Phil Imbrogno gone from field - he faked his educational credentials

reply to post by lancemoody
Would that be Saucers, Lies and Audio Tape?

Originally posted by depth om
just from their names you can tell if they're fake. Phil Imbrogno.. yea, too novel of a last name.. you know he's a phony.

Well, actually there is good reason to believe that is indeed his name. I like to pronounce it ImBRAGno now. I don't know why.

Also,

Great article Lance! You hit some very important marks in it I hope folks will dwell on for awhile.

I wonder if any apologies for the slanderous misrepresentation of your efforts will be forthcoming? Probably not. Although, I did appreciate Don's article and his frank discussion of his feelings about you, your approach, and in the end your findings in this matter.

If that was Philip Imbrogno's post I don't want him teaching me anything. I counted at least ten misspelled words and typos. Did he learn that at MIT?? God, I hope not!

Originally posted by Standingstones
If that was Philip Imbrogno's post I don't want him teaching me anything. I counted at least ten misspelled words and typos. Did he learn that at MIT?? God, I hope not!

No, I'm pretty sure he learned that while serving with the Special Forces in 'Nam. You are required to use certain misspellings in order to qualify for a Top Secret Security lifetime clearance.

Thanks Kandinsky for posting that link. I wasn't sure it that was allowed.
And thanks Trained for the kind comments.
Lance

Originally posted by trainedobserver

Originally posted by Jeremy_Vaeni
And to this day I/we have not made public our email exchanges with Jacobs or "Elizabeth."

I don't see how that is relevant to the question.


It's a moot point anyway. The guy is a complete fraud who has made himself irrelevant whether badboy666's rant is his swan song or not.

edit on 15-7-2011 by trainedobserver because: (no reason given)

It's relevant to heading off at the pass the inevitable "Stop protecting Phil" post. But you're right--it is a moot point. The Phil saga is over, methinks.

Thanks Jeremy!

Are you giving up on him? Is it possible to hear the last excuse he gave to you?

Like you, I think that the post above purporting to be from him does ring true.

The callous nature of that post may just be bravado but it also makes the whole case even odder than I expected. If the other reports are true and every aspect of his life was fictional and calculated, that is an unexpected twist.

I know that, for those who believed in him, this as an outrageous and sad spectacle. It is.

But if he really pulled this off for so many years, I can't help but to also see it as being just the slightest bit awesome.

Lance

reply to post by lancemoody
I've begun to feel very sorry for the guy. It's like that kid at school who always bragged about the great holidays they went on, how dad just got a new car and how big their home was.

Sure, nobody likes a BSer, but those kids are fairly tragic figures. Feeling sorry for the guy doesn't mean any of this has been undeserved, or that people should have carried on turning a blind eye. In this field, he could be back in a month with new books and tours and carry on making money.

Bob Dean's always busy, Jim Sparks, Steven Greer, Romaneck, Salla? That old chestnut about babies and bathwater keeps these guys in business when they've been debunked to hell and back. Another chestnut that seems appropriate is 'none so blind as those that won't see.'

Originally posted by Jeremy_Vaeni The Phil saga is over, methinks.

edit on 15-7-2011 by Jeremy_Vaeni because: spelling

I think that is hardly the case. As Lance eluded to, there is still more high strangeness in the Imbrogno affair to be revealed yet. Don Ecker has suggested that there is still more bad business to come out. Imbrogno's disgrace also presents a singular opportunity for reflection and change in the Paranormal/UFO consumer and content provider sub-culture/community. This can only naturally lead to content providers being scrutinized more closely. The reverberations of this will be felt or should be felt, for some time to come.

Originally posted by trainedobserver

Originally posted by Jeremy_Vaeni The Phil saga is over, methinks.

edit on 15-7-2011 by Jeremy_Vaeni because: spelling

This can only naturally lead to content providers being scrutinized more closely. The reverberations of this will be felt or should be felt, for some time to come.

edit on 16-7-2011 by trainedobserver because: (no reason given)

Well we'll certainly be doing our part to the extent that we can. But I wouldn't hold my breath on this. How many podcasts are out there that don't know about this or don't care who their guests are anyway? And what about Coast, X-Zone, etc.? What about TV shows/specials?

And then you vet your guests purely for background claims and they pass--but they're still Richard Hoagland, Boylan, Greer, and so on. At that point, does it even matter if they are who they claim to be? I don't see the point in an outfit like Coast cleaning up their act on one level while still promoting sensationalist nonsense on the other.

Originally posted by lancemoody
Thanks Jeremy!

Are you giving up on him? Is it possible to hear the last excuse he gave to you?

Yes, I'm giving up on him unless he provides something tangible that clears his name right now. He's not returning my emails and I suspect what he provided was that badboy666 post, unfortunately.

But like I said, I don't feel comfortable posting his excuses because I can't confirm that this is him.

Wow, reading that badboy post, my spidey senses are screaming legit. I would bet it's real, and it really underscores the depths of his depravity. He won't come forward to refute it, that's the last anyone is going to see or hear from him. Outrageous. Great work, Mr. Moody, Ron and Don.

And good seeing your avatar, Schuyler. :-)

dB

Well if that is the last he's ever heard of--his last will and testament so to speak--that's not only funny in a "Ha-ha I got away with it, see ya suckers!" kind of way.

But would be yet another moment of infamy in ATS history as another mighty fallen stumbles out the back door.

If he offers to buy the right person a steak dinner tho...

Hell yes Pritchett!

The copper standard and fantasy island are shucking and jiving there way around, away and through this one for sure. Hey Jeremy what happen to all the emails you got and said on your show that when it all comes out everything will be just fine? Oh wait you didn't have jack to back up Phil you just were trying to be an insider and big time this story. All the while attempting to get in front of it so you can slink away unscathed.

As for a vetting process for interviewing people on podcasts..... give me a break. Since day one on our podcast its been about letting the listener decide what to believe and not to believe. Period end of story, you don't have to point at any other shows and say well they are not doing it. Besides that the shows you pointed to that need to vet(coast and x-zone) broadcast way more often and have done more to inspire people to go out and learn than you could ever imagine.

Old Geinie isn't too much better mind you at the copper standard. you know i could beat my chest all day and tell you were the best but it doesn't make it so now does it? No one blows your horn better than yourself it seems.

The Mind Cemetery is standing with The Church of Mabus on this one and will as long as there are crap shows out there putting out tripe and telling listeners what to think.... well that is if you want to pay to hear it. Then again you have to do something to make money besides work a real job.

See you all around, and Lance great job! It doesn't matter when you find people out to be lying just that you find it out.

In regards to Coast To Coast. In recent years under Noory, they have allowed certain popular ufo personalities to dominate the show. Under Art Bell, way back in the olden days when I first started listening in the mid 1990s, Coast was not an Elitest bastion like it is now. It was the regular people's overnight fringe cafe. I remember how regular people would steal the show. (Mel's hole) (John Hutchinson) (The Area 51 flyover guy who [vanished?]) But now, God forbid, any rabble would deign to stain. You have to be a big time ---popular--- ufo person to do that now.
Those who rake in profits and celebrity via the ufo/paranormal/conspiracy phenomenon. And now, Coast helps them do that.

Cool. More "War of the Paranormal Divas!" Does it get any more entertaining than that?

My real question is does the field of paranormal/UFO research throw out all of his work?

Or do we now pick and choose what is valid and what is not.

Since he lied about his academic past and military service, does it mean he was a bad investigator of the paranormal/UFO?

Does a piece of paper mean you can be a good investigator in the paranormal?


..... just trying to be more productive in the thread after my rant. I think that rietzmann and o'brian are actually the best parts of there respective shows in all honesty.

Originally posted by chipatmindcemeterydotnet
My real question is does the field of paranormal/UFO research throw out all of his work?

In this case, it probably does. The reason is that the fraud is not limited to his educational credentials. We have the secuity clearance issue, which is in retrospect, very bogus, and that calls into question the whole Saudi Arabia Djinn schtick. I don't think any credible scholar in this field (not that there are any) can now use citations to him in any future work. If he has been discredited on part of his stuff, that puts a shadow on all of his stuff, even though it may have been legit. It may be overkill, but what can you do? It's like the Oregon town that dumped millions of gallons of water because a guy was caught relieving himself in the resevoir. Was all that water bad? Nah! But they didn't want the grief of someone going ape over drinking a molecule of urine.

reply to post by schuyler
Are there any serious researchers who've cited his work post-Hudson Valley? I only ask, as he seems to have ploughed a furrow through the populist elements of the paranormal and not made a dint elsewhere.

Robert Hastings has referred to him in terms of the Indian Point incident. Then again, I asked Hastings if he was interested in pursuing the case and he said he was more interested in military incidents over civilian. Perhaps he had doubts?

When I asked the question, it wasn't with any innuendo about Imbrogno. I'd been trying to find a contact address for the primary witness of the account. It was apparently Carl Patrick and he went on to be the senior PR man for NYPA.