I moved to Gwinnett County,Georgia in 1980,when I was Honorably Discharged from the U.S. Army. I helped in the construction of Gwinnett Place Mall and many of the other developments around Gwinnett and North Georgia. I began selling off my music gear investment when I became underemployed and eventually disabled by a repetitive stress injury from my occupation. I did very well for a few months. I was able to pay my bills. Then the problem started with abusive and derogatory postings that were intended to embarrass, threaten and humiliate me.They were directed at "RickinBuford" .The language and grammar were the same in all the posts,and they were all done at the same time of day,so it was obvious the same individual was doing it.In one it was suggested that someone come to Buford ,Georgia and break my hands so that I couldn't post anything else to sell.It scared me very badly.How did he know where I was?Did he get my IP Address number?I didn't know.I was afraid he might find out where I lived too and be waiting for me sometime in the future when I stepped out of the house. And possibly kill me. I called the Gwinnett County Police repeatedly about the problem,with no help offered. Apparently a suggestion of violence was not enough.After I stopped including my first name,location,and phone number in my posts,those type of postings stopped,and copies of my postings with all of the prices changed started being posted with my contact information included.My phone rang over and over and over at all times of the day and night and my email box filled up with inquiries about the items I was selling. For example,an item I was selling for $500 was posted for sale at $50(we are discussing thousands of dollars worth of items here).
The Stalker began playing a ' Cat and Mouse" game,in that if I posted 10 items for sale,he would have his associates at work help him to immediately flag all of my items off of Craigslist.It takes 5 individual people to flag,or remove a posting from Craigslist, so, he had
assistance. If I ever "Top Posted" anything that the Stalker recognized as being one of my items for sale,he would post a copy of my sale list with all the prices altered later that day or night when I was away from the Buford Library. I would have reply to countless emails and phone calls, explaining that they had seen a false ad with the prices changed and I'd send the correct listing to them. Some people took my explanation well but others were very angry and ugly about it.Several complained about how much time and expense it took to come to my home. It made me look like I was enticing people to buy under false pretenses.At one point a man showed up and was disappointed because I wanted more money than he showed up with.He had been lured to my home twice.He was the owner of Braswell's Music in Suwanee,Georgia.. It was very bad for business. I had to verify every inquiry to make sure that the person was replying to one of my legitimate ads.
In order to avoid this,I would have to post items he didn't recognize as mine,and then change the ad a few hours or a day later to the items that he would recognize as mine. It only worked occasionally. This went on for months and months.Sales slowed to nothing. I was
forced to take on more and more debt. It caused me a great deal of stress, grief, and embarassment. I sent Craigslist many emails reporting his abusive posts and asking them to help but was told repeatedly that they could not intervene because to do so would violate his privacy. I use a public library computer,so I'm very careful about typing my real personal information
into the computer here. Henry Krinkle is the screen name I use. want to protect my identity when I'm online,and protect myself from crime.With an email address and phone number, you can possibly find out a person's real name and location. It is how I was led to John Memoli. I changed my phone number when a sex ad was posted under "Casual Encounters" on Craigslist in April of 2009.I received calls from men all day and into the early morning of the next day asking about a woman named "DJ" seeking "No Strings Attached Sex". I did not change my email address,as I didn't want to lose my business contacts.I found out later that keeping it gave me a way to document the stalking. Repeatedly my email box was filled with inquiries about my music gear.Sales slowed to nothing. I complained to craigslist repeatedly for 2 years with no help from them until the 13th of September 2010,when they identified two offending posts, phone number 404-219-9682, ip address #98.192.9.64 and John Memoli's email address to me.On September
10,11,12,13,and 14 ,fraudulent ads had been posted with my email address and old phone number in them.My email box had numerous inquiries in it about the fake ads.On the 17th of September, four days later Craigslist Legal Department identified two more offending posts attributed to the same individual.
I searched John Memoli's name and it took me to his LinkedIn page and his Facebook page.
I searched my email box and a February 2009 email from John Memoli came up. He had been stalking me previously when I had a Craigslist account under another phone number and email address.If I had known he was my Craigslist Stalker, I never would have replied to that email. He came to me pretending he wanted to buy music gear .Apparently it was a trick to get my phone number again. I've sold alot of gear, so I felt I could trust this person because he approached me as a responsible trustworthy individual. I confronted John Memoli email on September 14 2010,asking him if he intended to continue his online activities.I did not receive a reply. I went to the Alpharetta Police Department to report Mr.Memoli,but they told me to report the issue to the Gwinnett County Police Department.The Detective at the Alpharetta Police Department suggested that I get a Stalking Temporary Protective Order. He said that if it was violated,the Stalker would be charged with Aggravated Stalking,a felony. Mr.Memoli was reported to the Gwinnett County Police Department for Stalking,a criminal charge. The Gwinnett County Police Department suggested that I get a Temporary Protective Order Against Stalking as well. I went to the Fulton County Courthouse and after 2 judges reviewed my case and looked at my evidence,I received one on October 6 2010 and another on October 22 2010.Someone claiming to be John Memoli's attorney (he refused to give his name) called to say they were stuck in traffic and would be late. He called twice. John Memoli and his attorney failed to appear to defend himself.
WSB-TV Channel 2 Action News Reported Tony Thomas showed an interest in the story.It was shown on the air starting October 31 2010 and ran for 3 days. http://www.wsbtv.com/video/25586862/index.html ..I wanted others to know what has happened to me so that it doesn't happen to them. After receiving the TPO I felt a great deal of relief and began posting ads again.I didn't have any problems until December 6 2010,when another derogatory post appeared with my items for sale,my prices,my name and location appeared.It was the same grammar and wording as all the previous derogatory and threatening posts. It scared me very badly.I reported the post to Craigslist staff and requested poster identification. This was the issue I got the TPO for,so I reported the issue to the Gwinnett County Police Department as well. I gave a copy of my TPO to them and they told me that the information would be forwarded to Detectives.I also reported the incident to the Fulton County Superior Court Family Violence Division. I was told by Fulton County Family Violence to seek legal advice.Or call the Police. I posted the Georgia Law in regard to Aggravated Stalking,a felony. I hope this issue and any more violations of the TPO will be dealt with when I request a Permanent Protective Order in October of this year.If the "Craigslist Stalker" doesn't kill me first. On January 10 2011,I mailed a certified letter out to Craigslist. In the letter I included the TPO,Gwinnett County Police Report,WSB-TV Channel 2 Action NewsStory. Also in the Craigslist letter I included the December 6 2010 offending post and again requested poster information. The Fulton County Superior Court Clerk told me it would take two years to get a court date if I wanted to sue. So, on January 22 2011, I began complaining to various websites and posting links to my story.I had never mentioned John Memoli by name at any time up until this point. I began complaining naming John Memoli at this time.I complained to the BBB,three complaint
sites,Craigslist,the Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia .I was seeking help and advice.The BBB suggested that I contact the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.I want as many people as possible to know that there is a criminal issue with this
individual, including threats of violence. February 11,2011 I received an email from Craigslist,identifying the December 6 2010 TPO violation and the poster. I spend every moment of every day in fear of retribution. I couldn't post an ad without it immediately getting flagged off.I would always do my posting
at the same time of day( because of library operating hours),so it was always known where I was online and what I was doing there. This ordeal has cost me psychologically.It has cost me my homelife and left me in constant fear for my life. Being CyberStalked is like having someone come right into your home or workplace to harm you.I've been afraid to leave my home for any period of time for months.And no one with any Police Department offered to do anything to help me.
Henry Krinkle
Buford, Georgia |
