A man going by the name of Bobby Findley, Robert Finn or Bobby Michaels is out in the community pretending to be a visitor from Ireland. I recently met him in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel on Burrard Street. He said he had just arrived from Belfast and had had his wallet and passport stolen. He said he was applying for a new American Express credit card and claimed he had opened the first pub in Belfast to serve Catholics and Protestants. He claimed to be part of a large Catholic family, that he had drank with Ted Kennedy, had famous people stay at his pad in Belfast, that he was part owner of a high-end club in Dublin called Club M, and that his father knew Van Morrison.
Description: short crew cut, somewhat overweight, maybe 230 lbs., likes to drink, says he is Irish, sharp mind and memory, reads people very fast, about 5’ 10” and stocky, some scars to his scalp, beady eyes, round face, ruddy skin, gift of the gab, talks way too much, plays centre stage, has poor boundaries, makes smart ass remarks, gets in your face, says he is a scrapper and likes fights. He is charming, dangerous, computer savvy, uses Internet cafes and is a pathological liar.
Because this guy took a handful of Common Ground business cards without permission, and is pretending to be an old friend of mine, I am putting out this warning. He is not my friend and Bobby is not to be trusted. He said he had been to Whistler and Bowen where an old Irish writer with white hair bought him drinks at the pub and offered for him to stay. If there is such a character, do warn him. Bobby may hang out in Burnaby along Kingsway and in New Westminster.
The person who tipped me off is a minister who runs a charity thrift store down the street from our office. Bobby told him he was a born-again Christian coming back to the faith. Bobby managed to borrow hundreds of dollars from a congregation in Kitsilano and told them that he was staying at my place which he called an International House of Prayer. He tells different people whatever he figures they want to hear.
If you see a man handing out Common Ground business cards and matching the above description, please contact Vancouver Police in regards to file # 07-99338. If you can, take a photo of him, and/or call Common Ground at 604-733-2215. We do not want the name of Common Ground to be associated, in any way, with this scoundrel. Thank you for you attention.