TX - 'Lori Ruff', Longview, WhtFem UP9863, *General Discussion and Theories* #5

[eekasaur]

Maybe it wasn't skewed, maybe FLEK really did ask for an Easy Bake Oven for a gift. It is a strange request for an adult who doesn't have children. If someone you knew asked for one of these for Christmas, you would think it odd as well unless they were a toy collector.
Anytime people who actually knew FLEK come forward with someone unpleasant about her personality people start doubting it. Why? They knew her and none of us did. Maybe they are actually telling the truth.

Do we have documentation on when she asked for this gift? I'm not arguing that she asked for it. Did she already have her daughter, or not? I really don't remember. My point was that IF she had her daughter, perhaps she was asking about it because she wanted to use it with her daughter.

If she did NOT have her daughter, then yes, perhaps it was a strange request.

 

[Gardener1850]

Do we have documentation on when she asked for this gift? I'm not arguing that she asked for it. Did she already have her daughter, or not? I really don't remember. My point was that IF she had her daughter, perhaps she was asking about it because she wanted to use it with her daughter.

If she did NOT have her daughter, then yes, perhaps it was a strange request.

No, there is no clear year of when she asked for the Easy Bake Oven. The info came from the ST article and is thrown in with a bunch of facts describing Lori.

The woman in question was known as Lori Ruff. A 41-year-old wife and mother, she never quite fit in. She was a vegetarian in East Texas. A pretty brunette who dressed like a matron. A grown woman who wanted a child’s Easy-Bake oven for Christmas.

http://old.seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021243552_janedoexml.html

Even if she had not had her daughter yet, I don't find it strange. I know quite few adults who asked for coloring books for Christmas.

The reporter had to get these details from the family but looking at the article you can tell those are the reporter's words--there is no quote from a specific family member. I have no doubt the reporter picked out the most "unusual" facts to include to make the mystery more alluring. A vegetarian in East Texas--Oh my! A pretty woman who didn't show off her body, what in the world?!? The journalist uses these things to "prove" the point abut Lori "not fitting in". They are meant to be things that are incongruous, imo. The writer is painting a picture for us, leading us on as to what Lori was like and everyone has fallen for it even though the details are so trivial.

I wonder what else they might have told the reporter that was NOT included. There are many mundane things we should know but we don't:
What was her favorite color?
How did she take her tea? (sugar or milk?)
Did she dye her hair? (I think the answer is yes but we are never told this)
Did she take care of her nails (manicures, etc) or did she bite her nails?
Did she ever like to wear make-up? She seems very plain in most pictures.
Did she enjoy watching any sports? Have any favorite sports teams?
Did she ever go to the dentist?
Did she have any everyday phobias--like fear of spiders, fear of snakes, fear of enclosed spaces, fear of heights, etc.
Was she a dog or a cat person? (we are told somewhere she was "fond of animals"--can it get any more vague than that?)
Did she ever talk about having a childhood pet?
Did she like roller-coasters or did she get motion sickness?
What was her political affiliation--and for that matter did she ever vote in an election? I don't think she did, but IDK.
Did she ever discuss politics at all--what did she think about the president? War? Poverty? Abortion? Same Sex Marriage? Or did she avoid these subjects at all costs?
Did she ever volunteer for any good causes--like at shelters or soup kitchens or cancer fundraisers?
When was she baptized? (if she was) She attended SBC churches mostly, which baptize on profession of faith at no set age. So she was either baptized as a child or as an adult. If she said she was baptized as an infant it would be revealing.
Did she have a favorite Bible verse? Or a favorite book of the Bible she studied? Or was she just a church attender and not into Bible-study?
Did she run or exercise daily/weekly or was she sedentary?
What kind of music did she like?
Did she like to dance? (not stripping, I mean as a couple with Blake)
Was she very coordinated or a klutz? We are led to believe she was awkward but we are also told she "danced in a gentlemen's club". How do these things go together?
Did she like to read? What kind of books did she like? Mystery? Romance? Biographies? Science Fiction?
Where did she like to shop when she WASN'T doing a mystery shopping job?
Did she know how to cook? bake? Did she LIKE to cook/bake or did she see it as a chore?
If she was at home and ordering take-out/delivery what would she order? (We know she liked vegetarian and Cuban but I don't know of any Cuban Vegetarian places that deliver)
What was her style of parenting? we have heard she was "protective" but not much else.
Did she babywear? Co-sleep? Cloth diaper or disposable? All natural birth or as many pain killers as possible?
Did she prepare for her baby by reading baby books? Did she go on baby message boards? Or before they got pregnant, fertility message boards?
Did she like to drive or was she the type of person who preferred someone else drive?
Was she good at following directions or did she always get lost?
Was she spontaneous or was she a planner?
Did she like surprises (like a surprise birthday party) or would she get upset if surprised? (I think I know the answer)
What was her favorite dessert?
Did she watch TV and what shows did she like?
Did she like to go to the theatre or to see concerts?
Did she like to go to the beach? Or to a local pool? Did she know how to swim?
Did she ever go roller skating or ice skating?
Did she know how to ride a horse?
Did she take her gun to the range and practice shoot? (I'm assuming that was her gun she used to end her life)
Did she know any self-defense moves?
Did she ever admit to smoking or drug use?
Did she ever drink alcohol while she knew the Ruffs. Most Southern Baptists I know don't drink at all but some may drink occasionally. And what did she like to drink--Wine? Beer? Hard Liquor/mixed drinks?
Was she a touchy-feely person, the type to hug someone she barely knew, or more stand-offish (I think I know)
Did she cry at sad movies or sappy love stories? Or was she a stone?
Did she have a sense of humour? What kind of things made her laugh?

I think I could go on and on...writing things we DON'T know about Lori and we spend time puzzling over the few little facts a journalist threw in to paint a picture of a woman who never fit in. Maybe it's true that she never really fit in. But I don't think any of us really know enough about her. I really wish we had a non-family friend of hers to answer these questions

 

[Hank36]

I made some extra money working at Target last Christmas, and believe it or not, the current version of the EZ Bake Oven was all but impossible to find. We'd put one on the shelves, and it would be gone within minutes; because it was never in stock, it was one of those items that guests (usually women) were constantly asking about.

It's one of those toys that's been around for generations, so for adult women with young daughters, there's a built-in nostalgia factor. But I never asked any of these women if they actually had daughters...maybe I should have.

 

[lisapr355]

Well if he did, I never heard about it. Wouldn't mail fraud involve a whole other government agency? Or could the SSA investigate mail fraud too? Seems like those things would overlap in a lot of ID theft cases.

Mail fraud is under the US Postal Service. USPS would be in charge and they have different investigators.

 

[Gardener1850]

I made some extra money working at Target last Christmas, and believe it or not, the current version of the EZ Bake Oven was all but impossible to find. We'd put one on the shelves, and it would be gone within minutes; because it was never in stock, it was one of those items that guests (usually women) were constantly asking about.

It's one of those toys that's been around for generations, so for adult women with young daughters, there's a built-in nostalgia factor. But I never asked any of these women if they actually had daughters...maybe I should have.

I think it is a trend, like many trends that come and go. There are a ton of Easy Bake Oven recipes on Pinterest and blogs. Funny enough, I googled and found an article from a Dallas newspaper about a woman who takes CLASSES to learn how to cook in an Easy Bake Oven. Take a look at her last name too: http://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/...-to-cook-in-an-easy-bake-oven-why-not-7083082
I wonder if she knew Lori? Or Jennifer Perkins and Ben Perkins? :laughing:

 

[Gardener1850]

More questions I want to ask someone who knew Lori:

Did she have knowledge of sit-coms and movies from the 1970’s and 1980’s?
Did she have a favorite movie?
Did she have a favorite subject in school?
Was she ever in girl scouts as a child?
Did she like to go camping or do outdoorsy things?
Did she know how to build a fire?
Did she know how to change a tire? Or other basic car maintenance?
Did Blake hunt/fish and did she approve of hunting or was she too much of an animal lover to accept that in a man?—she was vegetarian after all…
Did she ever talk about WHY she was vegetarian? Ethics? Religious reasons? Just how she felt the healthiest?
Did she support a local animal shelter?
Did she like to buy local/farm fresh food? Organic or pesticide free or did she not care?
Was she into any other health trends? Did she get into anything like essential oils? Yoga?
Did she pick out her own engagement ring or did Blake surprise her with it? Or did they just get simple wedding bands?
What color jeweler did she prefer—gold or silver/platinum/white gold?
How did Blake propose?
What did she wear on her wedding day to that private ceremony?
Did she ever hint at how her family celebrated holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving?
Did she celebrate Halloween? Did she dress her daughter up? Did she ever mention dressing up for Halloween as a child?
Was she into putting her daughter in frilly lace and pink everything or did she look for more gender-neutral/practical clothes?
If she ever bought a new car, what color did she want?
Was she the type of person to name her car or not?
Was she a sound sleeper or did she struggle with insomnia?
Was she a morning person or a night owl?
Was she punctual—always on time or was she always running late?
Did she like to keep a schedule or did she feel stifled by set schedules?
What was her favorite breakfast—it you were to make her breakfast in bed what would you make?
Could she whistle?
Could she snap her fingers?
Could she roll her tongue? (a recessive trait)
Was she left handed or right handed?
Could she speak any foreign languages?
Where did she most want to travel? She put England and Germany on her passport application but what did she tell Blake? And what did she most want to see if she traveled?
Did they ever vacation? Where did they go and what kind of vacation did they prefer? (tropical/beach, mountain getaway, exploring a city, historical tours etc)
Did they go on a honeymoon?
Did she know how to sew? Knit or crochet?
Did she have any artistic abilities? Painting? Drawing?
Was she into scrap-booking photos and memories?
Did she like to take photos?
Did she like to have her photo taken or was she camera-shy?
Did she own a smart phone?
What was her favorite season of the year?

There are so many things we could ask. Most of all we want to know who she really was but many of these things would not change with an identity change or would be hard to lie about--who would bother to lie about what their favorite color is, for example? If we find an insider who knew her we could make a better profile.

 

[SavetheQueen]

Well if he did, I never heard about it. Wouldn't mail fraud involve a whole other government agency? Or could the SSA investigate mail fraud too? Seems like those things would overlap in a lot of ID theft cases.

US Postal Inspectors jurisdiction.

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[SavetheQueen]

Well if he did, I never heard about it. Wouldn't mail fraud involve a whole other government agency? Or could the SSA investigate mail fraud too? Seems like those things would overlap in a lot of ID theft cases.

And on this note, I'm honestly surprised that SSA is investigating an identity theft case. Yes, I know she fraudulently obtained a SSN. But she didn't obtain benefits that we know of under the number. The ID theft cases that I'm familiar with from personal knowledge were all initiated by local law enforcement agencies and then handed over to the US Attorney's office on the local level for prosecution. The only one that I know of in Texas that crossed multiple state lines involved our Texas Rangers, and the Secret Service who coordinated with respective local and state agencies. No disrespect to Special Agent Velling, but was this really his job??? I read that it wasn't high on his list of priority cases at all, and I can appreciate that. But I also feel that if other agencies were involved, things may have a different outcome. *thinking out loud*

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[SavetheQueen]

Can they investigate mail fraud if the person committing it died? I don't think the USPS has extra funds just laying around for investigating. IMO, their end goal would be to prosecute someone and stop the crime from continuing. IDK, maybe there was no way to open a case once she was deceased or maybe Velling just wanted to keep all the investigation under his jurisdiction. However, he took a big step reaching out to the public for help when he went to the Seattle Times with the story. I wonder if he ever sent a letter to the current occupants of her addresses asking for any information they might have received in the mail in her name(s). It would be cheap to do just that and if there IS someone still sending mail to Lori that might be the only way it's discovered.

Soooooo....why can't we do that? I have some stamps. [emoji3]

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[SavetheQueen]

Respectfully snipped for size:

...........
Did she cry at sad movies or sappy love stories? Or was she a stone?
Did she have a sense of humour? What kind of things made her laugh?

I think I could go on and on...writing things we DON'T know about Lori and we spend time puzzling over the few little facts a journalist threw in to paint a picture of a woman who never fit in. Maybe it's true that she never really fit in. But I don't think any of us really know enough about her. I really wish we had a non-family friend of hers to answer these questions

This is exactly the kind of stuff that I was talking about with the Ruffs know more than they let on. Someone please tell us!

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[llywrch]

And on this note, I'm honestly surprised that SSA is investigating an identity theft case. Yes, I know she fraudulently obtained a SSN. But she didn't obtain benefits that we know of under the number. The ID theft cases that I'm familiar with from personal knowledge were all initiated by local law enforcement agencies and then handed over to the US Attorney's office on the local level for prosecution. The only one that I know of in Texas that crossed multiple state lines involved our Texas Rangers, and the Secret Service who coordinated with respective local and state agencies. No disrespect to Special Agent Velling, but was this really his job??? I read that it wasn't high on his list of priority cases at all, and I can appreciate that. But I also feel that if other agencies were involved, things may have a different outcome. *thinking out loud*

From the Seattle Times article, he handled a number of identity theft cases. A case can start in the SSA jurisdiction (e.g., illegal use of a SSN), then take the investigator(s) into all sorts of related crimes under Federal law. Obviously, some crimes wouldn't be tried in Federal court -- I'm thinking a simple murder case might be tried under state law -- but even if the investigation led to counterfeiting, espionage, & RICO violations, the SSA will likely continue to be in charge unless someone higher up decides to hand it to another Federal agency.

But enough of my own thinking out loud. Both the Seattle Times article & the FOIA report on Velling's investigation shows it started as a favor to a congressman. From what I know about how Washington works, when a congressman asks a Federal agency for a favor, the agency is likely to do it. (Folks in Washington always are willing to do favors for each other, because sometimes that favor needs to be repaid.) And according to the article, Velling accepted the case because he felt it would be wrapped up quickly. I also suspect he also justified his time on this case because of the not unreasonable expectation that it could lead to uncovering an otherwise unknown illegal identity broker.

Of course, he was wrong on both counts: the public still doesn't know what LEK's birth name is, & there still isn't any solid evidence that LEK used an identity broker. (That is, she may have but we cannot prove it; or she might have done all of this on her own, using easily-obtained instructions like the 60 Minutes episode, but we cannot prove that either.) But LE investigators doubtlessly look into a lot of cases that are never resolved or closed, & this might have become just one more forgotten cold case were it not that the mystery of Lori Erica Kennedy is so engrossing.

 

[SavetheQueen]

From the Seattle Times article, he handled a number of identity theft cases. A case can start in the SSA jurisdiction (e.g., illegal use of a SSN), then take the investigator(s) into all sorts of related crimes under Federal law. Obviously, some crimes wouldn't be tried in Federal court -- I'm thinking a simple murder case might be tried under state law -- but even if the investigation led to counterfeiting, espionage, & RICO violations, the SSA will likely continue to be in charge unless someone higher up decides to hand it to another Federal agency.

But enough of my own thinking out loud. Both the Seattle Times article & the FOIA report on Velling's investigation shows it started as a favor to a congressman. From what I know about how Washington works, when a congressman asks a Federal agency for a favor, the agency is likely to do it. (Folks in Washington always are willing to do favors for each other, because sometimes that favor needs to be repaid.) And according to the article, Velling accepted the case because he felt it would be wrapped up quickly. I also suspect he also justified his time on this case because of the not unreasonable expectation that it could lead to uncovering an otherwise unknown illegal identity broker.

Of course, he was wrong on both counts: the public still doesn't know what LEK's birth name is, & there still isn't any solid evidence that LEK used an identity broker. (That is, she may have but we cannot prove it; or she might have done all of this on her own, using easily-obtained instructions like the 60 Minutes episode, but we cannot prove that either.) But LE investigators doubtlessly look into a lot of cases that are never resolved or closed, & this might have become just one more forgotten cold case were it not that the mystery of Lori Erica Kennedy is so engrossing.

Yeah...I get it. I don't agree with it, but I get it. Identity Theft is a federal crime, punishable by 24 months mandatory minimum under federal sentencing guidelines. Depending on what the person does with said identity, other charges both federal and state can follow, and almost always do. Just feel like this woman was done a lot of disservice due to favors. KWIM? [emoji107] [emoji107] [emoji107]

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[llywrch]

The reporter had to get these details from the family but looking at the article you can tell those are the reporter's words--there is no quote from a specific family member. I have no doubt the reporter picked out the most "unusual" facts to include to make the mystery more alluring. A vegetarian in East Texas--Oh my! A pretty woman who didn't show off her body, what in the world?!? The journalist uses these things to "prove" the point abut Lori "not fitting in". They are meant to be things that are incongruous, imo. The writer is painting a picture for us, leading us on as to what Lori was like and everyone has fallen for it even though the details are so trivial.

I wonder what else they might have told the reporter that was NOT included.

(Snipping many good questions that deserve answers.)

Which is why having some kind of profile of LEK is so important.

There have been times I look at my notes about her, & wonder what she was like. Was she so shy people thought her aloof & arrogant? Was she an extrovert who, by the time Blake met her, had given up on other people? What did she do with her spare time? When she left work, what were her thoughts as she drove home -- or maybe somewhere else to while away the evening until she had to go to bed? Did she drink? How was she sexual? (Everyone is sexual in some way: maybe as a contented celibate, maybe passionately sensual, maybe highly conflicted about the entire subject, or maybe she had some quirk or kink she never revealed even to her husband.) There are so few stories shared about her that, for me, she is as shadowy & quasi-mythical of a person as a ruler of a long-lost medieval kingdom.

And, probably most intriguing of all, if she could know about all of us pondering her mystery, what would she have thought of it? Would she have truly dismissed us as busy-bodies, worse than her in-laws? Or maybe she would have been pleased in some way that her existence had been noticed?

 

[llywrch]

Yeah...I get it. I don't agree with it, but I get it. Identity Theft is a federal crime, punishable by 24 months mandatory minimum under federal sentencing guidelines. Depending on what the person does with said identity, other charges both federal and state can follow, and almost always do. Just feel like this woman was done a lot of disservice due to favors. KWIM? [emoji107] [emoji107] [emoji107]

I understand your point. LEK was far beyond the law's reach when the SSA was contacted. But I think in this case Velling opened this case partly as a favor, but expected that it could lead to something that would result with some arrests. Or at least more background on the criminal underworld.

But instead he was confronted with a case where a woman took on a new identity for no criminal reason -- actually for no apparent reason. Instead of a crime, he found a mystery he was not able to solve.

Blake's comments about LEK do have resonance: someone must have hurt her long ago to make her flee her old identity & assume a new one.

(Of course, if we had a profile of LEK, we might be able to determine what her motivation was, & from that perhaps infer who she was. Looking for missing daughters of failed stockbrokers hasn't gotten us very far.)

 

[SavetheQueen]

I understand your point. LEK was far beyond the law's reach when the SSA was contacted. But I think in this case Velling opened this case partly as a favor, but expected that it could lead to something that would result with some arrests. Or at least more background on the criminal underworld.

But instead he was confronted with a case where a woman took on a new identity for no criminal reason -- actually for no apparent reason. Instead of a crime, he found a mystery he was not able to solve.

Blake's comments about LEK do have resonance: someone must have hurt her long ago to make her flee her old identity & assume a new one.

(Of course, if we had a profile of LEK, we might be able to determine what her motivation was, & from that perhaps infer who she was. Looking for missing daughters of failed stockbrokers hasn't gotten us very far.)

Very good points.

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[sunnynz]

Soooooo....why can't we do that? I have some stamps. [emoji3]

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

Do it!

 

[Peachykeen]

Your thoughts are great and I thought they should be over here too next to the facts post

I became intrigued by the Dr Charles Crane listed on her bankruptcy. I did a glance over the comments on his obit page and the words that jumped out to me the most were:
1. Expert witness
2. Worked, as in many colleagues
3. Review Med (Medical review is the collection of information and clinical review of medical records by Medicare Contractors to ensure that payment is made only for services that meet all Medicare coverage, coding, and medical necessity requirements)
4. Learned, as in he was an Educator
5. specialty of physical and rehabilitation medicine
Definition of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also referred to as physiatry, is a medical specialty concerned with diagnosis, evaluation, and management of persons of all ages with physical and/or cognitive impairment and disability. This specialty involves diagnosis and treatment of patients with painful or functionally limiting conditions, the management of comorbidities and co-impairments, diagnostic and therapeutic injection procedures, electro diagnostic medicine, and emphasis on prevention of complications of disability from secondary conditions.
Physiatrists are trained in the rehabilitation of neurologic disorders, and in the diagnosis and management of impairments of the musculoskeletal (including sports and occupational aspects) and other organ systems, and the long-term management of patients with disabling conditions. Physiatrists provide leadership to multidisciplinary teams concerned with maximal restoration or development of physical, psychological, social, occupational and vocational functions in persons whose abilities have been limited by disease, trauma, congenital disorders or pain to enable people to achieve their maximum functional abilities. https://www.abpmr.org/consumers/what_is_abpmr.html

I just wonder why FLEK would have been in debt to a Dr. like this. The whole bankruptcy thing puzzles me really. Why go to the great lengths to make a new identity y for yourself then muddy it up like this? As far as the American Honda Finance not financing a used car, this is false. I personally have had loans from AHF for used and even leased vehicles. All of this is of course my opinion, and I welcome any corrections…. Good Day !

 

[kafkette]

this is my first post to websleuths, although i've read & thanked fairly often over the last couple of years.

i do apologize for not writing too terribly well. i've been working it over for HOURS, trying to couch what i say with the least amount of sorrow and potential embarrassment for its subject. i feel bad for LEKR, i think she wound up in a dreadful situation in los angeles, lost her way, took an odd & circuitous & not precisely legal way back, then lost herself again, wrecked on the rocks of suspicious, unsympathetic in-laws. it was not a match, at the very least, and i feel more kindly disposed towards the lost lamb than the hardy family.

at long last & at any rate, here's what i have to say. again, i'm rushing, so please forgive my grammar [when more awake, i ofttimes work as a tech writer. i can write this perfectly or i can write it fast—& fast is the rock to which i'm today tethered. i'm tired. it's nearly 4am.....]

& i am in los angeles. & i was once involved in the wonderful world that belongs to that rarest of l.a. breeds, the model/actress. & i think LEKR was another card carrying member thereof, & it is this good guess that drives my theory. anyway.

anyway.

• cuban food. well-known, well-liked, oft-trendy cuban restaurant named Versailles, i know not why, on venice boulevard. los angeles institution. will accommodate vegetarians well, can eat beans-rice-plantains-creamy thing while one's ghastly second husband slurps tentacles & gets beer-drunk. done it many times. good food. bet she liked it. glad he's gone.

• for some reason i long believed LEKR was from bakersfield, or at least central calif. i now know that's more an assumption than a definite; still, at 5'10" & looking something like [then iconic] demi moore, it's an easy slide into los angeles' promised golden world. i would bet she arrived with model dreams, got work—spectacular height means a lot—didn't get as much work, nor as high up as she'd wanted.

slid, possibly, into hand modeling [decent pay, no prestige], then into the world of Be Nice to Rich Men. this is not as bad as it sounds, or it doesn't have to be. it's rep'd work, for heavens sake, you get it from your agent, believe it or not, and it can send you around the world—sex largely optional. instead, what it is, is pretty much sitting or standing around as decor, making important people look rich. one of our presidential candidates likely met at least a couple of his wives in a similar fashion—a whole bunch of tall, very thin women drinking cocktails, "eating dinner" among the wealthy in a fancy, fancy room. yes, you get paid for it. again though, unless you're husband-hunting: no prestige. no advancement. no nothing.

• besides that, other problems do arise. gain weight and you're lucky to find a place at the buffet, nevermind a good seat. work at a low level for too long and you're considered someone who just does that—a catalog model—& better jobs dry up. don't do what's asked—whatever it is—and you're gone. in the thick of this, word used advisedly, there are a whole mess of avenues you can take. none of them are good.

• 402 months is a prison sentence. there are no two ways about it. nothing else gets counted in months like that, certainly not thirty-plus years worth of them. i do not believe it's a sentence belonging to LEKR. i do think she knows the person sentenced, i believe she knows the reason behind the sentencing, & i believe she knows more about the crime that created the reason. i do not think she liked any of it. i think she wanted to get away, get away fast, & get away clean. i think that's why she looks so happy in her idaho photo. i wish the dream she had in idaho truly came to pass—& stayed there.

• it makes no sense to have legal problems in north hollywood & an attorney in inglewood. inglewood & north hollywood are about ninety minutes apart. to better situate this: north hollywood is in the northisheast san fernando valley. it's about 10 - 15 minutes away from downtown LA. it's maybe a half hour from beverly hills. between NoHo and inglewood are hundreds, if not thousands, of lawyers. you'd have to have a remarkable reason to bypass them.

inglewood is also very déclassé. so she's driving, in bad traffic, well over an hour to get advice from someone soon to be disbarred, whose office is in a deep dark dump. i dont think that makes sense under any circumstance other than one, and that one means something very hinky is going on, something which includes the lawyer, himself. something so hinky, in fact, that our disbarred doofus is unwilling to remember their interactions even though she's died.

• & now, of course, he has also died. i don't think these things are connected. what i think is connected is how, & why, & how untoward the little circumstances were in which they met.

• eg: the valley, in which one finds north hollywood [it's got nothing to do with picture show hollywood], is good for two things: drugs and *advertiser censored*. those 402 months likely involved the former, but models on the slide are too often involved in both. i hate saying this because i feel so bad for LEKR. would anyone want to know who she was if this is why she became who she did? would it not be preferable to leave it alone? is it possible the social security guy has finally figured what he missed and just will not tell?

still, if you want to find her "real name" or "real identity"—after all her hell, i think LEKR is her real identity—you'd do well to check old, aboveboard, model agents; model reps who'd put anyone anywhere for a price; anyone from l.a. who was sentenced to 402 months during the mid-late 80s, along with anyone who was involved in, yes, old *advertiser censored*. if it's of any consolation, old *advertiser censored* is fairly straightforward, nowhere near as skizzy as today's stuff. i doubt she did it for long, it went too much against her nature. if she did it at all, i do not think she liked it.

from that unworthy branch, & as far as people possibly missed, you might also check with someone like dennis hof, who's been in the business forever & whom i believe recently married heidi fleiss; together they run the bunny ranch. i think. had LEKR run amok & then aground in this not so uncommon way, she could easily have touched down, briefly, in nevada. nevada's on the circuit. she had a p.o.b in nevada.

• i think she was tremendously happy to get away. in the idaho picture she looks as if she's beaming her way into a brand new life. i wish it had really taken. so help me, when you're married seven years & have a toddler daughter, that IS your family. when the detective said that BR had to decide between her & his family & he chose his family—i mean, what crueler thing could have been said? what crueler could have been done? what is possibly more negating than that?

• as for texas, i'd get ahold of the guy who knew her as a stripper. people don't just fall into that job as soon as they hit a new town, especially when they have church socials in mind. that's her transition period, she knew how to transition in just that way [who, other than she, said her implants were done in 1991?] & that guy knows more than most. YES, i believe him. i've seen this trajectory more than once. it's common. the only uncommon piece of the puzzle is her lost original identity. she was clever, & she did a good job with that. how much better it would have been had she been able to live, & leave it alone.

• lastly, there was an ENORMOUS crime in l.a. during the time she lived & worked in the city. the "402 months" brought it to mind: the wonderland murders. drug murder put paid for by a gangster who owned a nightclub called the starwood. involved every skizz bit of our grand metropolis: drugs [coke, of course], lots of beatings & lots of blood, plus the involvement of john c holmes, johnny wadd, *advertiser censored* star extraordinaire, 14 inches & a 14-year-old girlfriend. eddie nash, the starwood's owner/dealer/gangster, used to keep models around. college girl types. lots & lots at a time. just to be there. &, of course, there was LOTS of dope. enough to keep anybody skinny—& LEKR does not stay thin easily, obviously. most people don't. if she wanted dope, & nearly everyone did, the thinning of the thighs would be why. i'm not judging; i've done it, & for the same reason. i dont run to thin either. & she's already admitted bulimia.

at any rate, eddie nash's was a houseful of dope & collegiate-looking models. the wonderland trial ran on for nearly a decade. i'm not saying she was involved or overheard or even was there. her 402 month mess could be something else entirely. but the people involved in the wonderland mess would near-absolutely know the people involved in her mess, & all of them would near-absolutely either know her or know someone who knows her. i'm one scene adjacent so i was not there [& i look like i belong in a russ meyer movie, not like a wholesome coed] but i can easily put a gangster, a model, a hinky attorney, & some sort of major crime in a room. it is, as they say, a no brainer. hinky attorney could have helped with the ID, too.

so those are my weary earliest morning thoughts. not well-put, i do apologize. please know i would never have gotten them here at all if i stopped to mess with capital letters & grammar. tomorrow i might be able to edit, or give you something more, but it's after 5am & tonite i am beat. & i'm a long long time from rooms like that. i didnt get as deep, so i didnt have to run as far. i wish her run ended more happily. i am sad, again, for LEKR.

ps. there is an excellent explication of her likely connections to the straight model world written in a post in the ben perkins, jr thread. i cannot remember the name of the poster—i do remember that she'd noted she also had an 'unusual' life—but i did want to credit her. she knows what she's talking about & i concur.

 

[Laughing]

PeachyKeen, I agree that Dr. Crane is important.

I have ongoing back issues and have a wonderful specialist in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

I've only been to this specialist one time. I'm a cooperative patient & do what he & the physical therapist taught me (most of the time.) Further discussion is in the Missy Bevers thread, I do tend to walk like the person on the church surveillance video if/when I'm behind on my home PT.

A medical debt included in her bankruptcy indicates a lot more than one visit. Injury or developmental/congenital problem? Back pain eased by breast reduction?

Did the Buckeye Pilot crash?

Gardner1850: I wanna know aaaaaallll those answers! Did she tend toward vegetarianism due to faith reasons, or did she dislike the style of barbecue in Texas (no sauce for Heaven's sake, that's not barbecue at all!!!) and chose I'm Vegetarian over "No, thanks, Mom, that looks hideous." Did she develop vegetarian cooking habits while she was broke, or in association with the Asians coworkers we found?

The breadcrumbs on this trail are too small and too scattered.

TY, Laughing :seeya:

 

[mrseeker]

Can they investigate mail fraud if the person committing it died? I don't think the USPS has extra funds just laying around for investigating. IMO, their end goal would be to prosecute someone and stop the crime from continuing. IDK, maybe there was no way to open a case once she was deceased or maybe Velling just wanted to keep all the investigation under his jurisdiction. However, he took a big step reaching out to the public for help when he went to the Seattle Times with the story. I wonder if he ever sent a letter to the current occupants of her addresses asking for any information they might have received in the mail in her name(s). It would be cheap to do just that and if there IS someone still sending mail to Lori that might be the only way it's discovered.

I agree. There is nobody to prosecute for mail fraud living. There have been cases though, when you could not prosecute for the major crime, the feds can prosecute for mail fraud. Cases where the crime was insurance fraud for example can be also charged under the federal mail fraud laws if they mailed anything in to the insurance company to further the fraud. It seems to me Veling opened the case under the theory others were involved in the identity theft of the SSN. If you read one of his forms, I think a search warrant application, he says that others might have assisted her. I personally don't believe that, but he had to have some theory that would allow for a prosecution to spend money investigating it.