
The Professor, the Bikini Model and the Suitcase Full of Trouble - danso
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/magazine/the-professor-the-bikini-model-and-the-suitcase-full-of-trouble.html?hp
======
nlh
This is a terrific story. Not terrific for any parties involved, but a well-
written and well-told _story_. For any of you that just skimmed it - it's
worth going back and reading the whole thing.

With lots of journalism these days it's terribly easy to give up on the
storytelling part and stick to dry facts. Sometimes the case calls for that,
but other times the weaving of the tale can be the best part.

Here, the reader is brought along for the ride - we're led to believe one
version, then learn some dramatic differences that arose during the trial. Fun
and worthwhile.

~~~
eli
If you like this kind of thing, you may enjoy <http://www.longform.org/> or
one of the other similar sites that highlight long form journalism.

~~~
lostlogin
Or <http://thefeature.net>. - formerly Givemesomethingtoread. This is Marco's,
or is associated with him somehow. It has great stories, and they tend to be
the right length for the evening situation where lights are out, but I want to
read before I sleep.

------
seiji
This paragraph sounds like classic Wolfram/Kurzweil egotism:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/magazine/the-professor-
the...](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/magazine/the-professor-the-bikini-
model-and-the-suitcase-full-of-trouble.html?hp#p%5BAFtAia%5D)

Personality is a vector. Just because you are really high up on technical
smarts means nothing in regard to the rest of you. We could simplify it down
to a minimal [technical-smarts world] vector where at an extreme end you could
have [100 0] being "brilliant, but forgot to wear pants to work today" to [0
100] being "the friendliest, most amazing person you'll ever meet, but they
can't work a toaster." Few people are a Feynman. Most of us manage to be
midline boring enough we wouldn't make interesting NYT articles.

But, more interestingly, never underestimate the ability of a smart person to
seem dumber than they are for their own benefit. We honestly can't tell if
he's a rube, a conman, or a mark.

~~~
IvyMike
Having read the whole story, I can't help but think that he knew he was
transporting drugs, but was duped into thinking he was doing it for the real
Milani. Like all the best movie cons, you make the mark believe they're on the
inside, but they're really not.

Getting back to the egotism: This is speculation, but I think his thought
process on the drug smuggling probably went like this: "I'm so much smarter
than everyone else I've ever met, of COURSE I will get away with it,
especially with my airtight excuse if I am caught." This kind of reminds me of
Hans Reiser, whose egotism and belief in his own superiority was also his
downfall.

~~~
api
This is the origin of "you can't con an honest man." I was a victim of a very
weird kind of con once, and I'm not ashamed to admit that my ego played a huge
role in getting me to fall for it. Con men play to the mark's ego because
because it _works_!

(Luckily in my case I escaped with little loss, and didn't end up in an
Argentine jail.)

~~~
kbenson
> you can't con an honest man.

Unfortunately it's not true. There are a number of cons that apply towards
people wanting to do the right thing (and usually mixing a bit of greed in as
well), to make the pull twice as hard to resist.

Check out the Glim-dropper scam[1]. I've heard it described in multiple
variations (diamond ring at a gas station, wallet on the street, etc).
Importantly, the mark is both making money, and _providing help to someone who
needs it_.

[1]: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_confidence_tricks>

~~~
gimeq
The Glim-dropper scam involves the mark trying make money by inserting oneself
as an intermediary who provides no benefit, concealing his true intentions.
Outside of HN, that is considered dishonesty.

~~~
kbenson
I don't think it's quite as simple as that, and that you're ignoring all the
possible ways it could play out. I saw it explained and performed once on a
program where it was a lost wallet of some sort, and if/when the mark did not
offer to insert themselves into the transaction, the person who "found" that
wallet would explain that they needed to be somewhere soon, but aren't greedy,
and would happily split the reward so they don't miss their meeting.

In this case, the mark is helping not only the person who lost the wallet, but
also the finder by allowing them to gain some reward money while not actually
having to return the found item.

In this case the mark has real reasons the could expect some financial gain:
1) There is an actual task to be accomplished, they must be intermediary for
this item and deliver it to the recipient. 2) The recipient may very well be
believed to be unavailable for some period, and the mark may feel that the
financial loss constitutes during this period is non-zero. 3) There's risk
involved, as they must put out some of teir own money for the transaction to
take place, even if there is expected return. There will likely be a
risk/reward ratio that makes sense internally.

To me that very clearly makes it possibe that the mark is honest and non-
greedy and will get taken by the con.

Indeed, the more honest and generous the mark is, the more money the con
makes.

------
plg
The story raises an interesting dilemma that many of us in the tech and
academic realm are faced with quite often, when recruiting / hiring people to
join our teams (whether at a company or in a lab or in an academic dept).
Personality and indeed intelligence is a vector. How much of a priority do you
put on the length of the projection of the vector onto the dimension(s) that
are of direct relevance (e.g. expertise and creativity in theoretical physics)
and how much weight do you put on the other dimensions (of which there are
many)?

The risk of hiring a mad/strange/unstable/unusual "genius" is that dealing
with the social aspects of their presence is not without its cost, even if
there is a high probability they can generate the magic sauce. The risk of
hiring a more well rounded set of team members is that you will end up with a
pod of best friends who never end up generating the magic sauce.

Personally I favour the latter approach, I strongly believe that a more
cohesive, well rounded team ends up being greater than the sum of the parts,
and that quite often, a team containing a mad genius devolves into chaos.

~~~
rrrrtttt
I feel that the only relevant factor in hiring should be competence. How do
you define being well rounded, and how do you measure that when you're
interviewing? Is that just a code word for being someone like you?

~~~
greedo
So a competent employee who is a bore, is rude to coworkers, makes
sexist/racist comments is fine. Okay.

~~~
shabble
...unless you define 'competent' correctly.

------
pikewood
Their use of a somewhat-known bikini model sounds like the same technique
phishers use to weed out their victims: introducing typos/stories that non-
gullible people would easily see as discrediting the entire ploy. If anyone
continues from that point on, they've already proven that they're susceptible
to being scammed, and the job is that much easier.

~~~
eliza1wright
Good point. Craigslist is a hotbed of spammers and phishers, especially in the
housing section. They employ some pretty transparent tactics: amenities that
are too good to be true at the given price point, pictures that you can easily
reverse search, etc. They're looking for people who won't ask too many
questions.

------
MWil
Oh wow, I worked on this case over the summer (representing the University of
North Carolina system via the State DOJ). [http://www.wral.com/judge-
dismisses-convicted-unc-professor-...](http://www.wral.com/judge-dismisses-
convicted-unc-professor-s-lawsuit/11983195/)

Won't say much more than that but it's cool to see it on the front page of HN.

------
jiggy2011
I wonder what the best course of action would be in such a situation?

Ditch the suitcase and risk the attention of some fairly unpleasant people?

Go to the police and risk being arrested anyway?

There was a TV series a while ago called "Banged up abroad" which documented a
number of cases like this.

It was quite scary the lengths some of the criminals had gone to in order to
find drug mules, in one case they had got an attractive woman to date a guy
for a year and gain his trust before getting him to mule for them.

~~~
riggins
_I wonder what the best course of action would be in such a situation?_

pay attention to reality how it is, not how you wish it was. i.e. don't
believe models are chasing 60 yr old physics professors.

~~~
jiggy2011
At that point it's a bit late though. Besides, they could have just as easily
persued a younger guy who might have thought he had a chance.

~~~
jfb
They picked a 60yr old dude because he was likely to fall for the scam. It's
like the Nigerian 419 dudes -- their letters are barely literate because
they're designed to snare only those most likely to fall for the later,
lucrative stages of the scam. Any time spent making their appeals more
realistic would only mean time wasted on people with functional bullshit
filters. There was an interesting paper from a guy at Microsoft? I think?
about this. I'll see if I can turn it up.

EDIT: Here's a mention at _The Economist_ :
<http://www.economist.com/node/21557726>

------
nhebb
_His greatest dream was "to have a prediction verified by experimentation."
This, he explained, was how you win the Nobel as a theoretical particle
physicist. "That would bring an enormous sense of fulfillment, quite apart
from the Nobel Prize"_

It's hard to tell from that statement if he puts more importance on the
scientific achievement itself, or the Nobel prize awarded for the achievement.

~~~
redwood
You hit the nail on the head of the irony implicit in the hunt for the
inherently material/prestige-granting awards in science where we're also meant
to believe these individuals care only about a higher, non-trivial realm.
Funny

------
nvr219
Just FYI if you click on this link you will not see any pictures of bikini
models.

~~~
auggierose
Well, the first thing everyone does is google for Denise Milani ...

------
neya
Whoa..what a story! So beautiful, well-written and expressive! Kudos to the
author..felt like watching an Al Pacino film!!

One thing I'm not sure of is if he _actually_ knew he WAS transporting drugs,
yeah I do get the fact that the injunction was lifted, but was he really aware
of his actions??

~~~
chadcf
The 30 text messages discussing hiding from the drug goons, changing meeting
locations, the value of the cocaine he's transporting, etc seem to indicate
that he did in fact know. I mean I suppose as he says he could have just been
kidding around, but those messages (and that many) don't seem like a joke. Of
course only an idiot would send texts about their drug smuggling plans, but
then again there is ample evidence in this article this guy was in fact an
idiot in many respects.

~~~
neya
Thank you...even I thought so, but wasn't sure!

------
gtani
2 disconnected thoughts:

\- if anybody hasn't heard of death sentences for traffickers in Asia, or had
the experience in the airport, when you're waiting to clear
Customs/Immigration, of seeing the labrador retriever decide that somebody's
bags were interesting, you can google those stories.

\- my parents are/were academics and I've met a nontrivial number of people
who are brilliant in their little corner of math, software, EE, physics but
palpably short on the skills needed to not get hit by a car or not burn down
their kitchen.

------
peterjancelis
Slightly off topic, but as someone who hopes to sail around the world one day,
I can't wait for 3D drug printing to arrive. Boats are often left unattended
and with every other cruiser announcing their planned route on a blog, I am
amazed so few get in troubles for unknowingly transporting drugs planted by
some drug smugglers. Maybe it's the lack of speed that makes them
unattractive.

~~~
shabble
Some of the narco-sub stuff in incredibly impressive given the constraints
they're working under. They might spend ~$5M on a single-use vessel, knowing
it's going to be maybe 1-2% of the total value of the trip, and the risk of
re-use is too great.

I'm curious how UUV (unmanned/autonomous underwater vehicle) tech might change
the economics of that; certainly you could improve on the eggs/basket metric
if you could bring the cost/size/detectability down.

For your cruising theory; I wonder just how hard it would be to build a
magnetic/quickset-epoxy limpet-mine type construction that can hold a few 10's
of Kg of payload. Bonus points for ruggedised GPS+satphone so you can track
it, and perhaps even instruct it to detach and inflate buoyancy compensator
10-20m underwater til you come collect.

~~~
outworlder
I think that the reason we do not hear much about such things is either:

1- The 'drug mine' is wildly successful and has not been caught by the
authorities yet

or

2- People intelligent enough to be building such devices found less risky and
more profitable avenues for their skills. i.e.: criminals are not smart and
that's why they are criminals.

~~~
ZachPruckowski
I think there's also possibility (3) - the cost or effort of a "drug mine" is
higher than existing methods, which work relatively well.

I mean, drugs are clearly getting into the US, and proper organizational
structure in your criminal enterprise means that mules and runners getting
pinched every once in a while is just a cost of doing business.

------
danso
This begins like a classic "nerd falls for improbable lady" story, but has a
pretty satisfying mystery at the end.

------
ahi
Along those lines, a prof at UMich lost custody of his son because he gave him
Mikes Hard Lemonade at a baseball game. So much brilliance and cluelessness
wrapped up into one person.

[http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-familys-custody-
ordea...](http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-familys-custody-ordeal-over-
mistaken-alcoholic-drink-order-for-son-sparks-federal-lawsuit/)

------
jcampbell1
It appears that not only did he know there were drugs, but he was planning on
stealing them for his and Milani's benefit. It seems he had a plan to outsmart
everyone.

------
lnanek2
The professor reminds me of this book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time [http://www.amazon.com/The-Curious-Incident-Dog-Night-
Time/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Curious-Incident-Dog-Night-
Time/dp/1400032717/)

The character sure gets around even though he can't process most of what's
happening between normal people.

------
ChuckMcM
Wow, that is such a sad story. On so many levels.

------
davidrudder
Did anyone else find it unbelievable that he thought he was really talking to
Denise Milani? She's kind of famous.

~~~
fuddle
Yeah and hot! <http://ca.askmen.com/denise-milani/picture-1.html>

~~~
Noughmad
The first impression I get from this picture is that it looks photoshopped. A
closer inspection reveals that it's not the picture that is shopped, but the
model.

~~~
davidrudder
Oh, yeah, she's definitely a case of "plastic surgeons gone wild". I said she
was famous, not attractive! :)

------
mrchess
Reading this story made me wonder, does it ever work? And if so, I wonder what
the success ratio is. Clearly is must be high enough (or profitable enough
despite losses) for them to keep doing it...

------
cpursley
This is a perfect example of why both drugs and prostitution should be legal.

------
bicknergseng
I'm not a doctor, but from this article it seems to me like the professor has
Asperger's or another ASD. The way he fixates on data, attempts to quantify
qualitative things like ego, and one sided verbosity expressed in the article
seem similar to behaviors I've observed in people with AS. Any psychiatrists
on HN today?

------
edtechdev
This may seem tangentially on-topic, but I'd really recommend faculty at
universities be required to go through some basic computer (and Internet)
literacy courses. Some faculty I've worked with can barely check their email,
and most universities already require students to show basic computer
proficiency.

------
fuddle
"Professor Frampton reportedly told investigators that he was set up after
flying to Argentina to meet a "well known model" he met over the internet.
Frampton was held in Villa Devoto Jail in Buenos Aires awaiting trial amid
claims that his defense would involve an argument that he suffers from "a
schizoid personality disorder that prevents him from making normal social
connections and renders him unusually gullible."
[http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/06/06/2118053/unc-prof-
accu...](http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/06/06/2118053/unc-prof-accused-of-
smuggling.html)

And a great read on his history on wikipedia..
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Frampton>

------
TheMagicHorsey
How can someone that smart not ask for a verification photo where she is
holding today's newspaper, or something like that. The guy is a physicist,
can't he think of something like that?

~~~
eliza1wright
The article quotes Frampton as saying, "I have been accused of having a huge
ego." Asking for proof would be admitting to himself (and her) that he can't
realistically bag a swimsuit model.

~~~
smsm42
There's a difference between being able to buy a Rolex and believing the guy
on the corner selling Rolexes out of this coat pocket sells genuine ones.
First has to do with the ego, the second only with lack of the common sense.

------
aaron695
I was going to comment on how interesting it was that such a (Possibly?)smart
person could be so naive in thinking a famous model would date him but then I
see so many comments saying stuff like 'I think he knew about the drugs'

Of course he did! This was the point of the story!?!

Back to smart people, I'd be interested to see a write up on his work. Was he
actually any good?

And also I'll say it, he is old, has his mind degraded? Or has he gone fk it,
life's not what it used to be why not go crazy (With a little mental illness
thrown in)

------
miles
Reading the comments here, I wonder if most people read the article all the
way down to the paragraph that begins: _"Frampton’s long-held defense"_? I
don't want to spoil it, but would highly recommend reading the entire article
before forming any conclusions.

------
arjn
Interesting read and well written. Unless I missing something those SMSs the
prof sent that appear to be referencing drugs are a huge red flag. Either he
is unbelievably stupid or was in on it somehow.

------
sneak
[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/there-are-no-girls-on-the-
inte...](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/there-are-no-girls-on-the-internet)

------
ForFreedom
These are the stories that Nat Geo: Banged up Abroad program shows. Have you
guys seen it?

------
don_draper
If you find that interesting, check out 'Locked up Abroad' on Netflix.

------
changdizzle
Manti T'eo, anyone?

------
hakaaaaak
What a waste.

------
youngerdryas
Amazing lack of critical thinking for a scientist.

~~~
jfb
I think it's entirely likely he knew what was up with the suitcase. And nobody
ever went broke overestimating the male ego.

~~~
danso
It's funny, I hadn't thought considered it possible that he knew about the
cocaine _and_ he was convinced the model was real. I thought it was either-or:
either he was completely blinded by his love and really is naive about
transferring random bags across the border, or he was in need of money and
concocted this honey-trap story (and a facade of total naivete) as a cover for
being a drug mule.

I suppose it's possible that he thought being a drug mule was just one of the
tasks he had to do to woo this woman. Which would be even more boneheaded than
just falling for her innocently.

~~~
ledge
_I suppose it's possible that he thought being a drug mule was just one of the
tasks he had to do to woo this woman. Which would be even more boneheaded than
just falling for her innocently._

From reading the texts he sent from the airport, and the calculations he
scratched out on paper at the same time, it seems that this is actually what
he was thinking.

As far as I can tell, he planned to steal the cocaine from Bolivians, fly to
Europe with it, and then share the proceeds of selling the cocaine with his
new bikini-model Czech wife.

~~~
smsm42
What sounds really strange to be in that paper is that a physicist needed to
multiply 200 by 2000 _on paper_. How hard is that? First-grader should be able
to do it.

~~~
shrikant
What country are you from? That'd be some mighty smart first-graders...

~~~
smsm42
In what country first-grader doesn't know what is 2 times 2?

------
betterunix
The war on drugs strikes again.

~~~
rollo_tommasi
There's a significant difference between busting people for dropping acid or
growing some weed in their backyard and busting people for trafficking large
amounts of cocaine on behalf of an international drug cartel.

~~~
betterunix
There would be no international drug cartels if drugs were legal and
regulated.

~~~
TheCoelacanth
That might help but being legal doesn't completely stop cartels. Oil is legal
and yet OPEC still exists.

~~~
ucee054
You destroy meaning if you confuse the two different usages of the word.

When describing drug cartels, "cartel" means "mafia"

When describing the oil cartel, "cartel" means "monopolistic syndicate"

There is no comparison between OPEC and Los Zetas.

You shouldn't have even brought OPEC into this.

~~~
lostlogin
Maybe not OPEC, but reading about oil companies behaviour in places like
Nigeria and the similarities with Los Zetas are there all right.

~~~
ptaipale
No, not quite.

~~~
lostlogin
[http://premiumtimesng.com/business/5408-how_shell_connived_w...](http://premiumtimesng.com/business/5408-how_shell_connived_with_corrupt_officials.html)

[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/secret-
pape...](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/secret-papers-show-
how-shell-targeted-nigeria-oil-protests-1704812.html)

Bribery, corruption and human rights abuses. How is this not Los Zetas style?

------
lambdasquirrel
As an aside, I wonder how much of his sentence has to do with his British
lineage, and bitterness over the Falklands War. It seems a little odd for
prosecution and the authorities to display little leniency or empathy, and
understanding those undertones, it gives me a bit of the us-vs.-them heebie-
jeebies.

~~~
justincormack
WTF? The Falklands has nothing to do with anything.

~~~
kragen
Here in Argentina, Falklands/Malvinas are the first thing people associate
with Britain. A British friend of mine was trying to persuade her (Argentine)
landlord to fix the roof in her apartment, and he started yelling at her about
the Malvinas. The dominant stereotype of Englishpeople is not that they have
terrible food or that they drink a lot of tea but that they are pirates who
want to steal offshore oil that legitimately belongs to Argentina and who keep
invading Argentina over and over. There is actually a suburb of Buenos Aires
whose actual name is "Malvinas Argentinas".

If you're talking about public perception in England, I'm sure you're right.
But the case was here in Argentina.

