I am Jason Orlando, 12-17 NWC finalist for Boston (residing in New Jersey). I have spoken previously with Dain on this matter via email and I am happy to provide proof of my identification, or other proofs (including legal documents) that I have access to in support of my statements below.
My cartridge number was #223. It was stolen from me in fall 1993 by my best friend (who perhaps spurred onward by the windfall of his theft, is now a collector.). I understand he has posted previously on these forums. I discovered the theft and deception in 2012 after uncovering inconsistencies in his statements. I filed a lawsuit in fall of 2013, which is currently dismissed based on statute of limitations. I'm considering legal next steps. I'll give you guys the ultra-short version of what happened below:
The thief was also friends with another finalist, and had either openly traded or deceptively swapped my stolen cartridge to that finalist, receiving that finalist's cartridge in exchange. I caught him with a cartridge in 2002 while we were living together, but when i did not recognize the serial number, (and given our long friendship, 9 years at that point) I took him at his word that he had not stolen my cartridge from me, which at that point was known to be missing. He said at the time the cartridge in his possession was given to him by the other finalist (who was a close friend of his when they were younger), and that he had not stolen mine.
It wasn't until 2012 that I was able to re-establish contact with that other finalist, and with intent to ask him "why the heck would you give away your cartridge" he stated back to me that he has had his cartridge the entire time (a surprise to me). This new information would seem to imply that the cartridge in the thief's possession was actually mine, but I still couldn't make sense as to why I didn't recognize the cartridge I had caught him (my friend) with in 2002. Nonetheless, at this point i realize that I had likely been robbed by my friend, since both he and that finalist were now both claiming to have that finalist's original cartridge, something that could hardly be consistent with reality. In other words, at this point I knew that my own cartridge was not simply misplaced, or stolen by some other individual, or any of a number of other explanations for its disappearance. Later, (on request) that finalist sends me a video of him with "his" cartridge, and after reviewing, I positively recognize the # of the cartridge in his possession (#223) to formerly have been my own serial number. This indicates to me that the thief had (swapped/traded/ fraudulently disposessed) my property to this other finalist, and at last the entire story becomes clear to me. Tragically, I have no photographs from 1991-1993 showing my number, and of course (i wasn't at all surprised that) the other finalist doesn't either. He admits contact during 1993-1995 timeframe with the thief (with his cartridge present) and that a swap could have occurred during that time period.
From my recollection (last seen in person in 2002) the cartridge in the the thief's possession is in the 100's (I didn't record it at the time because I correctly felt it wasn't mine). During the discovery phase of the recent lawsuit, the thief admits he still has the cartridge, and I did have pictures from 2013 of it on his bookshelf (low resolution, not sufficient to read a serial #) from his facebook page. When i confronted him on facebook, he insisted that he had stolen the cartridge in his possession from that other finalist (who now "mysteriously" still has a cartridge) and thus that he hadn't actually stolen mine.. but I know from personal experience that the thief was my only link to that finalist during the time between my cartridge's last known being in my possession and the present day, in other words, I had NO contact with that finalist, and it would have been impossible for him to 'accidentally' wind up with my cartridge (he lived about 100 miles away from me). To date, the thief refuses to return his stolen cartridge, despite it very clearly being stolen (he cannot trace ownership back to any legitimate transaction or to any finalist who will confirm its lineage), and hired a lawyer who was ultimately able to defeat my lawsuit on statute of limitations. Legally, it looks like he could get away with it. The judge actually apologized to me while rendering the decision that dismissed my case, because by New Jersey Law, (and once any appeals or other law is settled) the cartridge will soon legally become his due to adverse possession.
I've already spent significant personal (>$5,000) funds to sue this individual and walked away with nothing (except a nice 46 page legal brief and several legal motions from my lawyer). I'm consdering setting up a kickstarter or some other way to crowdsource a second legal attempt.
Separately, the thief appears to have legitimately purchased a 1994 powerfest cartridge (unique?) recently. He was indeed a finalist in the '94 powerfest, and he purchased the cartridge through ebay and I understand he made the community here aware of that purchase. He was not a '90 finalist but did attend the East Rutherford NWC stop, where I first met him. He now lives on the west coast, near LA. From the thief's own statements, he knows a collector who owns multiple NWC carts. (He actually promised to buy me a replacement in 2013 after i confronted him). His girlfriend (who i met in New Jersey along with him around 2010) is big into cosplay (Blizzcon, etc) and he shares an apartment with her. Currently, i'm not planning on publically releasing his name, but If you think you might know this guy, please contact me.
I would like to uncover the # of the cart in his posession from an authenticated source so it can be disclosed to the community. He avoided disclosing it to me during litigation (indeed, his discovery responses were evasive and incomplete).
Incidentally, Prior to filing the lawsuit, I offered quite a bit of money to that other finalist for my own cartridge #223 back, which I have to believe he must know is not actually his, and was turned down. Even assuming he didnt conspire with the thief, which is something i will likely never know the answer to, he should have certainly realized at some point -- no earlier than late 1993 (when i last had mine), so at the least, almost 3 years after he received his original cartridge -- that his number had changed. Why he would allow this, or simply not question the event remains a mystery. The thief never (except for one vague mention of him receiving the cartridge in his possession as part of an 'equal trade' with that finalist) implicated this other finalist directly as participating in any crime, which would of course require him to admit liability. The door is still open for that finalist to sue the thief for the swap (which is also a separate theft). That finalist was initially helpful to me (perhaps he felt bad for me) but refused to join the lawsuit (as a co-plaintiff). If he had, the outcome of my case may have been different.
Edited: 09/05/2014
at 10:02 AM
by jasonorlando
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