{"id":683,"date":"2015-12-16T14:17:54","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T14:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zatma.org\/new-wp\/?p=683"},"modified":"2015-12-16T14:24:01","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T14:24:01","slug":"the-squatters-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=683","title":{"rendered":"The Squatters (#7)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Ming<\/dt>\n
Ming Zhen Shakya<\/a><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\u00a0To see more literature about Zen and the Art of Investigation:<\/h6>\n
http:\/\/www.zenanthonywolff.com<\/a><\/strong><\/i><\/h5>\n
<\/h6>\n
\n

The Squatters<\/h2>\n

by Anthony Wolff (Ming Zhen Shakya)<\/strong><\/p>\n

To see all available chapters of “The Squatters” click here<\/a><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 7: \u00a0Rick employs Kabbalah meditation techniques<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Don Dawson called his attorney.\u00a0 “You can get that P.I.” he said.\u00a0 “I got the money.”<\/p>\n

“Bring it to my office now,” Rosewall replied.\u00a0 “We have no time to lose. Is it in cash?”<\/p>\n

“No.\u00a0 Why does it have to be in cash?\u00a0 I’m not paying some gumshoe drunk under the table.\u00a0 If he’s legit he’ll have business cards and gimme’ a paid invoice.\u00a0 I’ll write him a check.”<\/p>\n

Rosewall replied in an indignant tone. “Please don’t insinuate that I’d ever use any but the best professionals.\u00a0 I was merely asking what form the payment would be in.\u00a0 And for your information, he bills me and I bill you.”<\/p>\n

Dawson went to his attorney’s office.\u00a0 As he presented him with a check for Fifty thousand dollars, he said, “Anything he don’t spend, I get back. Right?”<\/p>\n

“You’re assuming I won’t need him to work on that nasty child-molestation matter.\u00a0 But naturally I always return any funds that haven’t been used up.\u00a0 When did you open this account?”<\/p>\n

“Yesterday. They gave me temporary checks and said my printed checks and my credit\/debit card would arrive in a few days.”\u00a0 He filled out a check for Fifty Thousand dollars.<\/p>\n

“Fine,” Rosewall said, putting the check into his briefcase.\u00a0 The prudent course, he knew, was to wait a week or so before depositing it.\u00a0 Banks tended to be cautious with new accounts. He hesitated, before locking his briefcase.\u00a0 “And the rest of my retainer?”\u00a0 One of his clients, a Navajo gentleman, owned a ‘Pre-driven’ car business.\u00a0 Rosewall had seen a used Ferrari in his lot and upon inquiry was told he’d get it “at cost.”\u00a0 He also wanted to indulge his passion for the “tables” and calculated that between the price of the Ferrari, minus the trade-in value of his present car, plus a good bankroll to start with, he could use another Thirty thousand.\u00a0 “My retainer fee would have been Forty,” he said cordially to Dawson, “but you paid Four which indicated a good faith deposit to me, and for that, I’ll reduce my fee to Thirty. Well, Thirty-four minus the Four. And again, if I get good results quickly or if those other charges are dropped, I’ll return as much of it as I can.”<\/p>\n

Dawson wrote a second check for Thirty thousand dollars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With all the adult neighbors assembled and all the children safely in the basement watching movies, Rick addressed the group.<\/p>\n

“As many of you know, I am an ordained Priest.”\u00a0 He presented his credentials which were passed around.<\/p>\n

“First,” he said, beginning a semi-fantasy account of his own history, “I need to explain.\u00a0 When I entered the seminary I gave no importance to the requirement that a novice sign over to the religious order all of his present and future assets.\u00a0 I had no assets.\u00a0 But then my dear mother developed cancer in the year I graduated from seminary school and quite out of the blue, an uncle I had never even known existed died and left me a few million dollars.\u00a0 Now I could send my mother to one of those specialty cancer hospitals.\u00a0 Or so I thought.\u00a0 Our mail was routinely opened by the Dean’s secretary, and when they discovered the bequest that had been made to me I was ordered to put the money in the seminary’s general fund. Actually I had signed a contract to do this. And, no doubt, I should have done so.\u00a0 But my mother was the light of my life and I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I just let her die.\u00a0 They needed me to sign a few papers and after giving it a great deal of thought, I refused.\u00a0 What kind of priest would I be if I turned my back on the woman who gave me life… and a smile…\u00a0 always a smile even when she took food off her own plate to put on mine.\u00a0 We had nothing.\u00a0 My father was an alcoholic. I could not disappoint her the way he had.\u00a0 I quit the Order.\u00a0 End of story.<\/p>\n

“Since I technically am a priest, I know something about meditation. I want to tell you now about one of the many ways people have learned to meditate.\u00a0 In thirteenth century Spain a Kabbalah master named Abraham Abulafia developed an extraordinary way:\u00a0 permutations and the concentration required to create them.\u00a0 Simply put, there are a limited number of ways in which you can take a group of different letters or numbers and combine them.\u00a0 \u00a0Take A,B.C. We can write ABC, ACB, BCA, BAC. CAB, CBA.\u00a0 Six ways only.\u00a0 This number is determined by what we call the factorial of the number we are seeking to permute.\u00a0 If there are three numbers or letters; we multiply 3 x 2 x 1.\u00a0 If there are four numbers or letters, we multiply 4 x 3 x 2 x 1. As you can see, the number of ways has increased dramatically. 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24.\u00a0 \u00a0Twenty-four.\u00a0 That doesn’t sound like much but here it is on a paper chart I made for you.”\u00a0 He placed the chart against his chest.\u00a0 “Let’s say we want to permute the numbers 1,2,3 & 4.<\/p>\n

1234\u00a0 \u00a0 1243\u00a0 1342\u00a0 \u00a0 1324\u00a0 1432\u00a0 1423
\n2134\u00a0 \u00a0 2143\u00a0 \u00a02341\u00a0 \u00a0 2314\u00a0 2413\u00a0 2431
\n3412\u00a0 \u00a0 3421\u00a0 \u00a03214\u00a0 \u00a0 3241\u00a0 3142\u00a0 3124
\n4123\u00a0 \u00a0 4132\u00a0 \u00a04231\u00a0 \u00a04213\u00a0 \u00a04321\u00a0 4312<\/p>\n

Keeping these numbers straight and developing a system requires total concentration – and Abulafia used many more digits than 4.\u00a0 But I guarantee that if you take a name… like Christ…and permute it, before you’re finished you’ll be in a deep state of meditation.\u00a0 But you’re not here to learn permutations.<\/p>\n

“The question is, are we going to be a bank to these thieves… to work hard all our lives and give them all that we have saved and all that we can borrow any time they threaten to burn our house down or murder our children?\u00a0 Or are we going to form a brigade and go out there and station ourselves near the\u00a0squatter’s place and follow Don Dawson when he goes out to make a purchase… gas, food, whatever… and get at least part of his 4 digit pin number? This will have to be done by someone he doesn’t recognize.” Everyone looked at the four grandparents. “All that these four individuals have to do is to follow him into the store and to observe him when he puts his pin number into the check-out register. He may have his wife with him and she may perform the transaction which is why we need,” he nodded towards the grandmothers, “we need you ladies.\u00a0 We need at least two of those four numbers, preferably consecutive numbers.\u00a0 This will get us started.\u00a0 Are you all willing?”<\/p>\n

All four agreed to tail Dawson and follow him into a store or get behind him in an ATM line. But they wanted to know more of Rick’s plan before they went into Holbrook and rented cars.<\/p>\n

“All right,” Rick began, “let’s say we get the first two numbers and they’re six and three.\u00a0 Now we have to find out the last two numbers.\u00a0 But unlike the example that I did the permutation on, there are not four numbers, but ten numbers that are possible.\u00a0 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,& 9. Without knowing at least two of the numbers, the permutations are beyond our capability.\u00a0 But let’s say we do get those two numbers, and, for the sake of argument, they’re six and three.<\/p>\n

“We fan out and go to ATM machines that have no cameras and punch in 63 plus two of the permuted numbers and if that number is wrong, we get two more chances to punch in the correct number.\u00a0 There are a hundred possibilities – I’ll show you them in a moment – and as soon as someone gets the right pin number, he withdraws $300 and calls everyone else and then we can all begin to withdraw from ATM machines.\u00a0 The exact addresses of ATM locations we can download from the internet.\u00a0 We can go to New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, or California.\u00a0 We can withdraw $300 at a time until we recoup the entire $500,000 the kidnappers stole.”<\/p>\n

“I’m in,” Jack Thompson said, opening his son’s bookbag.\u00a0 “Let me get a calculator.\u00a0 How many times does $300 go into $500,000?\u00a0 1666.66.”<\/p>\n

Rick answered.\u00a0 “Right! 500,000 divided by 300 is 1666.66 and when you divide that by the number of folks who are willing to participate in this… which is…” he looked around and began to count the raised hands. “Four grandparents, two parents, six neighbors equals twelve.<\/p>\n

Jack Thompson did the calculation\u00a0 “That would be 138 visits to the ATM.\u00a0 Each of us would have to make 138 withdrawals.”<\/p>\n

“Now,” Rick continued, “we also need bank debit cards.\u00a0 I happen to know – because I tailed him\u00a0 – that Dawson opened an account at his old bank. No doubt he had to put the money in the same bank because he recently made a large legitimate deposit of $700K that the IRS would have had to clear.\u00a0 So when he makes this new deposit he will want the IRS to think it is the same money being put back because the Mexican real estate deal fell through.\u00a0 It’s the only reason he’s got to get it past them. He’ll probably say that Markovitz is a big time gambler and that’s the way he paid him back… in currency.\u00a0 This will check out.”<\/p>\n

“Now, for a price I’m willing to donate, a shady friend of mine – actually I ministered to him while he was in prison, but that’s another story – was able to hack into the credit card company that manufacturers the bank’s plastic – so much for bank security! – and another associate of his created a whole bunch of duplicate debit\/credit cards for me with Dawson’s name and account number. He overnighted them to me.\u00a0 Unfortunately, he could not get the pin number. The cards are here in this candy dish.”\u00a0 He placed the cards in the dish. “Well, who’s game and ready to start?\u00a0 I’m sure you know the procedure.\u00a0 You insert the card at an ATM – one without a camera that takes your picture – or you wear a wig, dark glasses, and a hoodie – and when you’re asked for your pin number, you punch in four digits.\u00a0 That’s all there is to it.\u00a0 Now,\u00a0 since we have ten numbers, 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 we have ten pairs of numbers to permute. Each pair can permute ten times.\u00a0 That makes 10 x 10 = 100 possibilities.\u00a0 Here’s how the permutation looks.”\u00a0 He held up a chart.<\/p>\n

00
\n01\u00a0 \u00a010\u00a0 \u00a011
\n02\u00a0 \u00a020\u00a0 \u00a012\u00a0 \u00a021\u00a0 \u00a022
\n03\u00a0 \u00a030\u00a0 \u00a013\u00a0 \u00a031\u00a0 \u00a023\u00a0 \u00a032\u00a0 \u00a033
\n04\u00a0 \u00a040\u00a0 \u00a014\u00a0 \u00a041\u00a0 \u00a024\u00a0 \u00a042\u00a0 \u00a034\u00a0 \u00a043\u00a0 \u00a044
\n05\u00a0 \u00a050\u00a0 \u00a015\u00a0 \u00a051\u00a0 \u00a025\u00a0 \u00a052\u00a0 \u00a035\u00a0 \u00a053\u00a0 \u00a045\u00a0 \u00a054\u00a0 \u00a055
\n06\u00a0 \u00a060\u00a0 \u00a016\u00a0 \u00a061\u00a0 \u00a026\u00a0 \u00a062\u00a0 \u00a036\u00a0 \u00a062\u00a0 \u00a046\u00a0 \u00a064\u00a0 \u00a056\u00a0 \u00a065\u00a0 \u00a066
\n07\u00a0 \u00a070\u00a0 \u00a017\u00a0 \u00a071\u00a0 \u00a027\u00a0 \u00a072\u00a0 \u00a037\u00a0 \u00a073\u00a0 \u00a047\u00a0 \u00a074\u00a0 \u00a057\u00a0 \u00a075\u00a0 \u00a067\u00a0 \u00a076\u00a0 \u00a077
\n08\u00a0 \u00a080\u00a0 \u00a018\u00a0 \u00a081\u00a0 \u00a028\u00a0 \u00a082\u00a0 \u00a038\u00a0 \u00a083\u00a0 \u00a048\u00a0 \u00a084\u00a0 \u00a058\u00a0 \u00a085\u00a0 \u00a068\u00a0 \u00a086\u00a0 \u00a078\u00a0 87\u00a0 88
\n09\u00a0 \u00a090\u00a0 \u00a019\u00a0 \u00a091\u00a0 \u00a029\u00a0 \u00a092\u00a0 \u00a039\u00a0 \u00a093\u00a0 \u00a049\u00a0 \u00a094\u00a0 \u00a059\u00a0 \u00a095\u00a0 \u00a069\u00a0 \u00a096\u00a0 \u00a079\u00a0 97\u00a0 89\u00a0 \u00a098\u00a0 99<\/p>\n

“Every one of these numbers begins, let’s say, with 63.\u00a0 Now we’ll need to assign the possible pin numbers.\u00a0 We need to form two groups.”<\/p>\n

“Let’s all exchange phone numbers,” Jack Thmpson’s mother suggested, “and write them down on a piece of paper instead of in our phone.”<\/p>\n

“Good idea!” Rick shouted.\u00a0 “Ok. Six of us get on one side of the room and the other six on the other. Couples stay together.”\u00a0 \u00a0The group moved accordingly.\u00a0 Rick cut the permutations’ list in half and gave each side fifty possible numbers.\u00a0 “This, I repeat, is dependent upon gaining at least two of those pin numbers by following Dawson when he buys something.”<\/p>\n

Jack Thompson drove the two sets of grandparents into Holbrook so that they could rent four cars.<\/p>\n

When they re-convened, Rick announced, “One thing more!\u00a0 I’m going to deposit a series of bad checks into Dawson’s account.\u00a0 I got the checks from the trash of a company that went out of business a couple of years ago.\u00a0 You may not know this but certain garbage men will cull the discarded stationery… the paper invoices, purchase orders, memo forms, and, of course, the checks to defunct bank accounts… and fence them.\u00a0 There’s a market for this stuff.\u00a0 Anyway, Dawson’s account will be duly credited and no one should encounter a zero balance when a request for cash is made. It will take a week or so before the bad check deposits bounce and the kidnapping Mr. Dawson will be liable for the difference. This is a simple variation on the old check kiting scheme. Are there any objections?”<\/p>\n

“No! None!” everyone shouted.<\/p>\n

“To save time, let’s first divide the maps!” Jack Thompson shouted. He distributed the copies Rick had made and everyone agreed to a territory within the map’s area.<\/p>\n

Harry Nicholson offered to lead the four rented cars to the\u00a0squatters’ house in nearby Apache County.\u00a0 As soon as someone learned at least two of the pin numbers, they would notify the others at any time of the day or night.<\/p>\n

Rick and Helena returned home to get as much rest as possible. It was not until 10 a.m. the following morning that Dawson drove to a gas station and the four rented cars cautiously followed him to the pump.\u00a0 Both grandfathers agreed that the first two numbers that Dawson punched-in were 3,3.\u00a0 Jack’s father called the others and repeated the advice.\u00a0 “Remember, use only those machines that don’t take photographs.\u00a0 If you want to be extra safe, buy yourself a wig or a hoodie and sunglasses.\u00a0 Use the machine once and then move on. You can return to the machine later.”\u00a0 Everyone agreed to be careful and began to drive to the targeted ATMs.<\/p>\n

Harry Nicholson got the correct pin number on his second try.\u00a0 He called everyone.\u00a0 “It’s 3342.”<\/p>\n

The raiders each accessed between five and ten ATMs that day.\u00a0 Still, they brought home nearly $25,000. Everyone pledged to get some sleep and be ready to start again the next day.\u00a0 Nevada, New Mexico, California…\u00a0 they consulted maps. After they exhausted Arizona, they planned to fan out.\u00a0 The Thompsons created a ledger of “repatriated funds” and hid the money in their house.\u00a0 Although the Nicholsons had not contributed to the ransom, they had been been helpful in redeeming the ransom.\u00a0 They had been heavily fined for letting their pit bulls run free and had\u00a0 to hire an attorney and were financially desperate.\u00a0 It was agreed that they would be given a sum to cover these expenses.\u00a0 Those who had borrowed on their credit cards were ecstatic since the loans had been made at a near usurious rate.\u00a0 So oblivious were the twelve raiders to the possibility that they’d be caught committing such a crime, that they enthusiastically discussed the “cover story” they’d use to account for the return of the ransom money.<\/p>\n

It is a commonplace that the most rigorously honest people, when they believe they are the victims of someone they determine to be evil, will casually commit the most heinous crimes against him if given the opportunity.\u00a0 The rationale is always that the one who initiated the evil deserves to be punished for it; and if, as in this case, law enforcement agencies cannot be contacted without great risk, then the victims, themselves, must do whatever they can to solve the problem.\u00a0 If at all possible, they will strive to effect a punishment that will end the criminal career.\u00a0 Believing this, they act with a religious conviction that perhaps only witch burners could appreciate.\u00a0 But some of these vigilantes, unlike witch burners, will direct their efforts against someone they know to a certainty is guilty of a terrible crime. The people who assembled in the Thompson home had no doubts about Dawson’s culpability.<\/p>\n

And also, no one doubted that he would have killed Louella if the police were summoned.\u00a0 Dawson had been in prison before and had the kind of mean streak that would not have allowed him to accept a life sentence for kidnapping especially when he felt victimized by the theft of the insurance money. At the sight of police officers, Dawson was entirely capable of killing everyone in sight, including himself.<\/p>\n

The police had been summoned before and, claiming the law inhibited them from interfering in what had been deemed a civil mater, had shown little interest in solving any problems that involved the\u00a0squatters. The victims were not entirely unreasonable in their supposition that for so long as this excuse existed, the problems would be dragged through the courts, further punishing the man who did not want to share his home with undesirables. The twelve raiders were eager to take action.\u00a0 Not only had Dawson kidnapped and terrorized an innocent child, but he had placed them in the position of having to finance his luxuries with money they would have to work hard to repay. Dawson had financially ruined or damaged them.\u00a0 In many small acts, they would even the score.<\/p>\n

No, there were no pangs of conscience.\u00a0 There was only enthusiasm and a “can do” spirit that removed stultifying fear and depression and allowed them to think creatively. They were gleeful. An onlooker might have seen the same expressions on the folks who danced around the burning witch. The difference was justice – justice that was not only blind, but apparently invisible.
\nBecause none of Rick’s fake deposits had yet bounced, the group would finally tally $607,000 when their foray into the wold of ATMs was finished. They had “earned” $107,000 extra for their four days of exhausting work.<\/p>\n

Rosewall deposited into his own account Dawson’s two checks that totaled $80,000. Rosewall withdrew $30,000 in cash and went on to the “Pre-driven” car lot to pay by his own check the $50,000 he needed to get the Ferrari he wanted.\u00a0 As he drove the car off the lot, he headed for a high-end western clothing store.\u00a0 He needed a new Stetson, a shearling jacket, jeans with a new silver buckle, and a pair of fine crocodile boots. He stopped at his insurance agent’s office and got both collision and liability coverage on the Ferrari and then he went to the Motor Vehicles Department, registered the Ferrari, and drove directly towards the hotel\/casino of which Dave Begay was the Chief Executive Officer.\u00a0 By the end of the week, when all the phony deposits bounced, he would owe a variety of people and governmental agencies over a hundred thousand dollars that he did not at the moment possess and had no hope of recouping.<\/p>\n

Rick could not remember a time in which one of his schemes had rewarded him so well.\u00a0 He did not know that a man who hated him was sitting outside David Begay’s office, waiting to ask him about Mr. Julius Markovitz and the artist who signed herself as “M.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do ancient meditation techniques and guessing a credit card pin number have in common? In part #7, the scale seems to tip towards Rick success, but as all we know, success might not last enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,21],"tags":[23,34],"class_list":["post-683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-free-e-books","tag-tales-from-the-sangha","tag-the-squatters"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":685,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683\/revisions\/685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}