LEFT: Reed (far left) and Raith (far right) tell and sell their tall tale with publisher Pam McCloud at the International UFO Congress in Nevada.

To put it in the words of the man that continues to flood UFOlogy with hoaxers, "Controversy is good for ratings." Perhaps controversy is, but what about sheer stupidity? Courtesy of Art Bell, con artists Jonathan Reed and Robert Raith have reemerged with the story of the dead alien and the freezer and are scamming it up on national radio again - all at the expense of UFOlogy. Art Bell has been sent information pointing to fraud in the case of Jonathan Reed, yet Bell has continued to ignore the information. Why? In a word, ratings. For someone claiming to be a champion of UFOlogy, or the truth for that matter, Art Bell appears to ignore information that contradicts his regular guests.

Bell was also sent UFOWATCHDOG.COM's investigative report on UFO fraud Sean David Morton well in advance of Morton's last appearance on Coast To Coast AM. Bell failed to respond to the information and did not once address Morton about the findings with much of the refuted information being repeated by Morton on the air as he made yet another appearance on Bell's show. Since Art Bell refuses to present evidence that seriously contradicts and exposes many of his phony guests, or information that may interfere with his ratings, UFOWATCHDOG.COM takes pleasure in exposing the bogus case of Jonathan Reed...

A QUICK LOOK AT THE HOAX...

It all began when Jonathan Reed and Robert Raith appeared on the nationally syndicated radio show Coast To Coast AM with Art Bell. The two, with Raith guiding Reed throughout the program constantly reminding him of details, spun their tale of how Reed claimed to have been hiking in the woods of Washington State when his dog was disintegrated by an alien. Reed claims to have picked up a tree branch and bashed the alien's skull in. He then claims to have video taped and photographed a UFO that appeared in the woods nearby and then says he took the alien home where he stuffed it in a freezer. Of course, the alien miraculously came back to life...

Adding low grade theatrical elements to this cheap soap opera, Reed tells tales of government thugs following him, ransacking his home, killing his friends and finally forcing him to go on the lam. In the first program, Reed was asked if he had presented 100% of his evidence, to which he gave a resounding yes. But of course, when creating drama you can't give away your whole story...

On a later broadcast, Reed claimed to now be in possession of a device from his so-called alien - he just conveniently forgot to mention this...well, after all, the big bad government thugs were out to get him. Reed said he noticed it when he wrapped the alien in a thermal blanket and claims that the device, which he calls the 'Link Artifact' (pictured left), had been examined and deemed extraterrestrial. Of course, he couldn't provide a single scrap of proof of this. The so-called 'artifact' looks very much like a cheap movie prop. But of course, no one can readily view the 'artifact' since Reed claims that it is far from his possession and has been hidden in a secret place. It apparently doesn't take much to impress Art Bell, who provided at least three programs for Reed to appear on all while practically endorsing Reed's fable.

A very interesting piece of information sent in by Frank Polchert shows what is, in all probability, part of the material used to make the "link Artifcat.' Polchert writes, "...after seeing the pictures showing the inside of the "link artifact" I've noticed that material on the is very similar to the stuff I've used to line my cabinets. Check the sloppy edges of the material that appear to hanging over the edge of link." A comparison between the two materials is show on Polchert's website. (Ed. Note: This site has been shut down.)

In later Coast To Coast programs, Reed and Raith begged for book publishers and movie producers, then later began hocking their self published book, Reed alleged to have telepathically communicated with the alien (which he called "Freddie"), been shot at point blank range in a botched kidnapping, to have had an implant removed from a front tooth, to have been kidnapped, drugged and nearly beaten to death, to still be constantly pursued by government thugs, and the drama goes on and on.

"LOOK OUT, ITS A GOVERNMENT THUG!"

Reed claims to constantly be on the move and in hiding as he fears for his life. Yet he's been able to give public lectures, was reported to have been in attendance at the IUFOC in Laughlin, Nevada this past March, recently gave a presentation in Philadelphia and is scheduled to do a lecture for the San Diego UFO Society on May 6th. Reed has a bank account under JR Spectrum, can maintain a website with all of his evidence on it, publish a book, is able to call into and talk with Bell for hours at a time and yet has somehow managed to keep the vicious government thugs from finding him and taking him out?

The facts are these: If Reed was involved in something as important as he claims, he would have been kidnapped a long time ago or he'd be pushing daisies in an unmarked grave. Face it, if a government such as the United States, with its massive intell resources, wanted to find Reed and do something to him - it would have happened long ago and Reed wouldn't be around trying to sell his lies.

Reed went so far to claim that he had been shot during an alleged botched abduction attempt. Reed offered the following photo as proof of his ordeal:

Reed's wound looks more like a low grade make-up job and nothing like a real contact/point blank gunshot wound. Reed claimed to have been shot with a 9mm pistol at point blank range. For those of you with strong stomachs that want to see what a real firearms wound looks like, check the Forensic Pathology Index. Be warned though, it is extremely graphic.

How many times was Reed shot? He claims once but there are three separate holes in what would appear to be an exit wound. One of two things will happen with gun shot exit wounds: 1) The exit wound will be very large, or 2) There will be a single hole that is small. This all depends on the type of ammunition used and the caliber of the weapon involved. Also, why is there no bruising or signs of burning of the tissue around both parts of the wound? The trauma to the gunshot area would have been far more extensive than what you see in the photo. From where the alleged entry wound is at, Reed wouldn't have too much meat left on his shoulder.

Judging from the photo, it appears the entry point for the bullet would have completely shattered his collar bone. Had this occurred, the exit wound would be at a different angle as it would have hit the bone, probably ricocheted and exited at a different angle. There would probably also be more holes in Reed from bone fragments. If Reed's collar bone was shattered, you wouldn't miss it. Also, Reed claims that his alien friend "Freddie" was supposed to be protecting him from harm and the government thugs...

It was reported that while at the IUFOC last year, Reed was asked by researchers Lloyd Pye and Dr. Roger Leir to show them his bullet wound. Reed was reported to have turned and high tailed it away from the inquisitive pair.

A COMEDY OF CONSPIRACIES AND INTERESTING TID BITS...

The only conspiracy taking place with Reed is this scheme he hatched. During November of 1998, while writing a story for CNI News, I spoke with Chris Fine who stated she was a friend of both Reed and Raith. Fine, a resident of Imperial Beach, California (near San Diego) at the time I spoke with her, told me that she was the "business manager" for Reed and Raith. Fine stated she was in the process of negotiating a movie deal "with a major studio", though she wouldn't name the studio.

Fine was asked about Reed's evidence being analyzed, to which she stated, "We're not interested in engaging in any conflict or debate..." Fine said Reed's story was "an opportunity to bring more understanding that we are not alone" and she tried to appeal more to issues of emotion and sympathy rather than issues of logic and evidentiary value. Fine was also asked where the alleged encounter exaclty took place at. While Reed made vague reference to the area, Fine stated she would not disclose the location but yet would not give a reason why. I asked if it would be possible to have a copy of the photos and video to view, a request Fine flatly denied even after I offered to sign a confidentiality waiver. I even offered to have the film and video analyzed, all the while reminding Fine that a positive analysis would do nothing but bolster Reed's case. Fine declined the offer.

Fine did however take great interest in our conversation when I made mention of a certain movie producer I knew in the Los Angeles area. Fine became excited and asked if I thought the producer would be interested in cutting a movie deal for Reed's story. I told Fine I'd have to pass along her contact information and she made absolutely sure that I had all of her information correct.

I asked Fine how Reed met Raith. Fine stated that she had introduced the two, but was vague on how this exactly happened. Fine stated that her and Raith were friends and had also previously been neighbors in the Seattle area. Strange all the connections here: Reed, Raith and Fine all have ties to Seattle and Fine has ties to San Diego where Reed claims to have attended school. Coincidence? Not likely. It's my opinion that Reed, Raith and Fine are all past associates and have been brewing this con for some time.

I tried to re-contact Fine only to find that she is now living, guess where, in the Seattle area and had relocated there shortly after my interview with her. Speaking of coincidences...

Enter Cole Larson - Reed's website, which has the quality of most corporate websites, is registered under the name of Cole Larson. Frederick Baugher, a professional screenwriter, contacted me and provided quite an insight into Larson.

During his IUFOC presentation in Laughlin, Nevada, it was reported that Reed named Cole Larson as one of the people who had personally seen Reed's alien. Reed claims terrible things have happened to all who have had contact with him or the alien, but somehow Larson appears to have escaped harm and now resides in Gardnerville, Nevada. So, who is Cole Larson?

Larson is a former project manager for Microsoft, had dealings with another Washington based software company called Kinetics and used to reside near Seattle. Larson apparently had a very well paying position with Microsoft until he resigned his position in 1995 to form an Internet company, Worlds Inc., in which he invested his entire net-worth into. He formed the company with two other partners - Ken Locker, an executive vice president at Carolco Pictures and RHI Entertainment, and Dave Marvit who taught at the California Institute of Technology. The three invested everything they had in what they hailed as the Internet World Fair and said its 3D environments would revolutionize the Internet and make them all rich. By 1997, the company had gone belly up and all involved were broke.

It's been suggested that Reed is actually one of the three men listed above, but there is currently no proof of that. It was also suggested that Larson is involved in perpetrating this hoax with Reed and that Larson may have used his connections to the entertainment industry through his former business partner Ken Locker in producing Reed's alien and the UFO.

The connection between Reed, Raith and Fine all falls into the category of circumstantial evidence as does his association with Larson - it is however quite compelling. Let's look into some facts about this case...

"SORRY. WE CAN'T FIND YOUR NAME ANYWHERE..."

One of the biggest problems with this story is that Reed's background has been difficult to verify. Why is that? Is it because the evil government agents have managed to suppress or eliminate information about Reed in order to discredit him? No, the answer is much simpler than that...Reed is lying.

CLAIM: Reed claimed to have worked at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University with one of its finest physicians ever, Dr. Frank Oski. Reed claimed to have worked with Dr. Oski at Johns Hopkins in 1979.

FACT: Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins University, located in Baltimore, Maryland, is perhaps the finest school of its kind leading the world in instruction and research. The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is regarded as one of the best in the world and its School of Hygiene and Public Health is renowned for its contributions to preventive medicine and the health of large populations.

Dr. Frank Oski (pictured left), a well respected pediatrician and former chairman of the pediatrics department at the State University of New York at Syracuse, arrived at Johns Hopkins University in 1985. Dr.Oski was Director for the Department of Pediatrics and was Physician-in-Chief for the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Dr. Oski passed away in 1996.

Reed falls victim to his own lies here as there is no way that Reed could have worked with Dr. Frank Oski in 1979 as he claimed since Dr. Oski wasn't there at Johns Hopkins until 1985, an entire 6 years later. Further, Reed claimed that he was attending UCLA at this time in California. Also, Johns Hopkins is located completely on the other side of the country in Maryland.

CLAIM: Reed stated he attended UCLA starting in 1976 and then obtained a Ph.D. in Psychology from the same institution in 1980.

FACT: Dr. Timothy Haley, an assistant professor at Purdue University, began investigating Reed's background after hearing Reed on Coast To Coast AM. His findings can be found in an open letter (Ed. Note: Site is gone.) he wrote to the International UFO Congress. Dr.Haley began by attempting to check educational records at UCLA yet could not locate any record of Reed ever having graduated from UCLA let alone having attended that institution. Dr. Haley contacted UCLA and received a response from Clifford A. Ramirez, an Assistant Registrar. Ramirez conducted a search and stated that he "could find no record of this Jonathan Reed ever attending UCLA." Dr. Haley also contacted Dena Chertoff of UCLA's Department on Psychology. Chertoff stated, "I have no record of this person."

Further proving that Reed does not have a Ph.D., Dr. Haley conducted a search of the UMI Database where dissertations are kept on file. UMI, which is now Bell and Howell, is the largest depository in the world for dissertations. The Bell and Howell company is widely utilized by professors and graduate students researching thesis projects. Bell and Howell also serves as an off site depository for the United States Library of Congress' dissertation collection.

After checking with the on-line database, Dr. Haley could not locate any dissertation with Reed's name on it. Dr. Lewis Delphine of UMI stated, "I do not find this in the database. If it had been submitted and then pulled, the citation would come up with the message "Not Available Through UMI"." I further checked with the UMI database and could find no information on Reed.

CLAIM: Reed also claimed to have been "self employed" at the University of Washington (UW) as a researcher working in "developmental psychology" with children. Reed claimed to have worked at UW from "about 1983 to 1996."

FACT: Dr. Tim Haley also checked into this aspect of Reed's claim. Dr. Haley contacted UW’s Medical Center, the Department of Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry. No record of Reed ever having worked at UW was found. Dr. Haley stated, "The only record they have are of a John Reed in Chemistry and another in Anesthesiology and not in the time frame in question." But no matter how many facts you expose about a fraud, there are some that will still choose to believe...

CLAIM: Reed supporter Dan Iaria (pictured left) insists Reed is telling the truth regarding his story and his alleged employment at UW. Iaria claims a group, which he refers to as "The Darkside", have successfully erased Reed's identity and any trace of his existence. Iaria states on his Alien Destiny website (Ed. Note: Another dead site.), "...it was easy for “them” to quickly erase [Reed] from University records. First, he wasn’t a direct payroll recipient due to the fact that he was a self-employed contractor.”

Iaria claims to have proof that Reed was employed at UW by posting to his website an e-mail record from the Internet Address Finder database. The address is for a 'Jonathon Reed', lists Jonathon@homer.u.washington.edu and is dated for 08/21-1996, the time frame in which Reed claims to have worked at UW. Iaria states, "You can see clearly that the server named "Homer" is dedicated to faculty and staff members...so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do the math on this one." Indeed, the "homer" designator was once utilized by faculty and staff members of UW. However, there are some problems here...

FACT: First, if “The Dark Side”, as Iaria refers to them as, was so thorough about wiping Reed’s past away, why is the e-mail record still around? The Reed camp has claimed that ALL electronic information about him has been erased. Also, the spelling of the name is incorrect. The Jonathon Reed listed as having been employed by UW spells his name with an ‘o’ near the end. Reed stated, during his last appearance on Coast-To-Coast AM, that his name is spelled with an ‘a’ at the end of it, but that his name has been spelled both ways.

One of two scenarios exist here: Either Reed happened to stumble upon the listing or, since it appears he's in for the long haul with his scam, the information was entered into the database by Reed or one of his associates as they scripted their story. Adding names and whatever information you please into these databases is easily accomplished. Go to www.iaf.net and do a search under the last name of ‘Myers III’ and see what you find. It would appear I work for UW as a UFOlogist.

Robert Roseth, Director of UW’s News and Information Department, said the e-mail address designator could mean anything. “This doesn’t equate to being a faculty member. Guys that work in custodial services and on the grounds crew use the same e-mail address as faculty members,” said Roseth.

Using the e-mail address and names, Roseth conducted a search and stated, “A search of the files in the Office of Academic Personnel showed no one with a faculty appointment with either the name Jonathon or Jonathan Reed…I strongly doubt there was anyone on the faculty in or around 1996 with that name.”

Kathleen Dwyer, Assistant Director of Human Resources at UW, was asked about Reed’s claim of having been a “self-employed” psychologist engaged in research on contract with the university. Dwyer stated, “It simply doesn’t work that way. This person would have had faculty status.”

The Dead Alien, Part II

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