WARNING.......... Watch out for this guy.

[quote="Texpat"]Sorry to disappoint, but tourist police are often volunteers with a very rudimentary knowledge of law, and zero legal authority.

After going to the "real police" I was taken to the T.P and was dealing with the Captain who seemed to me fairly well educated in the law with full legal authority to turn this guy over to the prov. police for incarceration.

Sorry that I don't have the knowledge you seem to possess..

Texpat wrote:If you look on page three of the passport, you'll see this notice: This passport is the property of the United States government.

Passports are not to be used as collateral.
I don't believe any real policemen anywhere would allow another person to "hold" another's passport irrespective of conditions.

The whole deal sounds shady to me. You should give him back his passport.

Try again...The correct statement (ON PAGE 5) reads as such..." This passport is the property of the United States... It must be surrendered upon demand by an authorized representative of the United States Government."
(Being from Houston, I have a US passport of my own)

No such demand has been made to me by any authority and the embassy has full knowledge of what is transpiring.
Nor can I find any reference to your statement "Passports are not to be used as collateral."

What happens in your world and what happens in the real world seem to be two different things.

Shady to you???? Well it is the rainy season you know...

Bandung_Dero wrote:
IMO the OP should not post his email or phone number on a public forum. - Use the PM system.

Your right of course but I wanted to be contected by any means.

I should have posted his 0847434807.
Unfortunatly it's off most of the time.

I don't expect anyone here to do anything.

The purpose of my post was to warn others about his dealings and save someone from the grief and losses he has imposed upon others.

Just so you know....I contacted the embassy eartly on and advised them that I was in possession of his passport and that he willingly gave it to me. They told me that if he showed up for a new one, they would tell him to retrieve his original from me.
They have my contact information should they need me and are being updated as needed and they have NO qualms about what has transpired.

Time will tell. His stamp expires on the 25th. If he wants it back he will need cash in hand as promissed.
After that he will be doing time before being sent back, banned from returning.
If that happens, no one has any chance of recovering their lost funds, including his pregnant wife and her family,
I'm hoping he'll consider his options, contact me and leave the country under his own free will.

His DOB is 30 Nov 1956 making him 56 with thinning hair like many of us.

I will try to scan the PP and send the pic but the quality may prevent that.

Update...

Having concerns that I may have missed something about his getting a new passport, I called the embassy as "Raymond Lacy" and asked about my new one.
I was told that I would have to come to BKK with the police report, pics etc. to apply in person.

I then told them who I was and why I made the call using his name. They had no problem with that and said, as before, in person, police report and other docs in hand.

I feel a bit better now and hope everything works out as planned..

If anyone requires a photo or more information about the person concerned please contact the OP via PM ucp.php?i=pm&mode=compose&u=20235

Thanks.