court is being held in Marvel Comics, this is clearly not "evidence" in any legal sense. Finally, when asked to identify a single COINTELPRO case he had worked on, he refused, and hours later said he did not want the right wing to associate him with the cases. It is, of course, public knowledge what attorneys have worked on each and every legal case involving COINTELPRO.

[northernsoul]

15. I'm taking an evidence class in law school right now

and some of the theories of what constitutes "Evidence" I'm reading today are pretty damn amusing.

Hearsay rule, anybody?

[H2O Man]

16. evidence of something that hasn't occured ....

is a curious concept.

[Bosso 63]

21. I did post on the MN board

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=160x3266

The story sounded like B.S., but when I read the part about four 1 megaton bombs in the Twin Cities, I must confess I spent some time reflecting on how such an event would affect my two preschool kids and property values. After spending allot of time following this convoluted thread, I've come to the conclusion that Halloween is NOT going to go off with a bang, . . . but it would be a bad thing if it did.

[myrna minx]

23. THANK YOU!

I cannot express how disgusted I am with with the "Vreelanders." How fun to peddle stories without even TRYING to alert your fellow Duer's who actually live in the Twin Cities. I guess the point isn't to help your fellow friends, it is to parse words and flame each other. Sexy speculation is much more fun than to care about the lives of the human beings in the Twin Cities. I have lost so much respect for many people around here. Hey NS, if we survive the impending mushroom cloud, we should have another get together. IF and only IF we narrowly escape with our loved ones/pets and our own lives. :hi: I guess we are suppose to die in order to prove the credibility of Mr. Vreeland? :shrug: Yeah, that would be sweet.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

7. kick

:kick:

[seemslikeadream]

13. Anyone following this soap opera might be interested in this thread

Who the hell is Mr Schwarz and why would ANYONE respond to his letter?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2532170&mesg_id=2532170

#48 post

observe how believers in Karl were treated, look familiar?


and this one, see a pattern here?

Man Who Says He Predicted Sept. 11 Attacks Arrested
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=924780&mesg_id=924780

[Fleshdancer]

17. Here's his passport photo....

I had to do some online research just to make sense of some of the DU threads. Anyway, this isn't very relevent but it's nice to put a face to the name since everyone seems to be talking about him:

I'm nuetral on this whole thing, but if this passport is legit and he has such a horribly long criminal record, would he still be issued a passport? I don't know what the laws are or when he started the con thing or if this is even real, but it was just the first question that popped up in my mind.

[PRETZEL]

20. this may be petty and naive but,

why did he sign his passport "Delmart Vreeland Edward" when his name is Delmart Edward Vreeland?

[Minstrel Boy]

22. The record is also clouded with the use of

"Lee Harvey" and "Harvey Lee."

Names, to con men, psychopaths and spooks - sometimes all three at the same time - are mutable things.

[seventhson]

18. ANOTHER news article on Vreeland (details of arrest and identity)

This confirms at least in part GB&C's claim that when Vreeland called him immediately after his arrest they did not yet know who he really was. On the other hand it leaves murky whether he "wanted" to get caught (using a bad credit card is one sure way of getting busted if you want to though)

http://images.trafficmp.com/tmpad/content/webdate/pop1_2004616152220.htm

Authorities have 22 names, very little else on fugitive

Advertisement


A tip from a credit card company Wednesday, Oct. 20, led to the arrest of a man wanted in numerous states and Canada by the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.According to Sheriff's Deputy Ken Lubkeman, "A Shell credit card had been used at Dudley's Corner, and when it was electronically run through, it had been flagged that there was a problem with the card." The credit card company phoned the Franklin County Sheriff's Department to report the use of the card.

Lubkeman said deputies Stephen Bardole and Adam Blau were dispatched to investigate the matter, and while they were on the road, a sheriff's department in Colorado "called us and told us the person associated with that card was wanted in their state."Bardole and Blau located the white, full-size van at around the 170 mile marker on I-35, and when they questioned the subject, he gave them several different names and birth dates. The subject, identified at Clayton Steeves, was found to have 16 warrants out of several states, including Michigan, Colorado, Virginia, and Florida. In addition, he was also wanted by the FBI and the New York Police Department. The warrants included charges such as flight to avoid prosecution, forgery, felony credit card, arson, and child prostitution.Steeves is being held at the Hardin County Jail, in Eldora, on charges of being a fugitive from justice, and providing false information to a peace officer.
On Monday morning, Oct. 25, the Chronicle received a tip from a caller in Canada that Steeves was also known as Delmart Vreeland, and was somewhat of a celebrity in that country. An Internet search of the name resulted in no less than 909 matches. Vreeland has gained notoriety in Canada for claiming to have predicted the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and for claiming to be a Naval Intelligence operative.

Within days, news of Vreeland's arrest by Franklin County authorities filtered up to Canada, and a reporter from the Toronto Star called the sheriff's department and interviewed Deputy Lubkeman for a story that appeared in the Star's Sunday, Oct. 24, edition. Lubkeman told the Chronicle that Vreeland will be held while the investigation continues.


More

[seemslikeadream]

19. ParanoidPat has posted here, setting the record straight

Starting at post #68 so people will not have to rely on third party gossip that certain people have been spreading.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2542486&mesg_id=2542486

And Eloriel's post #222 should be read

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2539656&mesg_id=2545762