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From: dennisg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Dennis Griesser)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Industry scams
Message-ID: <2457@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 13-Nov-85 19:54:30 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.2457
Posted: Wed Nov 13 19:54:30 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 17-Nov-85 07:08:08 EST
References: <2939@brl-tgr.ARPA> <9400006@uiucuxa>
Reply-To: dennisg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Dennis Griesser)
Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica
Lines: 30

In article <9400006@uiucuxa> rp321@uiucuxa.CSO.UIUC.EDU writes:
>
>>If you guys can't remember back 2 years to the JRT business, it must
>>be time for Col Winthrop to reappear.
>
>Who/what is Col Winthrop?

I guess that it really IS time.

Winthrop was the brains behind "World Power Systems", a company that offered
sophisticated hardware at excellent prices through mail order.  He also had
a long record of similar scams.

The company specialized in S-100 stuff:  I/O boards, clocks, EPROM blasters,
etc.  While these items sound quite mundane nowadays, they were fancy and
difficult to find at the time.

Very few of the products actually existed.  To my knowledge, nothing was ever
shipped.  Many ads (full page spreads) appeared, complete with pictures.
The ads looked authentic enough, but some of the pictures were obviously
mock-ups on closer examination.  One such product was a PC board with no
traces on it.  Some of the items were designed and/or prototyped by a
hobbiest/engineer sucked into Winthrop's scheme.

Winthrop disappeared with the money, leaving the engineer in the lurch.  He also
left a trail of unpaid bills for, among other things, all of those ads!

Winthrop was captured, escaped, re-captured, and now resides in jail.
-- 
[Standard disclaimers apply.]