OG Drama/Speculation

[lemonboy]

With still no reporting from a recognized media outlet we're all still in the dark. This is the most credible and informative post I've seen though.

Did Marc blow RC's cover or did RC blow our cover...

RC is working with the Authorities. OG and CW IP's were logged.
About 48 hours ago I broke my 26 month long self-imposed exile from the internet to post the results of my converstations with RC. Nobody else seemed to the the will or ability to track down and talk to him, and my concerns for the industry and the people I love who participate in it out weighed the enjoyment of my recent relative obscurity. I was sure any calls were going to be monitored, but hey - it's not like my name has never been associated with cannabis seeds, eh. So I called RC. Twice.

The first call was to get his story of what happened to him, and the servers for Overgrow and Cannabis World, and to offer support, financial and otherwise. I had been in contact with a few friends and business acquaintances, and had passed the virtual hat around - to the tune of well over US$50,000 pledged to assist RC, with no strings attached. RC said he would have to talk to his lawyers first for instructions on handling such a large donation. OK, fine. RC has all my contact numbers (always had, btw) and I expected a call the next day with instructions from his lawyers.

After my first call to him, I noted that Marc Emery from Cannabis Culture had a front page story saying RC had split the country, etcetera. Fuck. So, after some introspection, I decided to take the plunge - I was returning to my long lost home, the internet. RC had told me he would be releasing a statement, drawn up with the assistance of his lawyers, within 24 hours. Now, I had taken RC at his word as to what had happened, and I thought his clients, suppliers and members of his sites should have at least an idea of what happened, so I called him back, and said so. He agreed I could post what I put in my first post on the internet in 26 months.

Some things RC said to me didn't sit well with me. I did wake the guy up, but still... my instincts were making my hackles rise. As time passed, I kept thinking - who the fuck doesn't leap on a US$50,000 gift? My instincts said I wouldn't hear from his lawyers about it. I was correct.

Now, I have known RC's real name - and much more information about him, from back in the day when I made a deal with ~Shabang~ to buy out his 1/2 of Overgrow. I started doing the phone call thing to newspapers, the Quebec Provincial Police, RCMP public affairs office, blah, blah, blah. No record of an arrest. No record of bail or release. No records for RC, period. I had a couple of phone calls with ~Shabang~ as well, as he is one of the few people in the world I felt comfortable brain-storming with some of the information I was working with. I trust ~S with my life.

I called everyone I knew - and I know a fuckload of folks - to try and pry out some facts. I got a ton of calls, PM's and emails, and the picture they were painting wasn't jiving with some 'facts' that RC gave me. In fact, the fucker lied to me - to you - to the industry.

Just after midnight last night, I got a call from Marc Emery. Some of you may have heard of him. If you want to Marc bash, stay the fuck outta this thread. I've been in this industry for quite some time, and I don't believe in tearing down anyone who has the guts and determination for a cause that he does. If you don't like doing business with him, then don't. I have managed to negotiate this industry for years without hurting and name calling of people who are, in my eyes, on the same side. (Just ask Dr. Chronic - shortly after his site launched on OG - and when Gypsy was, as usual acting like an asshole and treating the Doc like shit on the boards, his site went down - hardware failure. That day was the first time I talked to the Doc - I called him and offered to host his site until his hardware was repaired. He declined, but that was the basis of a solid business relationship with him, one of my competitors. I have since met the Doc, and he is one of those truly rare finds - an honest to goodness decent and nice man. I would like to think I can call Dr. Chronic my friend, and I won't put up with any Doc bashing here either End of rant)

Emery and I chatted for over 1/2 an hour. At the outset, I was clear that I couldn't give him any information, but we could discuss what we both had knowledge of. I can tell you now that Emery had RC's real name for quite some time, and had been checking high and low, much like I had been, and had found no trace. Emery gave me a who's who list of people who know RC - in some cases for decades - and who RC had shunned any form of contact with since this all started. He quite graciously offered me all they had found out, and didn't pressure me for information in return. His concern for anyone affected by the fallout from this is genuine. The industry is in an uproar, and I hadn't seen anyone else with people working the phones trying to unearth the truth. By approximately 12:53 AM (GMT) Mr. Marc Scott Emery had earned my respect. We ended our chat, but now I still had more questions.

Rumours, speculation and innuendo filled the forums everywhere, and my instincts were screaming by now. Several details RC had given me were blatantly false, but not a smoking gun. Not yet.

And then, this morning at 10:30 AM (GMT) my phone rang. It was an old acquaintance of mine - and he had brought me a smoking gun. He had done business with RC, and RC paid him by check. The check was made out to a business that has nothing to do with cannabis or cannabis seeds. It was the only time that business had ever negotiated a payment from anyone in the industry. And he had just been raided, with the warrant looking for cannabis, cannabis seeds, and financial records. Fortunately, the raid was, well - a bust. Nothing was found, cops were red-faced, and my friend was fine. And pissed off. There is only one person who could have pointed the police to his business. Mr. Richard Baghdadlian, known to you as RC.

I don't doubt that RC was raided, and I don't doubt that his home and business were searched. In fact, I have confirmation they were. He was not arrested. He was at home when I called him, and has since shut off all contact with anyone. I called his lawyers (that little deal a few years ago with ~S, me, RC and OG had left me with all kinda interesting contacts) and they informed me they were not able to contact RC.

So, I'm gonna say it - and lemme tell you, this ain't easy, but now it's time to face some hard facts.

Richard Baghdadlian is co-operating with the authorities to save his own ass, at the expense of breeders, clients, and tens of thousands of members on his sites.

Anyone who had any financial transactions with RC in any way is at risk.

Anyone who posted on OG or CW is at risk. Those forums are gone, and will never be back - the security of every member has been comprimised.

I don't believe IP's were not logged on OG and CW. ~Shabang~ and I discussed this, and how ~S had originally set up the null logs, and db records. Since then, however, RC had instituted many 'anti-troll' features on the boards. Lemme 'splain...

Ask any troll here - if they posted from, say Proxy A one day, and then 3 days later from Proxy B, using the same handle, and admin got tired of them. So, they IP ban Proxy B, while the troll is still signed in. That's how RC would like you to believe it was done. However, if they then tried using a different handle, and Proxy A - well, damned if that one wasn't blocked as well. I can guarantee you that RC had gone back to some default settings to log IP's for everyone, all the time. There is no doubt.

RC is a rat.

OG and CW logged IP's.

The servers weren't seized - they didn't need to seize them - RC has given them complete access to the database records.

People are getting busted based on contact with RC.

I have given oldpink the heads-up a couple of hours ago that I was going to write this up and post it here. Kindly don't tear him up - he is working hard with little information, and is doing the best he can.

As many OG and CW refugees are also hanging at ***************, I've just got off the phone with Doc Chronic as well, so word of this will get out. (That's important, as that snivelling cunt-rag Gypsy likes to delete any quotes from me over at ICMag. Fuck off Gypsy, and stay outta my thread.)

If I have more information to offer later, I'll post it up in this thread.

If you have some information to give me, email is [email protected], or give me a call - from a safe phone, of course, at 07766 871 905 in the UK, 0044 7766 871 905 in Europe, and from N. America use 01144 7766 871 905.

Take care everyone, I hope you're all safe.

Love,

Plural of Mongoose

PS - if yer gonna quote this post over at other sites, kindly quote the entire post, thank you very much. Mongoose

PPS - Fuck you Richard Baghdadlian - FUCK YOU... Fuck you... fuck you...

just something I thought yall might want to know...roadhand

lemonboy Reviewed by lemonboy on 02-11-2006. OG Drama/Speculation With still no reporting from a recognized media outlet we're all still in the dark. This is the most credible and informative post I've seen though. Rating: 5

[Torog]

Howdy lemon boy,

Thanx for posting this info,it may prove to be critical for some folks.

It's been years,since I lasted posted at OG or CW and I had even thought of gittin a new membership at OG recently,but thank goodness I didn't.

Lord have mercy..what a mess..I pray and hope,that the authorities will be stifled and stymied,in all that they do..may God's wrath be upon them,for persecutting folks for using a plant,given to us by God for our own use,and which is 100 times safer,than asperin.

Have a good one ...

[xNoa]

damn is that all actually true or is it bollocks

[Irv]

Howdy lemon boy,

Thanx for posting this info,it may prove to be critical for some folks.

It's been years,since I lasted posted at OG or CW and I had even thought of gittin a new membership at OG recently,but thank goodness I didn't.

Lord have mercy..what a mess..I pray and hope,that the authorities will be stifled and stymied,in all that they do..may God's wrath be upon them,for persecutting folks for using a plant,given to us by God for our own use,and which is 100 times safer,than asperin.

Have a good one ...

absoutely, well said torog!

[robert42]

damn i just read all that and its shocking but the story has changed a few times but to be honest this seems like the most thruthful story.

thanks for the updates lemonboy if u hear of more be sure to post.

its a huge shame about OG the best cannabis goriwng site out their hopefully the FAQ's and strain guides will get copied.

if i was a big OG poster and grower id be packing up my veggies so to speak

[lemonboy]

You're welcome. This is THE lesson for anyone who owns or posts on one of these sites. I hope they start taking steps now to make things more secure and eliminate senseless logging of vital information. (Hint Hint)

Yes this is real. More over at hg420.

I talked to the Doc on the phone before I posted that at PG - in fact I read the whole post out to him first.

I posted at PG as I figured it would start a shitstorm, and that is the one site that is equipped to deal with it, with no censorship.

Dr. Chronic can confirm that.

Take care, and be safe all.

Mongoose

[turtle420]

Thanks lemonboy...

God, damn... holy shit.
This, sucks, for, many, many, people.

[Cannabis.com]

Most, if not all, of the people reportedly experiencing problems right now had voluntarily revealed their personal info, including real names, street addresses, and even their bank account details to RC and/or others at Overgrow.

As I've long said, IPs, etc alone are of little value in regards to the authorities ...

We log IPs since they are useful for technical purposes - load balancing, reducing abuse, etc ... we heavily rely on IP and other tracking data to ensure things run smoothly ... ie. to keep the server busy messages to a minimum; more servers are planned to be added in the near future.

People are responsible for their own security ... revealing sensitive information to informants and agents is far more of a hazard than IPs, etc; being too open with family, friends, etc.

I purposedly don't have a "security" forum on any site I run...

Most of the info I see in other "security" forums on other sites is wrong, overly simplistic, and worse tends to give people a false security they don't truly have.

Again, to reiterate, most, if not all, of the people reportedly experiencing problems had revealed highly personal information with RC and/or others at Overgrow...

Informants and agents are out on most all the boards; email, PM, IM, etc is where many people reveal far more than they should ... stick with just reading / posting publicly viewable forums and avoid PM, email, etc for maximum security - don't reveal too much, talk in generalities, etc.

Ron

You're welcome. This is THE lesson for anyone who owns or posts on one of these sites. I hope they start taking steps now to make things more secure and eliminate senseless logging of vital information...

[lemonboy]

While I do appreciate your response Ron I'm not sure how I feel about you putting abuse and quality control over the safety of our friends here. The idea that IP data wouldn't be valuable to law enforcement is a little naive. Of course everyone should have their own security plan however it would be nice if communities that actively seek us out would work in conjunction with them.

[esrabalamir]

i was understand it is very sad man (u know my english sux) anyway tnx for this good info lemonade