Phil Imbrogno gone from field - he faked his educational credentials

Originally posted by dreadphil
reply to post by jritzmann

 

I will readily admit the subject of UFO and ET's do bring out many hoaxers and frauds, and ever do I wonder at their reasoning behind such flagrant (and oft times not so flagrant) ruse's, is their need for attention so great as to put themselves out there like that? There are also the ones who use such chicanery to make money off the more gullible people as well. It is hard enuff to sift thru whats truth and not without all the fakers muddying up the waters.

I think it's 2 fold - some start these ridiculous lies and flame wars just for attention, which they ultimately think will garner them more listeners. It's essentially bullying sophomoric garbage (and demonstrably so).

The other half is probably due to a point Biedny made long ago (and despite that we don't much like each other anymore, he's still 100% right): these people can't get arrested in any other field, their entire lives are wrapped up in the drama and controversy in effort to have people notice them. The problem is listeners and the interested public don't care about their tirades, and so they end up marginalizing themselves in the end...over and over.

When no one pays them any mind, they simply up the diatribes and personal B.S. until you respond and validate them as worthy of response...and largely these days, I try not to even bother. Ultimately, these people don't add anything to the subject - and that's what I'm here for.

Now hoaxers, have a real game these days - page hits can equate to cash flow if they play their cards right. If you can pull a good fake, you can hoard it onto a page and advertise on that page with AdSense or direct sales. Going far enough, it can lead to mainstream media coverage which only ups the visibility. But, it also denigrates the subject when found to be fake. And of course there's number two in that equation: that the fakers just want to play games and have a laugh - or act like they're proving some point about the gullibility of the UFO field.

It's a tough deal all around. No wonder we're not making a lot of headway with this UFO problem.

Im not sure how one could do that however..is it as easy as just calling up a hot line and requesting such info? Im not sure, as Ive never tried anything like that before...Ill browse their website and see if theres anything there...I know youve been in the "field" for some time and must surely have a trick or two to use..mebbe you could come up with an idea?

Try checking out my article on the whole affair. notaghost.com

After recent posts, I went and downloaded a couple of the Mind Cemetery shows and listened to the Imbrogno one. Gotta say I enjoyed it and there are a couple of laugh out loud moments in there. I'm Swiss with the podcast rivalry and listen to Paratopia regularly and the Paracast, if there's guests on who I'm interested in. I downloaded the Paul Kimball interview too, I like the guy, and will give it a listen tomorrow.

It's a pity the last couple of pages have strayed into a mini-flame war...that's just ufology I guess.

No doubt Dr Imbrogno BS MVP PhD and Honorary President of Earth will be chuckling into his Hennessey and wiping the tears away with royalty checks.

Thanks Kandinsky for giving it a shot and listening.

ritzmann:
If you and your partner are just going to sit on a make believe high ground and try to stay above the fray at least do so without directly contradicting yourselves yet again.

You say there were lies told about you and your show? What lies were they? ALL information came from your show and the forums you posted in.

Sophomoric bullying? Could of fooled me... actually you are fooling no one. Your right back here on the forums keeping the fire going with every condescending comment.

ZERO response to the attacks your show made against Mabus towards their guest Stan Romanek.

ZERO response to how your show claimed to have insider information, and talked about this sealed degree nonsense.

But hey I get it, other podcasts and frankly listeners aren't worthy of such responses from your show because your all too good for that kind of thing. You want to talk about how we would marginalize ourselves.... you couldn't be more wrong, people like what we do. Because to be honest you and your ilk have been getting away with saying whatever you want and not having it thrown back in your face for a long time. It's even more insulting that the new show on the block did it and heaven forbid you get questioned about your statements, and posts on multiple forums.

You can have your pals here at ATS silence the supporters of Mind Cemetery and The Church of Mabus but you sir are the one marginalizing yourself in the end, your tactics are old and tired, your hypocrisy knows no bounds and with every passing view of this forum thread more and more intelligent, informed people decline to listen to your next show.

You don't really believe that your show or any paranormal/Ufology show can push forward the serious scientific research of the topic do you? Oh hell, why even ask you it's just another distraction question you want out there to keep from answering the real questions about the ethics behind your relationship and subsequent handling of the Imbrogno fallout. That's what's its been about from the start, ethics.

Why would people do this? Fake credentials? What next, doctors faking their credentials?

Well, if Obama can fake his BC, why not fake this?

I agree Paratopia is a joke! No really it is as bad as the national Enquirer. It's the Rush Limbaugh of today's supernatural/UFO tabloid magazines.

just my two cents

Originally posted by Unknown Soldier
I agree Paratopia is a joke! No really it is as bad as the national Enquirer. It's the Rush Limbaugh of today's supernatural/UFO tabloid magazines.

just my two cents

sometimes there is wisdom spoken here and Unknown Soldier nailed it

said it before I'll say it again Ritzmann "Abbott" and Jeremy Vaeni "Costello".

'Nuff Said

Click here for more information.

Wow, pointing out simple facts gets one censored on ATS.

Sayonara.

dB

I'm stunned. I own several of his books.If this is really true it's a shame , because he was a very fine writer on the paranormaland UFOs. That being said, I want to express a few points: while it may be that he apparently was never an MIT graduate, and by not being honest about his higher education has perhaps irrevocabily damaged his own credibility within the UFO community,the validity of the content/theories and events that he wrote about stand on their own, still completely untouched and therefore 'true' (at least in my opinion) for one simple reason: the whole ultraterrestrial/djinn/paranormal/intedimensional approach that he put forth, its related cases, etc...are not were not pioneered by Imbrogno himself, but are identical with and at the core of the work done by researchers John Keel and Jacque Valleé (who happens to be a 'true' PHd), so while Imbrogno might have destroyed his career as an ufologist, the hypotheses and theories expounded in his books (the Paraphysical hypothesis standing outas a very likelycomplement to the more popular ETH) are not in any way damaged by Imbrogno's own imbroglio (no pun intended), and as such, should remain central and viable to the understanding of the UFO problem.

Late to the party here, but this sucks. I liked Phil at one time and I own some of his books. I actually like his easy writing style too.

What i find funny, for anyone that has read his books, is how Rosemary Ellen Guiley has disowned him due to this. They were once partners on a lot of "cases" involving the paranormal and they respected each other....until now...

I wonder if Phil has anymore books planned after this call out? Its been a while, is he truly "gone" from the UFO/Paranormal scene?

Hello, I just recently came across the Imbrogno fiasco online and was wondering if there was any update on the story? I am compiling info and links about this case and will post them here as a reference list for those interested.

A second thought would probably require a separate thread which I can't yet make as my account is recent. I was wondering if any of the commenters in this thread would share their thoughts on the state of ufology/paranormal investigation in the Hudson Valley in recent years? I'm familiar with some of the books and blogs so I may have yet to dig deeper to find any such recent writing, if so please direct me to any links.

I was thinking that since this recent Imbrogno info has come to light, it would be a good thing to review the history of ufology/paranomal in the Hudson Valley and offer any thoughts. I myself live in the area but have only begun to dig more into this subject in recent years so since I was never involved in certain past conflicts I'm not bogged down from that angle, but am interested in deepening my knowledge of the area's history.

Here's a list of links about the recent Phil Imbrogno story, including any mentions here on the Above Top Secret forum. If anyone has any relevant links please message me or post them yourself so we can build up an archive on this topic and keep this thread as a handy reference list.

Above Top Secret thread links

7/6/2011 Phil Imbrogno gone from field - he faked his educational credentials by davidbiedny (this thread you are reading now)
7/13/2011 Phil Imbrogno's apparent response in the above ATS thread, posted as badboy666
7/20/2011 With so many frauds, who can I trust? by dreadphil
Search "imbrogno" at Above Top Secret

Phil Imbrogno links

Djinn Universe
Llewellyn Author page
Amazon Books page
Coast to Coast Radio interviews
Youtube videos
Google search for interviews
Search in the Paracast forum

Other links

7/6/2011 Phil Imbrogno - The Fall of a Paranormal Hero?? by The ParaHunter
7/7/2011 Re: Phil Imbrogno Caught Fabricating MIT by Gene Steinberg
7/7/2011 Fall from grace? by Tony Morrill
7/8/2011 On Imbrogno - and DMR by Don Ecker
7/9/2011 Paratopia Episode 124: Imbroglios Abound by Jeff & Jer
7/10/2011 What I've learned from the Phil Imbrogno fiasco by Tony Morrill
7/11/2011 Priorities by Paul Kimball
7/13/2011 Imbrogno, Fraud, Stolen Valor by Don Ecker
7/14/2011 A Phil-a-buster by Nancy Birnes
7/14/2011 Don Ecker — July 24, 2011 by Gene Steinberg
7/15/2011 Saucers, Lies and Audio Tape by Lance Moody
7/16/2011 Re: Imbrogno Academic Fraud & Stolen Valor by Gregory Boone
7/16/2011 Your Paracast Newsletter — July 16, 2011 by Gene Steinberg
7/17/2011 The Crash of Philip J. Imbrogno by Kevin Randle
7/18/2011 Did William Levengood of the BLT crop circle research team fake his PhD credentials? by the blue raven
7/18/2011 Prominent UFO Author exposed by lancemoody
7/20/2011 Minisode: Where in the world is…………Philip Imbrogno? *update 8-4-11* by Chip
7/20/2011 Phil Imbrogno - Fraud and stolen Valor (?) by philliman
7/22/2011 Grass Roots Welcoming Committee in UFO Land by Regan Lee
7/29/2011 Philip J. Imbrogno withdrawing from paranormal research! by trainedobserver
7/30/2011 Your Paracast Newsletter -- July 30, 2011 by Gene Steinberg
7/30/2011 Professional Credentials for Paranormal Investigators by Josephine
11/20/2011 It was just a year ago that disgraced fraudster Phil Imbrogno was threatening... by Stone Chambers of Putnam County Facebook
1/12/2012 Imbrogno Resurfaces in Canada by ufology

Phil's back with a new book in August and it didn't take long.

Haunted Files from the Edge: A Paranormal Investigator's Explorations into Infamous Legends & Extraordinary Manifestations

Using state-of-the-art tools and special imaging techniques, Imbrogno has been able to find rational explanations for 73 percent of the cases he has investigated. The mystifying cases presented here, supported by eyewitness testimony and photographic evidence, are among those that defy explanation.

Wow, '73%' sounds so precise that it must be true.

Could it be an outstanding contract requirement? Maybe he genuinely sold units and Llewelen Pub. didn't want to lose him? Or maybe, Phil had a book or two left on the contract and has held them to it?

If I'm honest, it comes as no surprise and it's hard to say if I care one way or the other. He's probably lost any support in the UFO field and wouldn't expect any promotional help from UFO blogs or magazines. Out in 'paranormal land,' it's more about titillation and bed-time reading so a collection of ghost stories could be reviewed in the women's weeklies and squeeze a few $$ from a saturated market.

Grifters never die!

reply to post by Kandinsky


Now that he's got all those lies out of his system he can probably be trusted.

And besides, he's solved 73 percent of his cases, so even if he is a liar he is still useful - amiright or what?

reply to post by davidbiedny


I think it is very interesting that you provided no link.