Bunk Psychic Released from Prison

 

Sean David Morton at LAX in Los Angeles
after being released from federal prison.

Bunk psychic and convicted fraudster Sean David Morton has been released from federal prison after serving 40 months of what was supposed to be a 72 month sentence stemming from multiple felony convictions that included defrauding the IRS out of nearly $500,000.00 and filing false tax returns.

Morton and his wife were both convicted in 2017 for their involvement in not only only defrauding the government, but also their involvement in a straw-man redemption scheme in which victims were conned into paying Morton to file false bonds to pay off their debt.

Morton's wife, who was also convicted in the scheme, served half of a 24 month sentence.

All the bonds submitted were rejected and The Mortons received warnings from the state of California as well as the IRS that the bonds were not legal. In spite of these multiple warnings and having knowledge the bonds did not work, The Mortons continued charging people and filing the bogus bonds. The New York Times did an in-depth story about Morton and the scam.

Agents from the IRS later served a search warrant on the apartment Morton was residing in. After being convicted, Morton failed to show up for a sentencing hearing and both he and his wife were later apprehended at a hotel where Morton had been hiding out.

While the Federal Bureau of Prisons did not respond to a request for comment, Morton likely was released due to the pandemic and the impact it is having on inmates and corrections staff across the country.

During his time in prison, Morton filed a number of babbling and incoherent briefs with the court to overturn his conviction and for his early release with every filing being denied.  Morton also posted a story allegedly written by another inmate named Fabian recounting what supposedly took place in prison, including Morton doing some Matrix moves on another inmate and getting letters in prison from the White House.

Melissa Morton (left) and Sean David Morton
prior to their legal troubles.

This was not Morton's first run in with the law. In 2013, the SEC sued Morton and his wife, Melissa, for running what the SEC called "a psychic scheme" with Morton claiming he could make them rich by using his so-called psychic powers to predict the stock market.

Over 100 investors lost more than $6,000,000.00 and it was discovered The Mortons moved funds into shell companies and used investor funds for personal expenses. None of Morton's stock market predictions came to pass and several investors lost their life savings with some suing in an attempt to get their money.

In 2003, Morton attempted to sue ufowatchdog.com for $1,000,000 in damages when Morton claimed he had been libeled in the ufowatchdog.com investigation The Shameless Psychic and His Prophecy of Lies, which exposed Morton's false claims about his background and education. Morton was only required to prove a single claim made by ufowatchdog.com was false and he failed to meet this low burden of proof. A judge found for ufowatchdog.com and Morton was ordered to pay $16,000.00 to ufowatchdog.com in legal fees.

'Psychic' Fails To Foresee Prison Problems

 

As readers of my blog and old website know, I extensively covered and exposed one of the biggest hucksters in UFOs...

Sean David Morton (pictured left) was one of the most popular guests on the late night radio program Coast To Coast AM appearing numerous times with hosts promoting Morton as the real deal.

This promotion continued after my investigative report exposing many of his background, UFO, psychic and educational claims as false.  Coast To Coast AM hosts (Bell, Noory, and Punnett) were well aware of this information and did nothing.  The hosts were also well aware of Morton's miserable failure to sue me into silence.

Well, that promotion came to a screeching halt when Morton was accused of and later sued successfully by the Securities & Exchange Commission in civil court for defrauding investors out of roughly $6,000,000.00 in what was called a "psychic investment scheme".  Apparently Coast To Coast AM was contacted by federal investigators after Morton made an investor offering on the air and had falsely made claims about an investment group he and his wife were running.  Several investors lost their life savings including an elderly woman.  This made Morton persona non grata on the program - better late than never, I suppose.

With all of these so-called psychic abilities, you'd think Morton would have been able to navigate his way around all this trouble, but no.  Morton was later convicted of dozens of federal crimes involving a tax scheme through which Morton defrauded people and the IRS out of nearly $500,000.00.

Since his conviction and being remanded to the federal department of corrections to serve a 72 month prison sentence (Morton is in federal prison until 2022), Morton filed what might best be described as a mountain of half-baked, disorienting, nonsensical court filings attempting to overturn his conviction.

If the dizzying array of legal gibberish Morton unleashed wasn't enough, you can read a post that I believe was written by Morton telling of his amazing powers in prison including Neo-like Matrix moves on body building thugs, letters sent to him in prison for the White House, and more.  Morton has also claimed for months now that he would soon be released from prison.

On September 28, 2020, a California Federal Court denied Morton's latest petition for early release citing Morton's baseless claims, though Morton previously claimed to be a Constitutional expert.

So for those of you who have contacted me with info or asking for updates, there you have it.  I won't be writing much, if at all, about Morton as there are far more serious, exciting and important things happening in the UFO field that have my attention and hopefully yours.

UFO Books and Videos

I often have people contacting me in reference to what UFO books or films they should be checking out.  While I do not know every piece of literature on the subject out there, here's a short list of what I feel are some of the best and most credible books or videos on the subject. 

BLACK TRIANGLE UFOs

Without hesitation, I call David Marler the premier black triangle researcher and investigator in the world.  I highly recommend visiting David Marler's website and purchasing his book.  David is a level headed researcher who does not buy into the hype and nonsense too often found in UFOs.  David has been most recently featured in an episode of Unidentified and in James Fox's documentary The Phenomenon. The image below will take you to his excellent book and it is a must read.

  

UFOs AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Robert Hastings has been investigating and researching cases involving UFOs intruding over nuclear weapons facilities for nearly five decades, and his incredible book is absolutely required reading.  Robert was featured in Unidentified and his work can be see in The Phenomenon.  Robert also was able to produce a documentary about his work, UFOs & Nukes: The Secret Link Revealed.

 

THE PHENOMENON

I think James Fox's UFO documentary is the best out there currently - it crushes the terrible Skinwalker Ranch and Bob Lazar films.  Great for the layperson, also for the not-so-casual interest in UFOs.

PROJECT BETA: THE STORY OF PAUL BENNEWITZ, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND THE CREATION A MODERN UFO MYTH

Greg Bishop's insightful, revealing and astonishing book on UFO disinformation campaigns, the targets of these campaigns, the dangers of myth and lies, and the creation of one of the greatest hoaxes to haunt UFOs.  This is a landmark book and a must read.

THE UTAH UFO DISPLAY

Dr. Frank Salisbury along with the Uintah Basin's legendary investigator Junior Hicks, deliver some of the best and most baffling UFO sightings and creature encounters.  This book also features information that sheds light on some of the claims made about the original investigation and activity at the now infamous Skinwalker Ranch.

FORBIDDEN SCIENCE

These are the journal entries of Dr. Jacques Vallee, the man who was the inspiration for the French scientist in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  These journals represent an intimate view of Vallee's early life surrounded by world events and his quest for UFO evidence.

The Phenomenon

NOTE:  If you want to purchase The Phenomenon with all the bonus features, you must get it directly from Vimeo.  I have absolutely no financial stake/interest in this film.  release date is Oct. 6th, 2020.

Special thanks to filmmaker and director James Fox and 1091 Media for allowing me access to a review copy.

UFO documentaries can be a hard sell or a let down for many reasons.  Most are simple rehashes and that often cannot be helped due to the nature of the subject's history.  Some are money grabs, reselling old tales that have been dusted off.

Others are simply awful or used as a publicity vehicle in which certain UFO personalities shamelessly promote themselves at the expense of the topic.  Some are based on obvious hoaxes or so cliché they're just embarrassing, or make the mistake of featuring the usual talking heads from the UFO convention circuit.  All in all, very few UFO documentaries live up to any of the hype and/or deliver the promised goods...if anything good at all.

The last few years have brought us two of the more well known films about UFOs, both made by Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell.  The first was Hunt for the Skinwalker, based on the book by George Knapp and Dr. Colm Kelleher.  A lot promises were made about this film, which ultimately didn't deliver and was an enormous let down.  My personal opinion is that you can read the book and simply skip the film.  You can also spare yourself the film's horrible audio and music.

The other film was Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers.  Narrated by actor Mickey Rourke, his gravel voice and muttering made it pretty much unwatchable, this film was a rehash of the Lazar story culminating with the low-grade theatrical implication that Lazar smuggled a chunk of Element 115 out of Area 51.

These sort of sensationalistic films (and there are many), full of promise and hype while short on actual delivery,  do a great disservice to the UFO subject.

Good UFO documentaries are simply a rare breed.  Enter The Phenomenon, the latest film by James Fox (pictured left) with a trailer that has received millions of views online.

I earlier said that a lot of films seem to rehash the history of the UFO subject, which annoys me but I understand the necessity for wider audiences (aka the layperson).

However, the beginning turns out to rather nicely compliment the end as future meets past in this film.  And the end of the film rolling into credits?  The film makes good use of the end with in-credit footage so you don't lose the entire time to just the credits.  Don't skip the credits.

The history of the UFO subject is not just a simple, linear narrative as we've seen in books and films.  The Phenomenon delves into that history with hidden gems and surprises, such as the testimony of retired Air Force Colonel William Coleman (pictured right) and his account of encountering a huge disc shaped craft while flying a B-25 bomber on a sunny day in 1955.  Pay close attention to this segment and what Coleman's future role in the Air Force would be, one of a few real twists in this film.

What history of UFOs would be complete without the story of Kenneth Arnold?  Think you really know that story?  Probably not and The Phenomenon does an amazing job and thankfully avoids giving us the usual bland vanilla treatment of the event with a few items you likely aren't expecting.

The Trent UFO photos are discussed briefly with Evelyn Trent describing what happened that day when she and her husband saw and photographed a UFO near their farm.

I personally interviewed Paul and Evelyn Trent in the 90s prior The Trents passing away.

In all the years following their story, The Trents never waivered in the account.  They both told me the same thing, but most don't realize the harassment and ridicule their family, including their children, were subjected to throughout their lives.

Watching some of the witnesses from the 1966 Westfall High School UFO case recount their experiences in this film was credible and convincing.  This is a landing event witnessed by hundreds of school students and staff, all reportedly told by Australian military and police to never speak of the incident or there'd be trouble.  This admonishment was reinforced by the head-master of the school.

A science teacher from that school told filmmaker James Fox about what he saw during that incident.  This is the first time the science teacher has ever spoken about it, and he still wished to remain anonymous in the film 50+ years after the event.

The film continues to delve into some of the more historic or well known cases, Hynek, Condon, Project Bluebook and reminds us not only is the UFO phenomenon happening in the United States, but worldwide.  The witnesses from all walks of life.  The phenomenon not one of just a civilian variety, but showing that the military is not immune from UFOs.

Now we move into some of the accounts of military witnesses and particularly the encounters at nuclear weapons facilities.  The accounts are compelling, the witnesses credible, the reported incursions of these highly secure facilities frightening.

Astronaut and fighter pilot Gordon Cooper appears via archival footage sharing his UFO experiences when he was in the military.

The part I'm highly interested in is where Dr. Jacques Vallee and Dr. Garry Nolan sit in a lab and discuss pieces of alleged UFO metal debris with abnormal isotopic ratios.

Vallee (pictured right with alleged UFO material from cases) drops this bombshell, but I'll only give you a small part of it so you can hear it all for yourself, "This material was manufactured.  It's not natural, it's not natural to the materials that we have around us in the lab or on the Earth."

Just wait until you hear what Vallee continues saying - it is simply an astonishing statement.

What I'd love to see of all documentaries now is an online index to the film with links to references where more information is available for viewing and verification.  This claim by Vallee and Nolan is unbelievably extraordinary if true.

The history of UFOs could not be told without mentioning the discovery of the ATTIP program, the USS Nimitz UFO encounters,  those three military videos, and The New York times story from 2017.

While The Phenomenon did not address the claims of alien abduction, the film did cover a chapter called Contact featuring the 1994 Ariel School UFO landing, a case I feel is one of the most compelling.

The testimony from the children shown is gripping, especially when a young boy points to the cheeks on his face to describe this as the place where the eyes of a being he saw were located on its face in relation to his own head (photo below).  Take a minute and really think about that description.

James Fox was able to get some of the witnesses to this event on camera decades after it took place and the testimony comes off as just as sincere and compelling all these years later.  Even the head-mistress of the Ariel School reveals to Fox, for the first time ever, a secret she kept for decades about the event.

The Phenomenon asks the question, by accident or design, why do UFO witnesses come forward?  Even with the positive media coverage the UFO topic has enjoyed the last few years, we're still seeing people hidden in shadow and remaining anonymous out of fear of ridicule, some expressing the fear of losing their job if they go public.

The film is careful in what it includes and avoids alien abductions, crop circles, Art's Parts, Bob Lazar, MJ-12, Skinwalker Ranch and other more controversial and nonsensical areas associated with the UFO subject.  I was not a fan seeing Roswell featured in the film, but I suppose you cannot cover UFO history without touching on Roswell, whether you believe it or not.

Some will likely jump on this claiming the omission of these topics is evidence of Fox selectively avoiding them.  With the 140 minute running time, I'm sure Fox had to be very selective in what he was able to present in his film.

As much as the film is a documentary, it's an invitation to take a serious look at the subject of UFOs without the ridicule that seems to greet those who step into the subject to see what's going on.

The Phenomenon has a cinematic quality and feel to it that leaves me remiss not being able to view it in a theater because of the current Coronavirus pandemic.

Peter Coyote's pacing and measured oration as narrator is spot on.  The film's score helps carry the serious tone of the film without being over sensational or too dramatic, something that many other UFO documentaries suffer.

The writing of Fox and Marc Barasch is intricate, slick and at no point boring or dull.  The script is clearly a carefully crafted work.

The Phenomenon does not make you believe in UFOs, it leaves you convinced the subject deserves serious consideration.  Simply, this is the best UFO documentary I've seen considering all of the ground it covered in 140 minutes.

This film will set the standard higher for any UFO related television show or documentary film.  If you want a UFO film made, your first call should be to James Fox.

Triangle UFO Video Sought

UPDATE:  Not only was the video found, there is also a second and a third video.  Big thanks to the ever vigilante Fin Handley for finding these videos.


I do not know the provenance of this video and have zero info on it, I'd like that to change.

I'm very interested in the video where a person can be heard talking about a spotlight, shines a light on something and exclaims, "Ha!"  This clip appeared on Unidentified (S2E2).  

Many suggestions were made, but nobody has been able to connect me with the full video and/or info on it.  I'm wholly fascinated with triangle UFO sightings.

Please contact me or leave a comment below if you have any info on the video I'm looking for.  Thanks.

The Inevitable

UFO DISCLOSURE IS NIGH

I watched as the storm hit Twitter and Facebook...well, mostly Twitter.  A huge UFO story in the New York Times was about to break.  A blogger was being hailed as the next UFO superstar.  There was mention of a Pulitzer and how this story was going to crack government secrets wide open.  UFO disclosure was coming.  Free energy would follow.  Secret sources verified it was happening. The biggest story ever was going to be told.

Lines were drawn between those cheering the coming disclosure, and those wanting more proof or outright calling it nonsense with many in the latter camp.  A new generation of so-called UFO Young Guns had it all figured out, while claiming the so-called Old Guard UFO club was just bitter, even afraid of what disclosure would bring.

Online spats broke out.  Some took the high road, others slung shit.  Memes flew wildly.  Some said "this is 100% real" while hedging their bets with "if I'm wrong" or "in my opinion".  Hour upon hour was spent staring at the frenzy happening on UFO social media.  I shook my head, others reveled in the UFO furor that I'd seen one too many times.

Here are a few quotes from those supporting or promoting the documents and/or the coming UFO disclosure as being legitimate.

"Haters? No. Ignorant as to what's about to happen? Yep."

"The documents are real, deal with it."

"Bask in it my friend because it's all going to work out, and in the end you and everyone else will be vindicated."

"Looking forward to watching you eat shit when the truth comes out."

You might be lost right about here, so let me explain...

TELL ME MORE, PLEASE, AND BE BRIEF

Last year, I wrote about Richard Dolan releasing some documents he called "the UFO leak of the century."  The documents were alleged to have been notes taken by Dr. Eric Davis (left) recounting a meeting with a retired Navy Vice Admiral about UFOs and Special Access Programs (SAPs) where the Vice Admiral was allegedly denied access to secret UFO programs.

You can read the alleged Eric Davis notes here.

In June 2020, journalist Billy Cox contacted this retired Vice Admiral for comment on the notes.  The former Vice Admiral denied the meeting ever took place, denied ever having met Davis and called the notes a work of "fiction."

I wrote the whole affair off as yet another piece of unproven UFO lore.  After all, there wasn't any evidence aside from the notes and Davis had issued a "no comment" as to the authenticity of the notes and his involvement.  People went wild over this no comment from Davis, calling it an admission disguised in a denial.  Wink-wink.  Did the meeting happen?  Only Eric Davis and the retired Vice Admiral can say, neither are confirming it and there is no verifiable evidence showing the meeting ever took place.

Just over a month ago, I watched as Joe Murgia, better known online by his Twitter handle @UfoJoe11, began writing with fervor on his blog and on Twitter his claims that the Eric Davis notes were real.  Murgia also promoted an alleged 1961 UFO crash retrieval government document as authentic while citing anonymous sources he claimed verified his info.

The alleged 1961 SNIE UFO crash retrieval document references the infamous Majestic Twelve (MJ-12) and had several typos while using a classification type not used in the 1961 time frame the document is alleged to be from.  Then it was mentioned the document making the rounds was a re-typed copy.  I found too many problems with the document to take it seriously.

Claims followed that the New York Times was going to feature all of this in a story proving the government has a secret UFO crash retrieval program along with recovered UFOs, that the documents were all real.  Dr. Davis, a retired Navy Commander and other important figures would soon be on record.  Vindication for UFO disclosure advocates was coming and hell was coming with it.  Then I started seeing more than just claims, it was being presented as fact.

Soon enough there were live online panels, one lasting five hours in which the documents were discussed and people claimed to have seen this or that.  There was another show with someone called "Mr. X" giving an impassioned speech about black budget UFO projects.  When I say impassioned, I sincerely mean it.  "Mr. X" was very articulate.

I saw all the disclosure believers high-fiving each other online, anyone questioning the legitimacy of these documents and the coming new world we'd face with UFO disclosure was the enemy.  Books and special memberships were offered for sale.

I waited as weeks went by with no article.  Someone claimed there was computer data from an e-mail that would be used to prove the Eric Davis notes as real. Assurances were made the big story was coming.  Disclosure was still on track. I later saw wavering about the story possibly getting killed by editors and bad timing. Some led the charge for the UFO disclosure faithful saying it would happen and to stand firm.  The new UFO rock gods were in the house and they were bringing the thunder.

Disclosure proponents were saying how foolish the naysayers would soon be looking.  Some posted to save screen shots of those online being critical of the alleged Eric Davis notes, the claimed 1961 UFO document and the coming story from the New York Times.  You see, the screen shots would be used to embarrass those who dared take a knee when the UFO disclosure anthem was being played.  Those on the wrong side of history would be shamed.

John Greenwald of The Black Vault seemed to express sincere concern, wondering if Murgia had succumbed to the madness that enveloped Paul Bennewitz.  Before you smirk and roll your eyes at UFO disinformation, know that it is indeed real and I say that with an absolute straight face.  Check out Greg Bishop's amazing book Project: Beta about UFO disinformation and the creation of the modern UFO myth that cost a man his sanity and eventually his life.

Had Murgia and others been the target of a UFO disinfo campaign?  Was the New York Times story a ruse?  Had the Vice Admiral mentioned in the Davis notes been part of some deceptive operation?  I thought Richard Doty might've stayed up past his bedtime again.  Had Murgia fallen too far down a rabbit hole of his own manifestation?

But then I couldn't believe it...it actually happened.  The New York Times did indeed publish a story about UFOs and crash retrievals. UFO Twitter wept.

Dr. Eric Davis was quoted in the article about giving a classified briefing on UFO crash retrievals.  Former Nevada senator Harry Reid, one of the people responsible for establishing the AATIP program, was quoted as saying the government was in possession of UFO craft and UFO debris.  The New York Times was now the savior of UFO disclosure.

The article touched on the ATTIP program and the recent Senate Intelligence Committee bill put forth that includes formation of a UAP task force - the bill has passed the Senate and is now on its way to the House.

The article made it into the news cycle and other media outlets picked up on it.

I watched as the ripple effect was in motion and there was no stopping it now.

DISCLOSURE WAS FINALLY HERE

Would I get the answers to the weird shit I've seen and experienced?  Would my personal opinions about it all be verified or would the disclosure favor those I've said were full of shit?  Would the government disclose alien life or would they just have a small piece of something unknown and were just as baffled by all of it as the rest of us? 

I voluntarily added my name to the roll call list of those doubting the veracity of MJ12 and the 1961 UFO document.  Would I be left in the wake and shadow of history?  My name lamented from the lips of the faithful asking for my soul to be saved?  Would I be ostracized from the flow of disclosure information?  

Had the long prophesied UFO disclosure finally happened?

Not even close.  No.  No government UFO disclosure today.  Sorry. Come back later.  Maybe.

No mention of the alleged Eric Davis notes.  No high ranking Navy officers on record.  No reality shattering revelations.  Speculation?  Certainly.  Proof?  Not so much and it just got worse.

Post-publishing corrections of the article happened and of all people to misquote, Harry Reid was the absolute wrong one to do that to.  Reid issued a strong rebuke to the article's claim he said UFO craft and debris were being held by the government.

Other outlets picked up the story from the New York Times prior to them being aware of Reid's stance.  Now I was being treated to misleading headlines claiming the Pentagon stated they had UFO craft and debris from another world.  Podcaster and MMA color commentator Joe Rogan was spreading the Pentagon bit around as fact when it wasn't.

Reid made his point clear by using three, belittling words despised by most interested in the serious study of UFOs.

LITTLE.  GREEN.  MEN.

His point should be taken considering the low level of evidence, in many cases no evidence, UFO die-hards are willing to accept and promote.  Reid echoed the sentiment I felt, that the evidentiary bar must be set high where the UFO topic is concerned.

Of course, this opened the flood gates for replies to Reid's Tweet.  Joe Murgia urged Reid to look at all of the postings about the alleged Eric Davis notes Murgia had written.

Reid made his stance clear and I seriously doubt he has time for some papers that have absolutely no evidence to prove any of their content, let alone that the meeting ever occurred.

With the UAP task force bill recently being passed by the Senate, can you imagine someone who is a serious believer in the so-called Eric Davis notes or anything with MJ-12 in the contents walking into some face-time with Senator Rubio.  I can hear it now, "Well, Mr. Rubio, don't worry, I've got it all right here!  No need for a task force.  Just read my Twitter account and blog."  

Those in political and military positions who might be able to help out, they need to be impressed with the best evidence available.  This is not a situation where you want be short on evidence and try to dazzle them with bullshit and the weakest of circumstantial evidence.

I'm sure Reid is shaking his head at many of the comments made toward him or from the UFO conspiracy club making crazy claims.  Reid still has influence in political realms and souring him, or others in similar positions to help, to the idea of UFOs because of a few coming off as fanatics is the last thing I want to see.

Parts of the UFO community have no thought as to the damage they might do to the highest of supporters for serious UFO/UAP investigation, and it certainly showed on Twitter with believers shitting on the New York Times and Reid.  Some claiming they would cancel their subscription to the newspaper, likely none are actual subscribers.

Talk of Reid possibly having been influenced by the UFO gatekeepers to keep quiet and change his tune circulated.

Did Reid back pedal?  Was he afraid what was claimed he originally said was too dangerous?  Jitters?  Had he actually been misquoted?

It certainly didn't take Richard Dolan long to jump on the bandwagon playing the silenced angle, that the New York Times may have sanitized the article.

This is the same Richard Dolan who said skeptics would have a hard time disproving the Eric Davis notes.  Dolan said the same thing about the now infamous and highly embarrassing Roswell Slides fiasco.

"The documents are real, deal with it!"

--Richard Dolan on the so-called Eric Davis notes.

Nobody has provided any proof of the meeting or the contents of the notes as being real.  Proclamation does not equate to evidence no matter how hard Dolan thinks it does.

Some say the article had 1,000 words cut out of it.  If that's the case, I'd love to see it all unedited.

Correction to the above reply I posted via Twitter.  It should read "reporters" and not "reports". The word "their" should be "there.  Thanks for nothing, voice to text.

Hopefully there's nothing preventing the independent release of what editors at the New York Times are alleged to have cut out.  I understand an interview with both authors, Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumentahl, has taken place and I'm interesting in hearing what they have to say.

Kean and Blumenthal were not too fond of Murgia and his frantic pace of hyping this all up to more than it would ever become.  Murgia has arguably been the staunchest of supporters of the alleged Eric Davis notes and suspect 1961 SNIE UFO document.

In response to Alejandro Rojas' view this would amount to nothing prior to the New York Times story dropping, Murgia wrote on Twitter, "We already KNOW the documents are real and the [New York Times] article is on its way. Crash retrievals and Wilson/Davis docs. Have you finally accepted it, [Alejdandro Rojas]? The inevitable is here!"

Yep, the inevitable certainly was here...the inevitable fiery crash of another UFO disclosure claim with no verifiable evidence to back it up.  This seems to happen with frequency in the UFO crowd and I cringe when I see it coming.

Rumblings of UFO disclosure about to hit a breakthrough.  The proof is right there if you just look...so some say.

THE DAY AFTER DISCLOSURE

In the aftermath of the fizzle, some supporting it said nobody takes them seriously.  They should take a big step back and look at what they've been saying and promoting, and how it was being relayed.  The word arrogant comes to mind.

My memory certainly won't be foggy.  There was a lot of gun slinging online from those advocating disclosure and the notes would be revealed as legitimate. When you fire shots at people, you should expect that fire to be returned.

Naming the media outlet, some who would be quoted and the authors of the article doesn't amount to much considering the online frothing leading up to the article's release.  I would have loved seeing actual evidence of these extraordinary claims, instead of the arrogant laced blathering I witnessed.

Giving free ammunition to debunkers, skeptics and others is, has been, and will always be the way of the UFO faithful. Making themselves and the topic very easy targets by not comprehending what evidence actually constitutes, or having a thought of how it might impact the subject.  This segment of the UFO community really is its own worse enemy.

Murgia said he dreamed that his blog and YouTube audience would grow to the size of the Drudge Report when disclosure finally came.  Call me cynical and I don't see that happening.  Ever.

I've made plenty of mistakes and supported some bullshit I thought was real.  #embarrassed  I thought Roswell was the be-all-end-all. #notanymore  I thought Jaime Maussan and Linda Moulton Howe were the real deal. #icantbelieveiteither #wtf #noyoudidnt #sorry

In 26 years of UFOs, roughly half my life, I've seen this same scenario play out the same way each time. A lot of this has been hack investigation from the start instead of a well planned, thorough investigation in which all the work is done then the results are released with verifiable facts and evidence.

Sadly, this is very unlikely the last time I will see another far hyped, frantic and foolish UFO disclosure claim.  Oh, I'm quite sure I'll see more based on the history of this subject.

It didn't take long.  Murgia says there's a book being written and it will be more explosive this time around.  Infidels be damned.

MUFON Executive Director Arrested in Child Sex Sting

UPDATE 07/15/20 @ 9:20am:  The MUFON board of directors has removed Harzan from his position permanently and stated Harzan "will no longer serve any role in the organization."


On July 3, 2020, police in Huntington Beach, California arrested Jan Harzan of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) in an online law enforcement sting operation targeting persons involved in crimes against children.  A Facebook post announcing the arrest was made by police earlier today.

Police allege Harzan solicited sex online from what he believed was a 13 year old female and arranged to meet the female to engage in sex.  However, the 13 year old female was actually a detective from the department's Special Enforcement Bureau.

The 65 year old Harzan was taken into custody by detectives from the special unit and charged with Communicating with a Minor to Engage in a Lewd Act and Arranging a Meeting to Engage in a Lewd Act with a Minor in Public, both felony crimes.  Below is an image of the arrest log listing Harzan.

Some online have speculated Harzan might have been wearing a MUFON field investigator polo shirt when he was arrested.

As of today, MUFON had yet to issue a statement about Harzan's arrest, though it was reported MUFON's board held an emergency meeting today.  So, did MUFON know about Harzan's arrest previously, or did the organization only learn of it through today's UFO social media frenzy?  Harzan was listed as the Executive Director of MUFON on the organization's website earlier today, but his image and bio have now been removed.

Some are wondering if this is the first time Harzan has allegedly engaged in this sort of criminal activity, or if there might be any other incidents.

Reactions varied online from shock to some hopping on the UFO conspiracy bus claiming Harzan might have been framed because of the belief held by some that UFO disclosure is about to occur...that's another story.

MUFON has had a number of problems in the past few years including John Ventre, a former state director for the organization, making racist comments about African Americans.

Harzan's reaction to these comments certainly did not bolster his standing as leader of the MUFON organization:

The above posting to the MUFON website was later removed and one former member reported while Ventre had publicly not been involved in the organization, Ventre was involved in the planning of a MUFON Symposium and apparently working in the organization behind the scenes.

Ventre's online remarks, among other internal issues, caused several MUFON members to rethink their role in the organization including Ben Moss, Dr. Chris Cogswell, Phil Leech, and James Clarkson who all resigned.  Members cited a wide variety of issues with the leadership of Harzan and one time Director of Investigations Chase Kloetzk (see MUFON: The Inside Truth Part 1 and Part 2).

Then there's bigot channeler JZ Knight who is said to have contributed money to MUFON which earned her a place in MUFON's so-called Inner Circle.  I wrote about Ventre and Knight's involvement in the organization and James Clarkson's resignation here.  Ventre thought it'd be a good idea to pop up here on the Pull Me Under blog and comment about the resignation of James Clarkson:

I responded in kind:

Former International Director of MUFON James Carrion left the organization after he was lied to about funding the organization received from Robert Bigelow and the US government.  You can read about it in the excellent article Breaking the Silence: AATIP's Secret Partner Speaks.

Let's not even get started on the Elaine Douglas files or MUFON selling their files and database to Robert Bigelow.

Most recently another MUFON state director appeared to be posting racist comments online.  Ken Pfeifer via his Facebook page posted the following:

Some MUFON members allege leadership ignored this in spite of complaints.  It was reported Pfeifer was later removed from his MUFON position.

Misogynists, racists, alleged pedophiles...are we missing anything?

Unfortunately, this all paints a rather unflattering picture of those involved with the UFO topic, but this sort of wild publicity isn't anything new nor is this the first time well known UFO personalities have had run-ins with the law or were disciplined for sexual misconduct.

Wendell Stevens, long time promoter of the bogus Billie Meier UFO case, was a convicted child molester.  Stevens spent time in jail for molesting a 14 year old girl.  Stevens' name still appears on the UFO Mega Con website.

In 2017, alleged UFO abductee Stan Romanek was found guilty of possessing child pornography on his home computer.  Romanek was sentenced to a two year term in a half-way house.

Bob Shell, a photographic expert with an interest in UFOs, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after delivering a fatal dose of morphine to a young model he sodomized.  Prosecutors believed Shell had sex with the corpse.

Tyler Glockner, producer of fake UFO videos and Secure Team 10 infamy, was arrested for driving under the influence and domestic violence.

Sean David Morton, bunk psychic and self proclaimed world's foremost UFO researcher, is currently incarcerated in federal prison for defrauding the IRS out of nearly $500,000.00 and charging victims in a debt redemption scheme.  Morton was also sued by the SEC after he swindled nearly $6,000,000.00 from people in what the government called a "psychic investment scheme".

Richard Boylan, a former psychologist and alien abductee researcher, had his license to practice permanently revoked after he engaged female patients in hot tub sex therapy.  You can read the hearing conducted by the Board of Psychology.

In 1990, Bob Lazar was arrested for aiding and abetting a prostitution ring.  The charge was later reduced to pandering and it was in Nevada where prostitution is legal under certain guidelines.

Bill Forte was convicted in 2003 of sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl and possessing material showing a child in an obscene sexual act.  Forte, who is associated with KGRA, served just over four years in prison and was registered as a high risk sex offender.  KGRA is home to programs by Jimmy Church, Richard Dolan and other UFO related programs.

John Ford of Long Island UFO fame was convicted of plotting to murder multiple county officials he believed were involved in a conspiracy to thwart his UFO investigation of an alleged saucer crash.  Ford planned to poison his victims with radium.

Bill Cooper was initially involved in UFOs later moving on to conspiracies involving the US government, believing former President Bill Clinton and the IRS were targeting him.  The US Marshals Service named Cooper as a major fugitive.  When law enforcement attempted to arrest Cooper on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges, Cooper opened fired and shot a deputy in the head.  Cooper was killed in the gun battle after vowing he wouldn't be taken alive.