David "Race" Bannon
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David "Race" Bannon (born 1963) is a pseudonym for David Wayne Dilley, an American fraudster who posed as a former Interpol agent and wrote fictional accounts of his alleged adventures in various Asian countries, as well as other other subjects, including Asian politics and computer science. Bannon's claims have been debunked since his arrest for criminal impersonation and other charges in January 2006.
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[edit] Interpol Impostor Status
Interpol's website contains the following statement dated January 31st, 2006:[1]
In 2004, the Interpol General Secretariat issued the following statement about Bannon's book:
"Interpol's General Secretariat in Lyon has no record of David Race Bannon having been employed and no knowledge of individuals mentioned in Mr Bannon's book. Interpol exists to facilitate the exchange of information between the world's law enforcement agencies and to provide analysis of criminal data and other services. Accordingly, the claims in Mr Bannon's book can only be seen as deceptive and irresponsible fantasy.
The above disclaimer was distributed to US law enforcement agencies by the US National Central Bureau of Interpol and to other potentially interested parties by the General Secretariat."
Bannon responded to this statement by asserting that the covert nature of his alleged works (including over 100 assassinations) forced Interpol to make such a disavowal of his claims.
[edit] Bannon's Arrest
According to the Rocky Mountain News, Bannon was arrested in Boulder, Colorado on January 27, 2006 on the charge of criminal impersonation, computer crime, and attempted theft. The charges leveled against him assert that he created a fraudulent history of involvement with Interpol and expertise in human trafficking in order to earn fees for consulting and presenting on these topics.
Part of the evidence presented against him was collected by Samuel Browning, a Connecticut lawyer affiliated with Bullshido.net, a website dedicated to rooting out fraudulent practices (Bullshido) in the martial arts. The website's involvement in this case began from Bannon's unproven claims of black belt proficiency in Hapkido and Kendo, and developed into further research of Bannon's other claims.
[edit] Bannon's Guilty Plea
On April 24, 2006, David "Race" Bannon pled guilty to the charge of criminal impersonation before a Colorado judge.[2] His guilty plea was made in exchange for prosecutors dropping the additional charges of computer crime and attempted theft. According to the district attorney prosecuting the case, Bannon will be likely to only face fines as punishment for his crime, with little likelihood of jail time.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.interpol.com/public/News/2006/Bannon20060131.asp
- ^ http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4647160,00.html
[edit] See also
- Article detailing Bannon's arrest
- Press release by the US Department of Justice on Bannon's arrest
- Rocky Mountain News article detailing involvement of Samuel Browning and some of his discoveries
- Charlotte Observer article by Tommy Tomlinson on the Bannon case (also describes involvement of the Bullshido.net website).
- Bullshido.net A site covering various frauds and scams in the Martial Arts community. Please see this page for Samuel Browning's full exposé.
