Psychics fight over business leads to attack?

[FramerDave]

Though I generally do not support vandalism, I have ripped down and thrown out advertisements for psychics at my school. So much so that questions started being asked about why all the flyers for so and so service kept going missing. And a stern warning not to remove or destroy any flyers went up.

Having learned all I have learned about Sylvia Browne, I confess I have very, very little patience for these people.

Maybe the same thing is going on here.

Though think how funny it would be if it were a rival psychic.

Are you talking about fliers put up on bulletin boards around campus? If so, you could always accomplish a similar goal and keep within the letter of the law by putting up your own promoting the JREF forum and www.stopsylvia.com. I'll pitch in with a donation to cover printing costs!

 

[Ernie M]

I don't know that it really needs explaining. There's a single article, mostly, it seems, based on her police report. It's been released to a couple of papers. It has no corroborating evidence or conclusions from the investigation and it seems to have illogic in it.

In such cases, I'd rather see something with a little more meat, e.g. the results of the police investigation. I don't think we're going to see it. And when Eenie pointed out the article, I thought it might be worth noting that it's the same article in a different paper. When you referred to it as the "other" article, I pointed it out again.

As I said, I have a problem (or several) with the story and with everyone being willing to accept, perhaps for the humor value - perhaps for the woo-bashing value, that the story holds water. When that girl claimed in a police report that she'd been jumped and had a (backwards) B carved in her cheek by Obama supporters, the possibility that it was a fabrication was leaped on by liberals and conservatives alike. This story has all the same elements, just a different setting.

I'm taking the skeptical view of the evidence, which is not evidence, but merely hearsay.

Two police departments. One says they received her report of the attack and are investigating. The other says they received her complaint about harassment and have heard that the other police department is investigating the reported attack. Neither says anything about the evidence, witnesses, etc...

Further, there are a dozen psychics practicing in her area. The "new psychic coming to town" bit just doesn't ring true.

If everyone wants to believe that psychics are duking it out in the streets, that's everyone's prerogative. I think it smell's fishy.

That's all. Not of earth-shattering importance, but yet significant enough to me in how I choose to look at things.

Foolmewunz,

Here are some links for other Forumites to read about the woman who faked a political attack, had a backwards 'B' etched on her face and had a black eye, and was apparently charged with filing a false report.

Police: Woman With 'B' Scratched in Face Faked Political Attack

Here's another article with a picture of the 20-year-old girl, black eye and backwards 'B'
Police Invesgtigating Pittsburgh 'B' Face Carving

Also, good read and the same photo with black eye and backwards 'B':
MAC HATER SLASHED UP MY FACE

 

[Foolmewunz]

Ernie,
I'm very aware of the story and the initial press coverage totally buying her lies. I was referring to the reception here. I can't find the old thread, but IIRC, the story was doubted almost from the get-go. (The backwards B causing much chuckling because the dunce had obviously done it looking in a mirror.)


ETA: "Dunce". Sorry. That's cold. I think it was determined that she had mental health issues.

 

[SezMe]

I'm with Foolmewunz but for a different reason. Notice this line from the article:

Janet Lee said she was taken to the hospital after being beaten by a man outside her office at 16 Greenwich Ave., in Greenwich, late Friday night. She also has an office at 565 Westport Ave., in Norwalk.

Does it not seem suspicious that the exact address of her other office was given in a case in which there is an ongoing investgation of possible threatening activity?

I wonder if the police are doing surveillance at the 565 address and are using this article as a fishing device.

 

[Baby Nemesis]

Are you talking about fliers put up on bulletin boards around campus? If so, you could always accomplish a similar goal and keep within the letter of the law by putting up your own promoting the JREF forum and www.stopsylvia.com. I'll pitch in with a donation to cover printing costs!

If it was merely going to promote a skeptics' site, it would have to do it in such a way as to be enticing enough to actually put off the people interested in contacting psychics before they had ever been to it and looked at the information. If the advert doesn't entice believers in psychics to go there instead of visiting them, then it doesn't serve its purpose well. When someone goes to a psychic, they don't do it because it seems to be the most logical thing to do at the time; they do it because it sounds exciting, or they're worried about something and want some insight into how to get it resolved, and so on. Just advertising a skeptics' site won't assuage those feelings, and feelings tend to be a lot stronger in influencing people's decisions than logic is. Advertising a skeptics' site might well do some good; but the advert would have to be explicit about the damage psychics can do before it would ever put off those who like the idea of visiting or phoning psychics.

And if it was explicit about the damage psychics can do, it would bring her into conflict with those who'd put the flyers up.

That's why I suggested she could link to a page that sounds like an enticing place to go but doesn't single out psychics as the lone target, like one called Links to Advice on Consumer Protection - Scams, Rogue Traders, Loan Sharks and Psychic Frauds.

It may be that you could make a skeptics' site like the James Randi one or something similar sound just as appealing, for instance the What's the Harm website, advertising it by mentioning a few of the other things on it besides psychics. The appeal of an advert like that versus its potential to cause conflict would have to be estimated and thought through.

 

[Fnord]

Meh, if you're in a criminal enterprise, you should expect competition. I have no sympathy for her.

.
"There is no honour among thieves."

 

[Questioninggeller]

Here's the update. As many other people posted about her story not making sense, the police thought so too.

Psychic charged with lying about attack by rivals
The Associated Press
‎Sep 29, 2009‎

GREENWICH, Conn. — A Connecticut psychic who said she was assaulted in an attack she believed was arranged by rival psychics has been charged with lying about the incident. Greenwich police arrested 35-year-old Janet Lee of Norwalk on Saturday on charges including falsely reporting an incident.
...

Full: The Associated Press

More detail in her local paper:

Psychic charged with lying about Greenwich Avenue attack
Greenwich Time
By Debra Friedman, STAFF WRITER
Posted: 09/28/2009 06:36:58 PM EDT

Despite her intuitive powers, psychic Janet Lee probably did not see an arrest in her future, especially just weeks after alleging she was the victim of an assault outside her store on Greenwich Avenue.

However, the self proclaimed "foremost psychic in New England" was arrested by Greenwich police over the weekend after detectives said she lied about being attacked in town by rival psychics over the summer.
...
However, Detective Robert A. Brown Jr., who investigated the case, said he did not believe Lee was attacked outside her office in town. Brown said he believes Lee may have been assaulted by someone she knew in Norwalk.
...
Lee's attorney, Mark Sherman, said despite the arrest the psychic was sticking by her story that rival psychics were responsible for the assault and harassing messages. Lee said in July she had heard of another psychic coming to town, but did not know any further information about them.
...

Full: Greenwich Time

 

[pakeha]

Ah, well.
I've just now read this thread.
A sad story, especially for the 'psychic's family.
Baby Nemesis, thanks for the link on the 'Tantric' death ceremony; I've sent it out to one who collects this sort of thing.

 

[Wudang]

Here's the update. As many other people posted about her story not making sense, the police thought so too.

Damn! And I thought we finally had a documented case of a psychic working with the police on a case.

 

[vIQleS]

Damn! And I thought we finally had a documented case of a psychic working with the police on a case.

Well - she is "Helping them with their inquiries"...

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

As much as I dislike what she does, I have to feel a little sorry for her. If she is being targeted by someone unknown for any reason, it has to be extremely frightening. There are so many unknowns for her. The person knows my number, my place of "work" and where I live. Am I safe in my house or anywhere? Let the police determine if it is a false report and if it is throw the book at her.

It is interesting how they can't use their powers in their own lives. Does this give them doubt in their abilities or is it just the rules?

If they cannot psychically help themselves because of the Universal Psychic Laws, why don't they hire another psychic to do it for them?

 

[Questioninggeller]

Janet Lee pled not guilty

Janet Lee pled not guilty. However, a predict a quick return on the jury that finds her guilty.

Psychic pleads not guilty, vows to fight charges
Greenwich Time
By Debra Friedman
October 8, 2009


One week after police charged a Norwalk psychic with fabricating a story about being assaulted outside her Greenwich Avenue office, the longtime fortune teller vowed to fight the case.

Janet Lee, 35, of 143 Wolfpit Ave., Norwalk, is charged with making false statements and interfering with an officer for allegedly lying to police about the circumstances of her attack. She pleaded not guilty in state Superior Court Wednesday.

Despite the charges, however, Lee said Wednesday she was shocked by her arrest.

"It all came to me as a big surprise," said Lee. "I was brutally beaten and at the E.R. I never thought I would get arrested."

Lee, a psychic who boasts a large, elite clientele, said someone attacked her outside her store at 16 Greenwich Ave. on July 11 and left with a black eye and a cut on her face. Lee said the man told her he was going to kill her.
...
However, in the weeks following the attack, detectives said an investigation found that things didn't add up. In Lee's arrest warrant, Detective Robert Brown Jr. wrote that Lee told her father while at the hospital that her husband had assaulted her in their Norwalk home earlier in the evening.
...
The warrant also details Lee's cell phone records, which show that Lee was in Norwalk at 12:24 a.m., shortly before she claimed the attack took place. When Brown asked Lee if the accident happened somewhere else and was committed by her husband, Lee responded, "All I can say is, I can't say it didn't happen in Greenwich," according to the warrant.
...

Full: Greenwich Time

 

[Ocelot]

Sheesh. I'm giving two bucks on "boyfriend smacked her around and she's shifting the blame to get some publicity out of it".

You'll never convince the muggles that our magic powers aren't real if you keep displaying your own precognitive abilities...

 

[Questioninggeller]

An update:

Psychic applies to court diversionary program
By Debra Friedman, Staff Writer
Greenwich Time
Posted: 11/16/2009 05:20:20 PM EST



STAMFORD -- A Norwalk psychic charged with lying to police about an assault outside her Greenwich Avenue office took steps to enter a court diversionary program Monday in state Superior Court.

Janet Lee, 35, of 143 Wolfpit Ave., submitted an application for accelerated rehabilitation during a brief court appearance. If granted, the program could wipe away the charges against her that include making false statements and interfering with an officer.
...
Lee's attorney, Mark Sherman, of Stamford, said despite entering into the program, Lee maintains she did not lie to police.

"This is not an admission of guilt by any means," Sherman said. "In light of the impact a trial of this case would have on Janet and her family, applying for this program made the most sense."
...
The accelerated rehabilitation program is available to first-time offenders who are charged with a nonviolent crime. Once the program is granted, the offender cannot dispute the charges. If the offender violates the terms of the probation, the case is brought back to court, according to the court's Web site.

Lee is due back in court Dec. 7.

Full article: Greenwich Time

 

[RSLancastr]

The atheist wanted to prove it didn't work. The show got an audience of millions, many of whom might have believed in it before.

And, most likely, believed in it afterwards as well.

 

[Questioninggeller]

The outcome:

Psychic enters court diversionary program
By Debra Friedman, STAFF WRITER
Greenwich Time
December 11, 2009


An area psychic who police say lied about being attacked on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich during the summer was granted entrance into a court diversionary program Friday in state Superior Court.

Janet Lee, 35, of 143 Wolfpit Ave., Norwalk, was charged with making false statements and interfering with a police officer in September after detectives determined she concocted a false story about rival psychics attacking her outside her store around midnight on July 11.

While Lee has maintained she did not make up the story, she applied to the accelerated rehabilitation program to clear her record. Judge Richard Comerford granted a six-month program in which Lee must have no further arrests and conduct some form of community service in that time. Upon successful completion, the charges will be dismissed.
...
According to Lee's arrest warrant, police believe injuries she sustained may have been from a domestic dispute that happened in her home in Norwalk. Lee has denied that claim in previous interviews.

The self-proclaimed "foremost psychic in New England" said a group of rival psychics had been leaving her threatening phone messages in an attempt to run her out of business. Lee said her Greenwich Avenue attacker was masked and told her he was going to kill her before punching her in the face and leaving her with a black eye.

The fortune teller said in a prior interview that the last thing she expected was to be arrested. "It all came to me as a big surprise," said Lee, in September. "I was brutally beaten and at the E.R. I never thought I would get arrested."
...

Full: Greenwich Time


Her website: http://www.psychicjanetlee.com

 

[Marduk]

From the article

The fortune teller said in a prior interview that the last thing she expected was to be arrested. "It all came to me as a big surprise," said Lee, in September. "I was brutally beaten and at the E.R. I never thought I would get arrested."

from her website

Janet Lee is a born gifted Psychic..."Ever since I was a young girl I had the spiritual power to see into other people's past's and future"

I see no inconsistency

 

[KodeBlue]

Why doesn't she just go to another psychic and find out who the attaker is?