Scott Peterson's fake degrees?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by John Bear, Mar 20, 2005.

Loading...
  1. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    An Emailer tells me that in Judge Catherine Crier's new book about Scott Peterson, it is mentioned that he had three fake diplomas hanging in his home--purchased over the Internet from a phony diploma supplier. I wonder if they are named in the book, or if this came up at the trial?
     
  2. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Thank you, E.H., for the following:

    In the book on the Peterson murder case, by Crier, at page 109 says that one of the police officers noticed four diplomas on Scott's wall._ Three of them, Scott laughed off as a joke from Laci._ The police were not convinced._ The three that turned out to be phony were a BA from Arizona State in religious studies (!), and two from the University of San Diego, a BS in psychology, and a BS in business... The book states, "The diplomas were beautifully matted, framed, and displayed in the Peterson home as_if they were legitimate."_ Actually, the_fakes_had been ordered over the Internet, using Scott's credit card._ They_cost about $270 and had been purchased from a website known as "phonydiplomas.com."_ The order was placed just eight days before Laci's murder."
     
  3. Jake_A

    Jake_A New Member

    Wow! Very interesting. "Thanks" Dr. Bear, for this early scoop.

    I am not in the least bit surprised.

    Might this be one indication of the possibly generally low self-esteem felt and acted-upon by the psychotics, the criminally pre-disposed, the pathological liars, cheats and cesspool-dwellers of the same ilk and inclination as the demonic Scott Petersens and "Son-of-Sams" of this world?

    Diploma mill purveyors and purchasers want to deceive the world into thinking that they are something other than what they in reality are - sick and unconvincing liars, possibly demented, and criminal to boot.

    Smooth operators, though, they are.

    The Emperor has no clothes but vehemently insists on wearing, displaying and bragging about the latest - and quite illusory and non-existent - fashions from Macy's, Nordstroms and Lord & Taylor's.

    Thanks.
     
  4. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    I'm normally against the death penalty for philosophical reasons. However, after finding out that Scott Peterson was also an academic fraud, I think the death penalty is justified. :p
     
  5. George Brown

    George Brown Active Member

    How fascinating. I'm actually trying to do some writing at the moment on the psychology of fraud, and the factors that lead people to purchase fake degrees. Has anybody got any opinions or knows of some relevant literature I could look at? There is quite a body of knowledge in the area of lying and deviancy, but was wondering if anybody had some other areas to share.

    While were on it, I have quite a few folders on stories of people buying fake degrees and/ or purporting to hold degrees. Does anybody know of some highly notable cases of people in positions of authority? Would love just a few names of the top of your heads.

    Cheers,

    George
     
  6. Jake_A

    Jake_A New Member

    Let's begin right here, at home.

    1. Good 'ole reliable Degreeinfo has the juice on some of these notorious academic frauds: See http://www.degreeinfo.com/static/forum_archive/1/1221/thread_1221_page_1.html

    2. "Holders of fake degrees most frequently serve as teachers, police officers, counselors, medical administrators, expert witnesses and business managers." [Alan Contreras, testimony to Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, May 2004]. Source: http://edworkforce.house.gov/hearings/108th/21st/dmills092304/morse.htm

    I agree.

    3. In fact, they come in all walks of life. However, K to 12 teachers seem to be disproportionately represented in the fake degree holders category, both here at home (US) and abroad.

    3. See: http://www.jpost.com/Letters/47729.html
    "According to Stuart Winer’s “5,500 Israelis bought fake college degrees” (dated January 20), he states: “- among them, 350 teachers who received master’s degrees even though they do not hold even a bachelor’s degree.”

    4. I remember reading someplace that some producers of certain TV infomercials, purveyors of self-help or so-called miraculous products, treatments and services are apt to hold primarily fake doctorates of various kinds.

    5. Even some politicians, Mayors and certain law enforcement and myriad authority figures (some recently uncovered in the US Department of Homeland Security) are purpoted to be holders of fake degrees/unaccredited degrees.

    The list goes on .... and on ....... I tip my hat to ya if you can make heads or tails of this huge and ugly mess. Should be an interesting project though, and a good read, when its all said and done.

    "The psychology of fake credential-based self-delusion ......"

    Thanks.
     
  7. adireynolds

    adireynolds New Member

    Hi George,

    This is an area I've been looking at on the surface level in conjunction with one of my classes. Although I'm examining the psychology of fraud offenders more from a financial/occupational fraud standpoint, you might find these sources useful:

    Duffield, G. & Grabosky, P. (2001). The psychology of fraud. Trends and Issues in
    Crime and Criminal Justice, 199, 1-6. Retrieved February 10, 2005 from http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/ti199.pdf.

    Karpardis, A. & Krambia-Karpardis, M. (2004). Enhancing fraud prevention and
    detection by profiling fraud offenders. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 14, 189-201.
    (I pulled this full-text from the database Business Source Premier; if you can't get it, I'll be glad to send you a soft copy.)

    Another excellent resource on fraud and fraud deterrence in general is the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Their website is http://www.cfenet.com. You might find your access to some things limited if you're not a member, but if you see anything that might be useful to you, feel free to PM me.

    Hope these help.

    Cheers,
    Adrienne
     
  8. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Did Laci know?

    Ha! That's a good one.

    So here's the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question: Were those diplomas on that wall prior to 8:00 or 8:30 PM PST on December 23, 2002 (roughly the last confirmable time that Laci was known, for sure, to be alive)?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 21, 2005
  9. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    There's a self proclaimed expert on Narcissistic Personality Disorder because he has NPD himself. He wrote a book on NPD. (I read much of the book, it actually is very well done and seems well documented.) He says that fake degrees are irresistible to an NPD. He has a PhD himself from a degree mill as further evidence of the truth of this!

    http://samvak.tripod.com/
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 21, 2005
  10. Jake_A

    Jake_A New Member

    Excellent post! Thanks a lot, Aarbrooks, for these useful references and sources on fraud and the psychology thereof. I will definitely check them out. Thanks.
    Out of the horse's own mouth!

    At least, here is one academic fraud who chooses to come clean, own up (or is it down) and tell the truth...... if he knows what telling the "truth" is.

    Assuming that he does and that he is sincere this once, this may be one of the very few times that he has ever bothered to tell the truth - that his diploma mill degree is a symptom of some type of personality disorder.

    Now, it is time for all KWE fake/substandard degree purveyors, holders and seekers to come clean, too!

    LOL.

    Fascinating! Interesting. Hmmmmm ..........

    Are there any available photos of that wall at any time when Laci was known to be alive and well?

    Comparing images of that wall THEN versus NOW might prove interesting, and I suspect, double, triple and quadruple incriminating!

    It might be a good idea for officers to tape Scott Peterson's fake degrees to his back as he takes his last walk into the "Death Chamber" to sit on THAT chair.

    Bill, I, too, like you (and I think, Gregg) am generally opposed to the death penalty, on principle. However, brutal murders such as the one commited by the dastardly Scott Peterson is grieviously testing my resolve and my opposition to it.

    Thanks.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 21, 2005
  11. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Here's something you can do...

    Yes, I am opposed to the death penalty, on principle... just to clear that up.

    Well, of course, I've always argued that our ability to do precisely that -- to maintain that resolve even in the face of such profligate heinousness -- is part of what separates us from apes...

    ...er... well... you know... that, and not throwing poop at zoo visitors.

    In 1995 Sister Camille D'Arienzo of the Convent of Mary in Brooklyn, New York conceived an idea whereby those who are categorically against the death penalty would execute (no pun intended), as a legal document, what she called her "Declaration of Life." Here's an abbreviated version of the declaration that anyone who had executed the official, long-form version would carry in his/her wallet:
    • "I AM INALTERABLY OPPOSED TO THE DEATH PENALTY. If my death should happen to be the result of a crime, I do not wish any person(s) accused of said crime to face the death penalty under any circumstances. Please advise the court and all attorneys of this, my fervent wish. I further wish that this declaration be read into the record and strongly considered during any legal hearing or proceeding in which the victim of the crime of my murder is allowed to speak, or in which said victim's wishes are taken into consideration."
    In Sister D'Arienzo's vision, anyone carrying the above words on a card in his/her wallet would first have formally executed, before a notary public, the actual long-form declaration; whereupon s/he would add it to his/her estate papers with his/her lawyer, who would be instructed to file said declaration with his/her assailant's sentencing court in the event that said assailant had murdered him/her.

    Sister D'Arienzo's proposal intrigued one of the producers at NPR's "All Things Considered" program; who then got permission to do a segment on it for said program... a segment which originally aired on September 12, 1995 (and a streaming audio copy of which I can't find to save my life). That's where I first heard about it.

    One of the persons who signed the declaration was long-time death penalty foe, personal hero of mine, and former New York Governor: Mario Cuomo. In his interview for that NPR program segment Cuomo was asked if he would be so compassionate if the murder victim were someone he loved dearly... his own daughter, for example; and would he not, then, be so angry and interested in retribution, just like most anyone else probably would be if someone so close to them had been brutally murdered.

    "Of course I would be angry," he replied, pointing out that he's as human as anyone else and that his grief and passion would, no doubt, move him toward a completely understandable eye-for-an-eye sort of reaction. "However," he added, "the civility and compassion of the impulse not to impose the death penalty exemplifies what is the very best in us all. I would not want the best in us overshadowed by what would merely be the worst in me."

    Whenever I find my anti-death penalty resolve challenged, I just think back on those words of Mario Cuomo in 1995... and it soon passes.

    I should note that, at the time, I immediately sent-off for a copy of the "Declaration of Life," and executed it about a week later. I have never, since, had so much as a second thought about, or questioned, that decision... not even once. I strongly urge anyone -- you, who are reading this now -- who wishes to make just about the most compelling anti-death-penalty statement possible to do the very same; and then, thereafter, to make whatever arrangements are necessary so that it be made available to the prosecutor or state's attorney or district attorney who prosecutes your murderer (if there should ever happen to be one, that is... heaven forbid, of course) so that it will have the possibility of influencing his/her decision to seek the death penalty in the first place; and to also see to it that it gets filed with the court as your victim's statement at his/her sentencing, in any case, so that it will have the possibility of influencing the judge.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 22, 2005
  12. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Re: Here's something you can do...

    I guess the wife is right, I really should stop doing that to the salesman visiting our house. :eek: :eek:
     
  13. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Re: Re: Here's something you can do...

    And Jehova's Witnesses.
     
  14. George Brown

    George Brown Active Member

    Thanks so much for the info guys - much appreciated.

    Cheers,

    George
     
  15. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    So I just found this thread over seven years old in response to a completely unrelated search.

    And someone has to bump it to give NMTTD the chance to call for a second death penalty, for his offence against Arizona State.
     
  16. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    The 18th and current Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Florida, Jennifer Carroll.

    She received a Master of Business Administration degree from unaccredited Kensington University in 1995 although she no longer claims this on her qualifications.

    See
    Jennifer Carroll - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Meet Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll

    Also reference
    Gonzales, Vince (May 10, 2004). "Top Officials Hold Fake Degrees". CBS Evening News
     

Share This Page