Why bother?

Several dear friends of mine have gently nudged me regarding what has become by now, a bordering on obsessive "pursuit of justice" I have set to carry out.

Why am I so bent on cornering J and why do I continue to devote my time and energy on what may turn out to be a futile, if not a dangerous, pursuit? Because this is just who I am. It's not about money - the banks & Amex have repaid everything he stole - so minus some cash I gave him + the meals - I have not been really that financially disadvantaged. But I could not sleep at night knowing J is staying at another 4 star hotel, paid for by another young man's stolen card, buying beers with cash he'd mooched off another unsuspecting victim, without doing something about it.

I'm an idealist. I love justice, I hate lies, crime and deceit. I thought this would become compromised as I got older but it never did. I was born an idealist and I'll die one. I have been very disappointed with the Police in this country. No offence, but in the USA J would have long ago been arrested. Here it seems as if the Police were looking for reasons not to investigate & not to arrest him. I remember my first attempt to report him. It was truly pathetic. Hear me out.

I walked into a police station in my borough. It resembled some welfare office rather than a police station. One officer behind a glassed booth, and a line about about 10 sleepy people waiting to speak to him. The officer was actually busy giving some delivery items to another man who was putting them in a large bag. It took about 7 minutes. As I looked around the station there were posters about neighbourhood watch, how to make a complaint against the Police, several fliers about race crimes, and how to report them, and what to do if you thought the Police was being racist. I felt as if England just abolished some segregation law that I wasn't aware of. The next person was reporting herself to a parole officer. Again, the officer on duty disappeared and was gone several minutes. I thought to myself - I have a guy who I know is a fraudster and I must wait half an hour to report him... Finally when my turn came I attempted to speak to someone who could help me. I told the officer my suspect's name. I literally had to wait 5 minutes for his computer to start up. Finally - there was nothing on him. The officer then REFUSED to make a report on the grounds that I did not have any evidence. I said this is why I need to sit down and speak to someone so that I can generate evidence (online bank statements, emails, texts, tickets, etc). I was informed that nothing can be done. I was so incredibly frustrated. I'm sure if I said someone was being "racist" to me the entire Met would've been on their feet - but no - since it was only financial fraud - who gives a damn. I got mouthy with the officer, and apologized for taking his time. He probably had many cats waiting to be rescued from trees. (I actually said that).

I finally DID make a proper report, over the phone. Found a cop who would listen. I was given a crime report number and discovered J had already been reported in the past. Well, I reasoned - if you already have a criminal report, and I can tell you where he is, doesn't that call for arrest? Apparently it doesn't. Because my money was being reimbursed by the bank - I was not even a victim anymore. The bank would have to press charges and in the meantime, J was free to continue bouncing around Europe, stealing people's card & ID details and staying & dining in luxury hotels. And of course you can't expect the English Police to work with the French Police on this - it's categorized too insignificant of a crime to be internationally dealt with. I'm sure J is fully aware of this loophole and this is why he has been so successful. They did say if he is caught red handed using stolen card details to pay for a hotel and the police is called immediately - it may be grounds for an arrest. May be.

To brag, I will mention that, in addition to my achievement at the Club, I also managed to get J banned on both websites I know him to be active on. One website kept the profile and put a big ****SCAMMER***** thingy on it - which I actually think is better than the ban itself.

So as far as I know - as of this afternoon - he still has not come up with cash and the Goodenough Club still has his bags. They have said they will hand them over to the Police if J does not come up with cash today. I truly hope this happens. If J can't get arrested maybe at least his luggage will.

So this is why I'm still at it. Yeah - it also gives me a thrill and something to occupy my mind with before I start my job in August. It's actually been kind of fun. Perhaps I should be a detective?