The Frank Abagnale of the EMS World

Frank Abagnale is famous for being a confidence man, a thief and is convicted of bank fraud. Before being caught he allegedly passed the Georgia bar exam, served as a Doctor and most famously logged millions of miles posing as a Pan Am pilot needing a ride from town to town. Of course in each town he made and cashed fraudulent checks and committed other crimes, many of which are now in question, but the claims are monumental. His story was told in the motion picture “Catch me if you can” featuring Leonadro DiCaprio as Abagnale, Christopher Walken as his father, Charlie Sheen as his prospective father in law and little known actor Thomas Hanks as the FBI agent tracking Abagnale’s cons and schemes through the 1960s.

So why is this mentioned on WYE? Well, because a recent story broke about a man impersonating a Paramedic and we just LOVE drama here. And a good flick.

From WOWK comes a story of mystery, intrigue, and a couple of Volunteer Fire Departments a little too quick to take someone at their word. Apparently Christopher Lee Lin (or as he apparently referred to himself to remain incognito, Christopher Beckinsale, no apparent relation to the movie star) wandered into a West Virginia Volunteer Fire Department and mentioned he was a Paramedic from elsewhere. The Chiefs gave him gear, including, a $15,000 breathing apparatus, and then found out later…well…maybe he isn’t who he claims to be.

This week we ponder:

• How does one fake being a Paramedic?
• How does one not ask around or perhaps ask for proof of said Paramedic certs?
• Exactly what does a $15,000 breathing apparatus look like?
• If the real Frank Abagnale made up many of his exploits, does that make him a better con man in the end?

BOLO

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