Travel Blogger Steven Frischling's Lies about TWA Flight 800

TWA Flight 800 exploded over the ocean after takeoff from JFK airport on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 people on board. "Travel blogger" Steven Frischling, living on Long Island at the time, took a photo outside a Coast Guard station that shows ambulances.

Frischling has since, in various forums over the past 15 years, exploited the tragedy of Flight 800 by describing scenes he could not possibly have seen and bragged about money he could not possibly have made from photos that could not possibly exist.

Prepare to be offended.

Only weeks after the accident, Frischling responds to a spammer on a newsgroup to brag he made more than $2,000 in six hours because 230 people died one night:

alt.journalism.photo: "Great CASH GAINS" (8/3/1996)

"6hrs at TWA Flight 800, I was the only non-related civilian on the US Coast Gaurd base, I made over $2,000 in 6 hrs........."

A few years later, that amount has climbed to $7,000+:

Sports Shooter: "Stringing for AP" (12/1/2003)

"The last assignment I really shot for the AP was in the morgue the night TWA Flight 800 crashed off Long Island. AP got it's five or six photos for $180 (x2 because of the time I invested, and access I was able to get without their help) plus miles, and I managed to get $7,000 from Newsweek for photos they never ran in their North American editions."

Contrast that to six years earlier, when he claimed he had banked nearly a year's salary that night, and also makes the absurd claim of being inside the makeshift morgue! First, it is doubtful the authorities would have allowed a photographer in that morgue, and if they had, don't you imagine that those photos would been seen all over the world?

NPPA-L: "Who Makes What...some actual numbers" (7/20/1997)

"then again I left a few days before TWA 800, was the only photog on thebase or in the morgue that night and made a little less that the yearly salary in one night..."

He repeats this claim about the morgue in 2008, and now brags he has been at "multiple plane crashes!"

FlyerTalk: "anyone ever been through an aborted takeoff/landing?" (5/14/2008)

"Having shot around multiple plane crashes in my news career, including being the pool photog in the make shift morgue for a 747 that blew up, I'm not keen on being on crashing planes. I'd rather shoot news than be news."

But being in the vicinity of a plane crash and making a fortune off it is not dramatic enough for Steven Frischling.  In 1999 he hijacked a thread about the Columbine school shooting in Littleton, Colo., to grab some attention for himself by overstating his connection to Flight 800. He admits to making "bad jokes about TWA 800" (he's all class!) but you must understand, he needs to make these jokes! Even three years later, it is all Frischling can do to get through each day after the hell he witnessed that night!

NPPA-L: "Littleton, Tornadoes, etc." (5/5/1999)

"I know I have made a number of bad jokes about TWA 800, but I also know that I never want to see my negatives again from the night the 747 crashed. Making jokes, seeming all confident and strong is what kept me and keeps me from falling down in a ball of tears."

What a sensitive soul.

He also claims a county detective ripped the film from his camera, and describes distraught Coast Guard "boys" standing over stacks of body bags!

NPPA-L: "seeking police contacts" (2/22/1998)

"I think most of us have faced this. While on the USCG base the night TWA Flight 800 crashed an over zealous Suffolk County Detective,who had no offical power, as he was ona federal military base, where I was a guest, ripped the film from my camera, he was escortd from the base, and the base X.O. filed a complaint against him."

NPPA-L: "to die for?" (9/29/1997)

"5 photos were taken durring actual rescues, including photos of USCG rescuers over a stack of body bags the night TWA 800 crashed just outside the morge, these men(boys really) are holding each other and holding in tears"

This guy is literally unbelievable.

Extra thoughts come from a commenter, who clearly knows a thing or two about news photography:

"If he was actually on an assignment for AP he would have not been able to sell his images to Newsweek for what he is describing as a high fee for first look (to get exclusive images in order to beat out the other news mags) AP would have owned his film.

If he was pool for the morgue his images would have appeared on all the wire services, but they do not.

If he had been INSIDE the morgue he would have had access to powerful images that would have surely run all over the place. I have never seen one.

There is ONE photo on the AP wire of the exterior of a coast guard station with ambulances parked in front. Nothing from inside. No dramatic photo of Coasties holding back tears as they stack body bags."

Another commenter:

"I have googled, binged and yahooed every possible variation of TWA flight 800 morgue as well as East Moriches Coast Guard TWA morgue and have come up with nothing other then a reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for his story about the morgue following the crash of TWA 800. I looked on the AP wire, AFP and UPI - not a single pool picture of body bags stacked or anything from inside or outside a morgue on the night the plane crashed. The photos that Frischling describes would have ran EVERYWHERE and would still have a presence on the web. Weeping Coasties and body bags? Hell, a picture like that might have even been a contender for the Pulitzer. I think the real story is that he shot the outside of this building using direct flash and that was about it. Like I said, if he had been the pool photographer, all of those pictures would have been shared with all of the wire services and he wouldn't have made a dime on resales because the market would have been saturated with those photos since they would have been distributed by multiple outlets."

Do you find this offensive that anyone would exploit the deaths of 230 people in such a manner? Do you find it absurd that this giant tool still has a travel blog on BoardingArea.com? Meet Randy Petersen, the owner of BoardingArea and founder of FlyerTalk, who refuses to remove Frischling's blog despite being well informed about his actions. In fact, it would appear Randy Petersen even pays Steven Frischling a share of the money from the advertising on the site! (Do you think BoardingArea.com advertisers know what their ads are appearing next to?) By the way you can email Randy Petersen at randy@boardingarea.com to ask why he still keeps Frischling as one of his bloggers, whom he claims are all "hand selected" by his "team!"

Randy Petersen, BoardingArea.com founder

New York Times Photographer Destroys Frischling's Equipment!

An excellent reader emailed us to point us to the following story from 1996, in which Steven Frischling claims not one but two incidents in which New York Times photographers trashed his equipment!

alt.journalism.photo: did any body see jerk photog at Wash pro life march

FishFotoJr Jan 24 1996, 3:00 am

At certain events, a single news gathering organization will at times request the privilage of having a stand to themselves. At the trip of the Pope the NY Times and A.P. had there own stands. I put a lens down on the stand to change a lens, and the Times photog kicked it off the platform, I was pissed off!

Chances are in DC the stand was Time, NY Times, Wash Post, A.P. Reuter, or Sygma.

Steven E. Frischling
Freelance News Photographer
NYPD Working Press #0067
Too young to be respected; Too old to not be taken seriously; INVINCIBLE!;
Fear was just a word in the dictionary; Life was a right, not a gift;
Death was only a concept; STRENGTH!--Nikon F4s ad 1992

Frischling continues...

FishFotoJr Jan 25 1996, 3:00 am

The Times'r was a she, and I was very pissed because durring th Glenn Harris Christina Rosado (the teacher who ran off and tried to marry his student) events here in NYC a Times'r said to me, and I quote:

"When she comes out, what are you gong to do?" I said "Stand here and get my photos" He replied, "No, You are going to step aside and let me get my shots! I am from the Times!"

I was using an 18f3.5 to shoot against the car and an 85f1.8 to shoot her coming out, he had an 80-200 and 300 rather than getting up. He then got anf in in the press mess grabbed mty SB-24 and dropped it into a puddle, it was fried!

I like the guys at the Times, they are nice and their office people are great, but they need to learn that news reportage does not revolve around them, in NYC I would say it revolvs around the NY Post or NY Daily News (The picture paper)

Steven E. Frischling
Freelance News Photographer
NYPD Working Press #0067
Too young to be respected; Too old to not be taken seriously; INVINCIBLE!;
Fear was just a word in the dictionary; Life was a right, not a gift;
Death was only a concept; STRENGTH!--Nikon F4s ad 1992

After this insult to the New York Times, what do you think the odds are someone from the New York Times contacted him, challenged him on this story and demanded to know exactly who from the New York Times threw his SB-24 (flash) into the puddle? Fairly good odds, judging by his next post:

alt.journalism.photo: Retraction

FishFotoJr Jan 30 1996, 3:00 am

I would like to post a retraction to something I said happened at the Christina Rosado/Glenn Harris press mess, after speaking to someone at the NY Times I found out that the person who said that they were for the NY Times fits no description of anyone, staff, freelance, contract to the NY Times. With so many freelancers and contract news shooters in NYC I assumed that he was who he said he was, I should have verified if he was indeed an NY Times photographer.

I am sorry if this caused problems with anyone from the New York Times. My sincerest apologies for stating something that was not checked out.

Steven E. Frischling
Freelance News Photographer
NYPD Working Press #0067
Too young to be respected; Too old to not be taken seriously; INVINCIBLE!;
Fear was just a word in the dictionary; Life was a right, not a gift;
Death was only a concept; STRENGTH!--Nikon F4s ad 1992

Happy Lying!

Steven Frischling Was Shot... 9 Times!

Did this Kevlar helmet take a bullet for Frischling?

A faithful FishFraud fan just shared the following gem from the archives of the National Press Photographers Association listserv! While we had posted Steven Frischling's claim of being shot before, this goes into more exciting detail.

Not only is Frischling claiming he was shot on two separate occasions, he was apparently riddled with bullets!

It appears he is claiming he was shot with two bullets entering his body, while another time he had seven bullets enter his bullet-proof vest and Kevlar helmet! Yes, the kind of helmets soldiers wear in Iraq. He claims one shooting happened in "the projects" and another shooting "elsewhere" (possibly fantasy land).

Notably, it appears he posted this in the first place after being called out on his "I'm such a victim" attitude by a guy named Keith Morrison.

bit.listserv.nppa-l: Other Side Of The Lens/ K. Morrison

Steven Frischling, Aug. 11, 1998

>The attitude of 'poor little me' is more than just a but disturbing to me.

Keith,

I was not asking for sympathy, I called myself an idiot if you read the post (sort of eliminates the need for sympathy). I was speaking in the first person, sort of asking in the 3rd person (can one really write in the 2nd person with out writing a "choose your own adventure" ?)

I am just curious if anyone outside our profession gives a $#!+? Yes we as PhotoJs choose to be in these situations (and nice to mention EMTs/Medics , because on certain calls they have the right to try and pass the call to another unit, I know I did twice when on an ambulance), but with out images the general public usually has not a clue what happened, then again sometimes after the situation the general public does not have a clue what happened (like when a paper misses the story, even when they have photos, but no reporter) .

You are correct I had a lovely encpounter with a flying metal projective (twice in me, 7 times in a vest...all at once) while in the projects , another another time elsewhere. I knew my risks, which is why I own a bullet vest and a kevlar helmet, but that does not detract from the fears PJs have, dangers PJs face and risks we as a profession often put ourselves in. Take me out of the equalsion , because there are many more photogs that get injured more than I do, and walk into worse situations more often that I do....what about them? Do we as PJs give up our ability to be humans once we have a lens? I know we do on some level, because we choose to watch the world rather than "be in it" at times, but we are all still humans first.

I doubt any PJ got into the business for the "cool vests" , and I would like to believe that thse who got into this job because it is "cool" do not get to far, and fall back inthe pack. There are risks, some are good, some are bad. Some PJs walk away from the centre of teh storm,
and that is fine, most of te stories exist outside the centre or the storm, everyday life and death happens on the outside looking in, not in the core looking to the epi-centre.

I wonder if you missed the point Keith, not looking for "poor me" , or for "poor us", I am just curious if anyone on the outside looking in on our photos cares if we get home OK, even if just a passing thought.

Happy Hunting

Steven E. Frischling
News Photographer/News Photo Editor
In Search Of A Good Stress Managment Program
1(516)791-6114
1(800)225-0256 PIN# 56865
ste...@frischling.com
http://www.frischling.com/steven
-
-It's all about good and evil, life and death, so what do we do when the
demons start to win, and we slowly pray for death?

Nice signature quote.

So Steven Frischling, when and where did these shootings occur? Where are the scars that back up your claim of having had two bullets enter your body?

Quick quiz class! Exactly how many times was Steven Frischling shot by age 23?

Happy Lying!

Frischling Lies About Flying with Coast Guard!

The U.S. Coast Guard HU-25 does not allow for inflight refueling. Giggle. 

Isn't Steven Frischling supposed to be an aviation expert? Isn't that what he sells himself as?

On the FlyerTalk message board, Frischling claimed that while on assignment covering the U.S. Coast Guard,  he flew for 24 hours straight and says that the plane was refueled in flight.

Big problem: The Coast Guard does not have any aircraft in their fleet that can be refueled in flight. A most excellent FishFraud contributor called the Public Affairs office at Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod to confirm that the HU-25 cannot be refueled in flight.

And about there being no bathroom... do you think the Coast Guard would really fly for 24 hours straight if there wasn't a bathroom on board?

"What was your longest flight on a narrow body plane?"
FlyerTalk, 4/11/06

"The worst was flying (as a journalist) with a US Coast Guard unit on a HU-25 Guardian (small, very small, no bathroom, almost no seats) from Maine to Florida 3 times non-stop (inflight refueling) . Wheels up to Wheels down was 24hrs."

Steven Frischling, how can you have flown for 24 hours on a plane that is not capable of inflight refueling? And where can we see the photos from this 24-hour assignment?

Happy Lying!

PS We think the odds are pretty good that after it was refueled inflight with Frischling on board, the HU-25 then flew an inverted dive over a Soviet fighter jet, and he flipped the bird:

Is that Frischling communicating with the enemy?

Libya Releases NYT Journalists

Libya has released the four New York Times journalists being held, including stud photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/world/africa/22times.html?_r=1

The four had been covering fighting near Ajdabiya when they decided that the battle had grown too dangerous for them to continue covering it safely. Their driver, however, inadvertently drove into a checkpoint manned by forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi. By the time they knew they were in trouble, it was too late.

“I was yelling to the driver, ‘Keep driving! Don’t stop! Don’t stop!’ ” Mr. Hicks recalled in a telephone interview from the hotel where he and the three others were recuperating. “I knew that the consequences of being stopped would be very bad.”

The driver, Mohamed Shaglouf, is still missing. If he had tried to drive straight through, Mr. Hicks said, the vehicle certainly would have been fired on. In any event, the soldiers flung the doors to their gold four-door sedan wide open so quickly that they had little chance to get away.

Fantastic they made it out. Let's hope their driver is OK as well.

Steven Frischling on Ice, Part 2!

More ice please!

Remember Steven Frischling's two contradictory stories of the time he claims to have dropped a $5,000 lens from the catwalks of the Lake Placid hockey arena onto the ice below?

The story does not stop there. Two more versions have surfaced and the excitement continues.

In the version we posted earlier, Frischling claimed he was securing the camera to the rig when he was bumped by a photographer walking behind him on the catwalks ("a direct violation of working in the catwalks in Lake Placid"), causing Frischling to drop the camera with lens attached.

Apparently this was not "true." In the following version, the other photographer actually tampered with the getup so he could have that spot! (Does the Frischling victimization ever end?)

6/26/06- Digital Wedding Forum

"Dateline : 1994 - Lake Placid, New York

I was shooting NCAA Final Four Hockey when my remote camera, a Nikon F3hp w/MD-4, and brand new 300f2.8 AF (belonged to the wire service I was shooting for) was tampered with by another photog up in catwalks before the game (2hrs before game time) so he could get his camera into the same position. The whole rig went falling to the ice below.

My F3hp still works to this day (TTL flash, aperture priority and the frame counter are busted), it needed a new prisim, but the 300f2.8 was just totalled.

The other photog had his credentials yanked and luckily I had four bodies with me. Three to use on me, one for a remote."

In the "original" versions, Frischling claims the lens was insured but said "it was a $5,000+ loss" because he was "terrified to make that call." But in the June 2006 story, he claims he indeed made a "very hard" call to the "bureau chief" who had no problem at all that he destroyed the brand new lens they had supposedly shipped to Frischling, age 18!

"I was all of 18 years old and had to make a very hard phone call to the bureau chief and let him know that the brand new (I took it out of the box and the shipping trunk, no one else had touched it) 300f2.8 AF was totalled. Luckily his answer was "it's insured, we'll be fine.""

But wait, there is an even different version from six months earlier! In this case when he had claimed it fell not from the catwalk but from the scoreboard! (It is unknown if there was also tampering.)

11/21/05 - Digital Wedding Forum

"One of my F3 bodies fell from the score board of the Olympic Hockey Arena in Lake Placid, NY. I still use that camera today. Sure the TTL flash does not work (it never worked on the F3 bodies , even when new), the frame counter is stuck on "40" and you can't use aperture priority, and it needed a new prisim, but the camera in manual mode shoots 100%, the MD-4 still shoots ar full speed and my daughter can take it out to shoot and learn the basics (when she isn't using a 10D or 1D)."

Happy Lying!

Insurance Claim: Yet Another Outright Contradiction

We imagine Frischling wishes he had a "Delete all" button to erase his 15+ years of Internet posts. Here is yet another black-and-white contradiction.

This Sports Shooter post from 2003 shows Frischling offering advice on how to deal with a claim on broken camera equipment with Hays, the insurance carrier for the National Press Photographers Association. Apparently it's a snap! He had no problem after yet another incident of destroying his gear.

http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=6451
12/25/03

"I never had my gear stolen, but I did fry a camera, lens, flash (N90s + grip, 80-200f2.8 AF-D, SB-26) while shooting in a blizzard. The moister got to be to much to fast, and when the body went it totaled the lens and flash as well. I contacted Hayes Insurance, I had the check for a new body, new grip, flash and lens in about 7 days. No questioned asked, they didn't
ask I send in the gear either, which I found odd. I contacted my repair guy who wrote up all the stuff as totaled due to water and that was it."

However... in 2007, Frischling is suddenly seeking advice from Sports Shooter members on how the claims process works when dealing with Hays. He says he "has not had any claims on gear!"

http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=23719
2/10/07

"Has anyone here ever filed a claim with the NPPA/Hays Group for damaged equipment? What is the process? Do you ship the gear to the repair center, have it marked DOA and the ship it to them? I have not had any claims on gear but am curious about the process if for some reason (knock on wood) I have a Chevy Chase moment and fall down a set of stairs with my gear on my shoulders."

So Steven, how do you explain these two contradictory stories? You claim you had several thousand dollars of equipment destroyed by the "moister" in a blizzard that was promptly taken care of by Hays, "no questioned asked."

Yet a few years later, all this never happened, you have never had any claims, and have no idea how the process works.

Which is it?

Happy Lying!

Hey Frischlings, FishFraud Is Not for Sale!

FishFraud is not for sale!

We sat on this for a few weeks but have decided it's time to share this. We had felt ongoing pity for Steven Frischling's baby mama, but no longer do after her email to us this morning (see below), which ended with the kind greeting, "Fuck off."

In our correspondence with her, she repeatedly stated she had nothing to do with Steven, was not involved in any of his business and wanted nothing to do with the blog. She sent us some lengthy, supposedly honest emails but there were some small lies in them that prevented her from establishing any credibility whatsoever.

However, she sent the following, shocking email to FishFraud on Feb. 25. The surprise email arrived following a week of some very damaging blog posts, including exposing his wildly contradictory stories on shooting a hurricane and destroying a $5,000 lens, and other hilarious FishTales such as the time he claimed he was shot or took control of an accident scene from 22 incompetent NY State Troopers.

"Ok Addisson, we've talked about it how much money are you realistically looking for? You're not getting $22,000USD. Be in touch. "

A screenshot:

We were absolutely stunned. Why would she put such a thing in writing? We did not reply at the time while we thought it over.

FishFraud is not "Addisson" or "Addison" or any other derivation of this man. We have never met him. He has nothing to do with this site. We swear this on a stack of Bibles, Torahs, Korans and Oprah's Books of the Month.

However, there must be panic at the Fish household if they are trying to pay for the site to go away. Her comment about this specific amount of $22,000 very strongly indicates something. You don't randomly inform someone "You're not getting $22,000" unless they strongly feel they are owed such an amount.

Attention, Steven and Susannah: There is no amount of money that we would accept to make FishFraud go away. FishFraud will live as long as Steven Frischling claims to be a legitimate blogger/journalist. It will keep exposing his history of deceit until he is either fired or resigns. He is not fit to be a journalist. He is not fit to be giving travel advice. He is not fit to give sound bites about government agencies or private industry.

We explained this to her and this is why he was Tweeting about extortion the other day (further eroding her claim that she has nothing to do with him). This was our email:

"Seriously Susannah, the only reason you are getting this kind offer now is because it is fairly obvious Frischling is deeply disturbed. More is going to come out and Randy will have no choice but to fire him. Nobody feels sorry for you two, especially after the idiocy of your new blog, and sooner or later someone will post his masturbation photo and the humiliation factor will be devastating. People have already said they predict this will all end with Frischling killing himself and/or his children. This is what disturbed people do when they are about to lose everything - read these stories. How many of these fathers were facing legal/financial troubles? How many of them had family who said they never imagined these men would ever hurt their children?

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/10/19/Father-kills-his-two-children-himself/UPI-10871287511536/
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aFQCyILwxYIk
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/050510/new_633598274.shtml
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-01-28/justice/family.dead.california_1_kabc-los-angeles-county-police?_s=PM:CRIME
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/27/police-florida-father-kills-estranged-wife-children-turning-gun/
http://www.okcfox.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/kokh_vid_2978.shtml?wap=0
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/15/us-deaths-michigan-idUSTRE70E1OB20110115
http://articles.philly.com/2010-10-02/news/24999557_1_moton-home-police-officers-sons

If you would like FishFraud to go away, this is what needs to happen. It will not cost you anything and in fact is the only path that makes sense at this point.

Frischling must:
1-Publicly admit on his blog that he has a problem with pathological lying and will seek treatment.
2-Publicly apologize on his blog and on Twitter to the three innocent people he attacked/harassed/libeled.
3-Resign his blog and delete his Twitter account. He is not fit to be a blogger/journalist/social media consultant and has no future in any of these occupations.
4-Stop posting his bullshit stories on photo and travel forums. If you are legitimately involved in mental healthcare, you should see he is sick and needs professional help. Him being online 24/7 to engage in these delusions with strangers is not healthy.
5-Go get a real job that does not involve the Internet. He can take portraits at Sears or stock shelves at Walmart. Not glamorous, but the kinds of honest jobs millions of people do every day to put food on the table for their families.

If he were to complete steps 1-3, all references to "Susannah Seefeldt" would be immediately deleted off the blog because you encouraged him to do the right thing. There will be a final blog post summarizing his apology and resignation and wishing him and his family good luck. The blog will stay up for at most 30 days after he completes steps 1-3, to allow people to comment before the blog is closed. Not deleted, but turned private. It will reopen with a vengeance if he suddenly resurfaces.

Hopefully you will strongly consider this very reasonable. Not only did you send us evidence that proves you are involved with his illegal activities, the blog is going to hit the general public sooner than later via Gawker, The Smoking Gun, etc. A social media strategist destroying himself via social media is pure gold.

If he cannot see how he must finally give up his sad Internet fantasy life to take care of his family, then you clearly have a serious decision to make about whether he is fit to be a father at all. This seems fairly reasonable, especially when you consider he is not even successful right now in his latest incarnation. If you cannot convince him that he must take these steps for the good of his family, then unfortunately the blog - and its shining example of free speech and the power of social media - will continue until he is fired from BoardingArea. Nobody feels sorry for people who lie about having cancer, getting injured on 9/11 and sickened by Hurricane Katrina.

This email is not extortion, but the last offer you will get to try to work with you. You wanted to know what it would take to get rid of the blog and this is it. No money but simple common sense action. Nobody wants to see this turn into a tragedy. Please encourage him to finally do the right thing, own up to his problems and get some help for himself."

She responded accusing us of being Addison, which we again categorically deny, (do you think, if this Addison is owed five figures, that his main goal would be for Steven to stop blogging? No.), and then said this:

"Look, Steven does not listen to me and never has so to think that I have any control over his blog etc is not something founded in reality; if Steven had listened to me all along he would be in a completely different place. Choosing to attack me and post things about me that are not true or are defamatory is not nice. There is nothing I can do about it though. I can go ahead and visit my cousin in San Diego and sue you, which I may or may not do. I would very much appreciate it if you would remove your posts about me. Punishing my children and I takes it to a whole new level. By your own admission-I am Steven's biggest victim, so why in turn are you victimizing me more? I got involved with Steven over a decade ago and I was very young. I have since made a life for myself and have done the best I can. Choosing to attack me is not kind. I have a lot of stress in my life and attempting to add to it is just nothing other than mean. Unlike you, who is a person who is attempting to do this all under 'anonymous' I am a real person with feelings and concerns etc.

As Steven is the father of my children it is in my best interest if he is mentally healthy and can support his children.

Your motive here is clearly about power and control.

I was instructed by law enforcement to write that email to you, and I can very much affirm for you-that what you are doing is a crime. There is a whole division of the FBI that deals with this sort of stuff."

Really? She was instructed by law enforcement to contact someone she claims is extorting her? Patently absurd. We responded:

"There obviously is some sympathy for you but you need to stop lying. This is not working and it is not winning you any points.

Here is what you can do. Tell him to go get a real job immediately or you will file a motion for temporary maintenance or support (which you would be smart to do regardless) and possibly a TRO. He is legally obligated to provide for his children. If he still refuses to get a job (and no doubt he will), well, this man must go to sleep at some point. Take his computers and phone and go sell them at the pawn shop, and put the money in a bank account that he cannot access. Email Randy Peterson and inform him Steven Frischling will no longer be playing on his blog because he has to get a real job. What is he going to do? He is not making sufficient money as is so he cannot claim he needs the electronics to make a living. If he were to call the police and say his children's mother sold his computer equipment to pay for food and rent because he has no job, they would laugh at him.

If you sell his computer equipment and phone, you will have some money and he is no longer annoying the universe. It's win-win."

Doesn't that seem like a good idea? Her response:

"I am not lying. Stop emailing me. I can't help you and I've got nothing for you. Leave me alone and stop writing things about me that are not true. You are not kind and you should be ashamed of the way you are conducting yourself. Your attempt to make me look bad on your website is nothing other than desperate and I have no way to help you. It's not ok to treat another person this way, especially because you do not even know me. What I do with my life and how it all turns out has NOTHING to do with you. I do have faith though that if you keep it up the law of conservation of energy will catch up with you and it will not be fun for you"

Our last email to her:

"You wanted to know what it would cost you to take the blog down and now you know: nothing. Steven has brought this all on you, not me. He has spewed a sick black shitstorm of deceit and fraud into the universe for how many years, and it is all raining back on him now. As long as you choose to live with him and be partners with him (even if it is merely to unite against people he has upset), it is going to affect you."

So her response. Apparently she still thinks FishFraud is Addison. She's smart, isn't she?

"For someone with phd you are pretty stupid. You also must be fucked up if you hate someone so much that you spend all this time on your project. Maybe you should focus on yourself because you clearly need help. This sort of thing is very unhealthy.

Law enforcement has a copy of all these emails, fb messages and I am sure that you will be hearing from them despite VPN use. Like I said, this is unwise on many levels and it will come out and it will affect you. So I ask? Is it really worth it?

I don't have an online presence so for you to say I'm a liar unless you know me is comical. I focus all my energy on my own life and kids. I am awesome and nothing you can do or say can change that.

Fuck off."

What say you, FishFraud fans? Personally, we felt we were kind to offer to close FishFraud at all. Nothing about FishFraud is illegal or even libelous. We are not heartless, and if Frischling were to disappear from his online persona and go live a normal and honest life to take care of his poor children, we would close the blog.

But so long as he insists on calling himself an honest blogger or legitimate journalist, FishFraud will live on.

PS In Frischling's online rant against Addison posted on the Brajit blog, he said someone had hacked his wife's email. We thought this might be to later deny she ever sent us this email. As you can see, and from the header information, it appears it was sent from her phone. So someone hacked her phone? Additionally, when we did respond with repeated mentions of her offer, she never denied sending such the original message.

NYT Photographer Tyler Hicks Missing in Libya

Remember the photographer whose amazing photos from Libya we shared a few days ago?

Tyler Hicks is now missing in Libya with three other New York Times journalists.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/four-new-york-times-journalists-are-missing-in-libya/

The missing journalists are Anthony Shadid, the Beirut bureau chief and twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for foreign reporting; Stephen Farrell, a reporter and videographer who was kidnapped by the Taliban in 2009 and rescued by British commandos; and two photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, who have worked extensively in the Middle East and Africa. 

Mr. Keller said there was some speculation that they had been detained at a government checkpoint between Ajdabiya and Benghazi, a rebel stronghold in eastern Libya. If that is the case, he said, they would eventually be taken to Tripoli. “Beyond that, we’re still pretty much in the dark,” he added. 

The uprisings in the Arab world have made the region a perilous place for journalists. During the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, journalists were assaulted, accosted, detained and killed. Two Times reporters were detained there and eventually released unharmed. Lara Logan of CBS News was sexually assaulted by a group of men. An Egyptian reporter was shot and died.

There are photographers who actually do put their lives on the line to bring the world photos that need to be seen. Please send out your strongest vibes that all four will return home safe.

This Just In... Steven Frischling Exposed to Anthrax!!

In addition to being shot; being struck by flying debris and burned on 9/11; being assaulted by police, actor Hugh Grant and a college basketball player; being held at gunpoint numerous times; being sickened by airborne pathogens after Hurricane Katrina; being hit directly by a teargas canister during a riot; losing a kidney in a professional snowboard race, being burned in fires; being threatened with arrest for treason; having hurricanes rip the roof off a building he was in and surviving cancer.... unlucky/extremely lucky photographer-turned-blogger Steven Frischling was exposed to anthrax!

Isn't it amazing what our hero will go through to bring home the photos nobody ever gets to see?

Sports Shooter, 09/11/03
http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=3944

"By the way TD, I also stood on Ground Zero on Sept 11, was hit by flying debris when 7 World Trade Centeer collapsed, and was in the Hart Senate Building the day they found Anthrax in a senators office.....so I know what it is like to be good and scared by acts of terrorism.....but my freedom is what makes me,and every American, different than the rest of the world"

Since he was exposed, he obviously needed to be given massive antibiotics:

Sports Shooter, 02/25/03
http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=1252

"My D1 has survied fast moving concrete as 7 World Trade Center collapsed 1.5 blocks from me on Sept 11 in NYC, a direct hit from a tear gas canister being fired from riot cops in my direction, other random riot action, being run over by Ricky Williams (Miami Dolphins) in Dec, me being put on Cirpo (it did not need the Cipro) after Anthrax was found in the Hart Senate Building, many hours and photos following politicians, trials, executives, The Olympics, etc etc etc."

Happy Lying!

Best Frischling Quotes - Post Your Favorite!

This blog is getting hit by random Frischling quotes left as comments. So please leave them here!

These early ones are particularly outstanding:

"I am not winning awards, and don't really care to, I am not world known, globe trotting and heavily published weekly, but I do and have dodged bullets and have been chased by people with iron bars, I have had my bones broken, stiches requied to heal the wound, and have had to dispose of pannels on a bullt proof vest because it was used to protect myself. ... I was shot & beaten and chased and no one cared because it was here."

- Steven Frischling, NPPA-L 10/1/97

"Normally this would have been a photo but I noticed things were to wrong with the scene so I endedup taking control of the scene until the Fire Department arrived. They were confused that a person with a press car around his neck had on gloves, shearss, stethoscope and was climbing into the shattered window."

- Steven Frischling, NPPA-L 9/4/97

"The last movie set I shot cost me a cut over my eye from Huge Grant."

- Steven Frischling, NPPA-L 9/11/96

The last one is important - there should be Public Service Announcements warning all citizens to stay away from "Huge" Grant. He's 25 feet tall and can smell fear. Stay in your vehicles and do not approach him!

Steven Frischling Sickened by Hurricane Katrina!

Can you imagine a major news event happening without Steven Frischling somehow getting involved? He certainly can't.

Frischling claims he was in New Orleans right after Hurricane Katrina struck, where our hero had to deal with menacing gangs and airborne pathogens! In fact, it was even scarier than his imaginary trip to a war zone in Basrah!

There are no photos anywhere that would support Steven Frischling being in New Orleans right after Hurricane Katrina. However, that didn't stop him from bragging about his exploits on FlyerTalk and Digital Wedding Forum (where no doubt he thought he would not encounter any news photographers who were actually there).

"What is the scariest City you have traveled to?"
FlyerTalk, 2/21/08

"Basrah, Iraq.................you know the brochure said the war was officially over. Apparently no one told the folks hiding out with AK-47s and RPGs. Other than that, having covered war, riots and natural disaster, I would have to say New Orleans, in the Lower 9th Ward about 8 days after Hurricane Karina when the gangs started to move back in."

Eight days after Hurricane Katrina, according to our research, the Lower 9th Ward was about 60 percent underwater. There were journalists there, who report that there were no gangs there. And no Steven Frischling.

Here's a photo we found that shows this area, about 12 days after Katrina struck. Are the gangs hiding under the water?

But not only that... the Frischling health curse strikes again! He claims he became "incredibly ill" after being exposed to "an airborne pathogen!" (But our hero still kept working, naturally.)

Digital Wedding Forum, 11/28/08

"I was in NoLA covering the devastation of Katrina. I didn't feel safe anywhere in the city during this time. Despite becoming incredibly ill due to an airborne pathogen, I kept working, but most of the city was unstable and I preferred to only go into areas with a law enforcement or National Guard presence."

Bullshit. Think of the thousands of people out there, including rescuers, journalists, National Guard, etc., some of whom were actually in the contaminated water. Yet Frischling is the one who got sick?

The following article debunks the notion that people were getting sick right after Katrina.

http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2007/04/hurricane-katrina-s-impact.aspx

"There really haven't been any exposures to anything out of the ordinary. Nothing," states Deoine Reed, PhD, infection control manager and epidemiologist with the Tulane University Hospital system and the Ochsner Clinic Foundation. "It is kind of disappointing because we were hoping to see something, but nature has it so it actually can protect the people somehow. It's positive, good news. Nobody's getting infected."

Have any airborne or waterborne pathogen transmission been reported in Louisiana since the hurricane? "Yeah, but nothing different from the usual," says La. State epidemiologist Raoult Ratard, MD, MPH. Ratard says Louisiana experienced the usual flu season and upper respiratory diseases, but, "It does not look like it was more than usual," he says.

Even if Frischling had been there at this time and became ill, how would he know it was due to an airborne pathogen unless he was thoroughly tested somewhere? And since this was such a rare occurrence, wouldn't it be reported to authorities and discussed in the medical community? Wouldn't these medical experts in Louisiana have heard about it?

So Frischling, where are your photos from post-Katrina New Orleans? Surely photos from one of the largest natural disasters ever would make it onto your own website. Did airborne pathogens sicken your camera too? Where can we see these photos?

Update: A faithful reader posted the following comment with quotes from Frischling, indicating he was nowhere near New Orleans eight days after Hurricane Katrina:

Katrina hit August 29.

On September 6 at 12:38 am - 8 days later Fish posts the following on Sportsshooter.com, which clearly indicates that he's still at home.

"->> We spent the morning gathering up clothes and sent down two boxes of mens clothes, women's clothes, materinty clothes, kids clothes and a nice LL Bean baby backpack (easiest way I know for someone to haul a baby around, they probably need it more than I do right now).

I am sure we'll send what we can down again soon."

Later that same day at 10:20 pm he posts:

"->> I just found out my company donated US$40,000 to the relief effort, following thier £25,000 donation following the attacks in London.

It is nice to know that my corporation has a heart."

http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=17256

Now of course, maybe he then hopped into his Mercedes Benz 300D Turbo which goes 150 mph. "(My Mercedes turbo diesel will do about 150, but the tires are rated for 130)" 

http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=9935 

Of course, he has the only one that goes this fast - as the rest of the world owns the ones with a top speed of maybe 120. http://www.europeancarweb.com/editorial/epcp_0506_mercedes_benz_300d/index.html

Happy Lying!

Remember Frischling's "Confirmed Cyberstalkers?" Now Not Guilty!

For those who enjoy watching Steven Frischling destroy himself, pull up a chair. It just keeps getting better.

If you recall, he started a counterblog called "Expose the Fish Bullies." His very first post was an instant classic - asking people to let "lose" by anonymously posting dirt on anonymous people! Brilliant.

But his second post managed to top it. In this one he basically admits that the people he openly accused and harassed on the basis of "evidence" are no longer "suspects."

He posts an empty article called "Bullies Exposed!!" and 10 minutes later left the following comment. Nobody believes this is blog is run by anyone except Steven Frischling and/or Susannah Seefeldt (the duo behind the infamous @yuckystalkers) so we will not even pretend this is a possibility.

Wow, what a difference a day makes. In a few short hours we found much more than we had anticipated.

First, thanks so much for the input from numerous sources, we greatly appreciate your efforts. And yes, as promised, your posts have been removed.

So what we have determined that the bully is not:
-Disgruntled bridge/groom who never got photos
-Airline company Frischling investigated
-Scheming jealous ex-girlfriend
-Former business partner out to get him
-Rival blogger who think he's full of it
-Flying with Fish reader/Twitter follower
-Irritated photographer who can't stand him
-TSA/government employee-
-Random person he pissed off somehow
-Steven Frischling himself

What! He has determined who "the bully is not" using the poll results from the FishFraud blog! Yes, "none of the above" won the poll, so he suddenly thinks it must be true. Fantastic.

Regarding the other blog in question, basically our findings lead us to believe the bully behind that blog is a male (father, grandfather or uncle) who is responsible for a bride allegedly "burned" by SF on a wedding. Let's name this bully Chris.

WHAT! Wait a minute. Let's step back here. You now say the person behind FishFraud is a male relative of a bride whose wedding photos you "allegedly" never delivered? But that's impossible. You said earlier you had "confirmed" and "conclusive" proof that tied it to the three people you already accused: the former business partner (who masterminded the plan), and his minions - a former wedding client and an ex-girlfriend of yours!

Initially we thought it could have been a "Former business partner out to get him" but as that blog progressed and we began to read the responses of the numerous baited questions posted in the last couple of weeks, that theory went cold. The answers and tone from the bait lead us down this new path, and recent input only supported that hunch.

Hell no. Not possible. You cannot undo saying you had hard evidence against someone. You either had concrete evidence or you don't. So were you indeed lying? Is that what you are now saying? You never really had this evidence?

Apparently Steven Frischling is still not aware that everything he puts on the Internet, stays on the Internet.

First, here are Frischling's Tweets attacking two women in February. It's unclear what set him off or what evidence he claimed he had, but he suddenly states they are being "outed" as FishFraud.

He Tweets their full names and hometowns, and flat out accuses them of trying to extort him. He even begins Tweeting their respective employers and asks if they wan to see the "evidence" against them, and also saying it's possible they committed crimes on company computers! Yes, he's trying to get them fired or at least in trouble.

Then he created the famously bizarre @yuckystalkers account, which has since been deleted but is still available via Google cache.

After this outright Twitter assault on these two women (and their spouses), he suddenly changed his mind! He then decided they are possibly involved, but now it only makes sense the true "mastermind" was his former business partner, Addison. He claims Addison tracked down these women from his past, in two countries (did he go door to door looking for people who hate Frischling?) and set out to destroy him.

Frischling then Tweeted Addison's address, clearly to threaten him, and for this obvious breech he wound up with his own Twitter account suspended! (Tweets are deleted but still available via Google cache)

Amusingly, Frischling created another new account to pester Twitter support into restoring his suspended account. Note he claims he "may have" Tweeted out an address! May have! He also claims Twitter accounts for 75 percent of his income!

When he got his account back, look what he Tweeted:

Once again, he uses the word "confirmed." Not alleged, not suspected, but confirmed.

Then he emailed out the following letter to people in the travel industry, accusing said mastermind by first and last name, and also put it on his Facebook. One very foolish follower copied it and put it on his own blog.

http://brajit.blogspot.com/2011/03/freefish-saga-continues.html

TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2011
The #freefish Saga Continues
Hi Everybody!

I don't typically get involved in such bull$h1+, but this has gone too far. Somebody is attempting to slander a great tweep: @flyingwithfish! Their words were: "character assassination!" Can you believe it?

Below is the entire story, as copied and pasted from Fish's Facebook page, with *HIS* permission. He does not want it on his blog, but I figured we might as well put it out there here.

If you have questions, let me know, and I can direct you to the proper channels!

Message unedited below:

OK , here is the break down on the cyber-psycho-stalker

Originally all signs of the stalker pointed to an ex-girlfriend that has a history of stalking and a former client of mine. I could not link the two together, but things being sa...id were clearly them and I tied them into this conclusively … however somethings still did not add up, so back to digging I went .

Both women had been contacted by "Michael Whirrlie", my wife has been harassed by "Michael Whirrlie" on Facebook. Looking at all of this and tracking IP addresses that had hacked my wife's email … coupled with specific comments make, phrases used in comments to my blog, and posts not occurring during sabbath (some were back dated, but in real time, none during the sabbath) , everything lead me back to Addison Schonland.

Addison and I had worked together at IAG (Innovation Analysis Group) which he founded. In Dec '09 I developed a concept for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. I created it, pitched it,negotiated it, sold it, executed it, with no assistance from anyone at IAG. My deal was to put $3k of the project back into IAG, then they wanted $5k, then $7K and I said no.

I offered the $3k, but Addison insisted on $7k … $3k was a lot considering the project was 100% mine.

Addison threatened to sue me, however his lawyer never followed through as there was no written contract and all the communications with KLM was me … including KLM listing my name on their global blog as "We've invited Steven Frischling … " no mention of IAG because they were not involved.

After Addison's lawyer didn't sue me, he contacted the Connecticut State Police Major Case Squad claiming I had embezzled $22k from IAG. The State Police investigated and found that I hadn't embezzled anything, determined there was no merit to the claim. Addison's complaint needs to be dealt within a civil court ,and then it is up to a court to determine what he is and is not entitled to.

Following the CT State Police closing the investigation being closed, Addison went to KLM. KLM told him they were not getting involved, as far as they were concerned the project was mine, not IAG's and he needed to settle the case in a US civil court.

Following that I got a cryptic threat from Addison via Twitter. The CT State Police didn't see it as a real that, but I have it saved anyway.

Yesterday on the blog he writes about me, he names people at Lufthansa by name, mocking them for taking me to Frankfurt (I was just off the plane when it was posted) … most people would not know the names of the internal Lufthansa USA staff…unless you deal with airlines directly and in an in depth manner…further pointing to him.

Add in that the attacks go silent from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, as he is Orthodox, along in that Addison's personal email is mikey99999@gmail.com, (his PayPal had been tied to it and it appears in my KLM stats) and that one IP that had hacked my wife's email goes to an ATT wireless data device that was coming off a cell tower that is in a direct line of sight of Addison's home, along with other minor details … and it all points to Addison

Addison contacted the women and fired them up. Then let them loose … but left some traces behind that have been dug and his constant references to business fraud, initially saying he was an angry bride, then attacking my TSA coverage, etc etc etc.

So … in short who is Addison Schonland. An former business associated who had a tantrum when his lawyer, the CT State Police and a client all told him he had no grounds to demand what he was asking for.

I have multiple emails where he is threatening vile things, stating clearly that his goal is character assassination (stated exactly like that) and making threats that would impact my kids.

Hope that answers your question.

-Fish
POSTED BY BRAJIT AT 5:33 PM
LABELS: ASCHOLAND, FLSH, FLYINGWITHFISH, TWITTER

Now, let's sum up. Frischling states again that his former wedding client and ex-girlfriend are "tied into this conclusively." Conclusively means this is not a guess or suspicion, but that he has proven it. Then he states his evidence against Addison came from "tracking IP addresses" emails that "hacked" his "wife's email" (although he has no wife), "specific" comments and phrases left on his blog, and posts not occurring during the Jewish Sabbath (because Addison is an Orthodox Jew).

Frischling's claim that FishFraud "goes silent" during the Sabbath is patently false, as anyone can see we've had plenty of posts and Tweets that went out after sundown Friday/before sundown Saturday. He then claims "some were back dated, but in real time, none during the sabbath." While you can change the date and time of posts, how can you explain that FishFraud has quite often left comments and Tweets during this time?

Frischling states that Addison is a former business "associated" who "had a tantrum" because of some sort of sour negotiations over the KLM blog that Frischling wrote for a few short weeks in January 2010. He states Addison was so upset that his company didn't get its cut that he went to the Connecticut state police and accused Frischling of embezzlement. (Frischling does not explain this accusation of embezzlement, which is a rather curious and specific charge. Surely we need to revisit this in the future.)

He points out our blog laughing at Lufthansa USA's PR people for taking him on the trip to Germany while his Twitter account was suspended, and says most people wouldn't know these people's names ... even though the names of their PR people are posted publicly on Lufthansa USA's own website and also come up when Googling Lufthansa USA and press contact, etc.

Frischling further states "that one IP that had hacked my wife's email goes to an ATT wireless data device that was coming off a cell tower that is in a direct line of sight of Addison's home." Yes, he claimed he had evidence that specific.

So why is it that now Steven Frischling says his new "suspect" is a male relative of one of his upset wedding photography clients? How can that be if he has all this supposed "confirmed" and "conclusive" evidence against Addison and the two women? Are they all related? Is Addison, the Orthodox Jew from California, secretly the father, grandfather or uncle of Jasmine, the Canadian bride of Asian descent? Or did this relative of the unhappy bride also live within direct line of sight of the AT&T cell tower that was used to hack into Steven's wife's email? (Do we need to mention again that he is not married?)


Or is Frischling just finally admitting that none of the people he harassed are involved in FishFraud, and that he lied about evidence he claimed he had? And if so, will they be getting apologies as public as the accusations he leveled?

Let us remind that Addison works in the travel industry, and Frischling sent this email to people in this same industry, as well as putting it on Facebook. Surely, if the letter's content is not true and he is lying about this supposed evidence, Frischling is guilty of libeling Addison. We state for the record that Addison is not involved with this blog in any way, but we certainly feel sorry for him and anyone who was ever involved with Steven Frischling.

So, what is going on here? Will these people be getting apologies? Or will they be seeing Steven Frischling in court?

Happy Lying!

Real Photojournalism from a Real War Zone

Actual photographer Sam Morris left another great comment that needs to be its own post. Everyone needs to see these stunning images taken by photojournalist Tyler Hicks of the fighting in Libya. The New York Times also conducted an interview with him.

Because I think some of the posters on this site are not photographers, I would like to point you to a posting from yesterday on the New York Times photo blog, Lens. In it, photographer Tyler Hicks describes what conditions were like in Libya Wednesday. This post, and his photos, will give you a good idea why so many good photographers working today, Hicks, David Guttenfelder, Jack Gruber, Justin Sullivan, Julie Jacobson, anyone from VII, et. al. deserve recognition and respect. This is what galls a lot of photographers - bullshitters are common, but to say you are a part of a small group of people who put their lives on the line to bring back photos to the public about the horrible nature of war, conflict, famine, strife, etc. when you are not, really pisses some people off. I am guessing most of them don't even know of Fish, and if they do, they don't give a fuck (ooops, I dropped the F-Bomb again - please don't report it to my company again Steven).

True, Steven did go to Iraq. And he sat on a boat with the Coast Guard. Him claiming he was in a war zone is like me claiming I won the Pulitzer Prize, when it was my paper that won it for public service in 2009. Sure, I had photos in the package that won, but it was the reporting and the work of a lot of people at the paper that won the award.

Anyway, here is the link (please, take a moment to read it and look at the photos - it will give you an understanding of what I am talking about):

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/in-the-thick-of-libyas-brutal-fighting/

Be sure to read the comments from all the people thanking Tyler for his spectactular photos.

Frischling "Cuts Lose" with Counter Blog!

"Lose" is the operative word here.

Steven Frischling, the finest social media mind of our time, has set up his own blog called exposethefishbullies.blogspot.com! Yet another incredibly stupid move that is guaranteed to backfire on him and land him in even more legal trouble, all while driving more traffic to FishFraud.

Truly, we could not have scripted this better ourselves. We must quote South Park on this one. "This is a gift from God. An early Easter present all wrapped up in a pretty ribbon from Jesus Christ himself!"

We can guess his playbook:

• He will have no content that defends him in any way, such as explaining away his multiple unbelievable stories, producing evidence that would back up these stories, etc.
• He will post nothing that would support his claim of hard evidence on FishFraud's identity.
• He and his team of one will leave "anonymous" comments to further insult, harass and threaten people who have nothing to do with this site.
• He will install a tracking script to try to figure out locations of the blog visitors and then go crazy attacking everyone he's ever met who lives in those cities.
• Like with @yuckystalkers, he will claim it's his "supporters" who created the site.

His description, so classic:

"Let's cut lose on the BS that certain posters from a certain lame-ass blog can't seem to get enough of! Let's expose those that really have been behind the online bullying efforts.  

Who are they and where are they. Let's dig up some trash on them, let's expose them and their family members to the wonderful world of innuendo, fact-less BS, derogatory statements and such that's possible on a totally anonymously-posted trash receptacle called EXPOSE THE BULLIES!

Pile on folks, it should be a great ride!!"

This is why we do not feel sorry for Steven Frischling in any way. He knows very well he has no evidence against anyone he is accusing, yet he continues to lie to the contrary. He is now trying to hurt these people simply because he suspects they could be involved, and he is taking his frustration out on them. Every step he takes makes things worse for him and makes more people question his intelligence/mental health.

P.S. A reader (12:50 am) has made a valid point questioning Frischling's mental state. Please do not go on his new blog to provoke him in any way.

Steven Frischling on Photo Captions

These appeared at fuckyeahsportsshooter.tumblr.com but we wanted to salute our Tumblr friends for recognizing Steven Frischling's genius as a professional photographer. (He's so good his photos taken in places he's never been win awards.)

Plus, here is his celebrated caption, talking about, his photo of, baseball player, David Ortiz, of the Boston, Red, Sox.

Poll: Who Do You Think is Behind This Blog?

Just for fun, we've taken advantage of Blogger's nifty capabilities to add a poll to the bottom of this blog.

First poll - guess Fish Fraud's identity! The first four options are Steven Frischling's own accusations, in actual order in which he announced who was behind the site. The other options are a few other ideas we've seen floating around plus a "none of the above."

Unfortunately we can't edit the poll once it's live (please excuse typos in Guesses 1 and 5!) but comment below if you have your own theory.

Obviously it's just for fun and we will not be announcing if our dear readers guessed correctly or not. We're immensely enjoying the various conspiracy theories put forth, especially by Frischling himself!

Flickr Link

http://www.flickr.com/groups/wed/discuss/72157626228411218/

Again, more people seeing Steven Frischling as a case study for online reputations.

Another Blog Link!

http://mikebrice.com/post/3716894390/fish-fraud-lying-with-fish

Hopefully more to come.

Steven Frischling: Contradictory Tales of the Same Job

One job somehow generates three different titles, plus conflicting descriptions and reasons why Steven Frischling left. One consistency is he did not last long there.

Sports Shooter, 2/6/05

"Pro Tech Support Advisor : Tamron/Bronica. Short lived, the company had no support for the two of us doing support, and we both quit. Hard to deal with pros when the company has no desire to back up what you are saying"

FlyerTalk, 2/16/08

"In addition to my extensive career as a news/corporate photog, and now shooting weddings around the world as well, I also briefly served as Tamron/Bronica's pro-services representative (there was only one, it was me, and the position was eliminated quickly after it was created) and the preferred way of quickly cleaning lenses was the Ilford anti-state cloth."

NPPA-L, 9/30/97

"I was briefly the Technical Support Service Representative for Tamron-Bronica U.S.A. when A.P. had the bad freelance contract"

Happy Lying!

FishFraud Continues to Go Viral...

http://t2impact.blogspot.com/2011/03/when-blogger-courts-attention.html

There is a Blogger who seems to have led a rather charmed life and done an incredible amount of things. At least by his own reports. The web has a way of exposing the truth. And lord knows we are all guilty of transgressions (and yes I am a sinner). But so far no one has started a blog that specifically targets me personally for something I may or may not have done. But it seems this blogger in question has done just that.

Happy Lying!

Steven Frischling's "Run-In' with John Gotti Jr.

Two different forums, two different wild tales from Steven Frischling about taking photos of mobster John Gotti Jr. It's possible John Gotti Jr was arrested constantly and Frischling was waiting each time, but it seems he is referring to a single incident. There's no mention in the later reference of any earlier experience with Gotti.

First, back in 1998, he interrupted a thread discussing media behavior in the Monica Lewinsky scandal to brag about John Gotti Jr's mafia buddies bringing him coffee "for not trying anything stupid." He describes one "photog" jumping in Gotti's face and getting tossed into the street by Gotti's henchmen, but as Frischling describes it, he himself was a safe distance away.

NPPA-L, 2/11/1998

"How close is to close to a subject? This has been debated before and I am sure it will be debated again and again and again for a long time, if we all just stepped back a a few feet with a 35mm or even a 28mm we would all have a better photo. I know at a number of Perp-Walks in NYC there was a sort of honour system when ony 2-3 stills and 2-3 TV-PJs were there no one had to jump out, no one had to shove, these were usually the 3AM perp walks or body removals, but it worked. I had been at a 4:AM "release" of John Gotti Jr, 2 TVPJs and 3 stills, each of us knew each other, no problems, we sat there talking for a few hours, the mobsters even brought us coffee as a "thank you" for not trying anthing stupid (read between the lines), just as Gotti exited the police station, a photog got out of a car, he must have been sitting there watching us for 3 or 4 hours, and ran up to Gotti with a wide lens stepping in front of all of us and proceded to walk 2-3 feet in front of him for about 20 yards until one of the mobster (alleged mobsters?) yanked him and just about literaly threw him into the street. Then we all got our 10 or 12 clean frames and then Gotti turned and thanked us for our concern for his well being. Those of us standing there had it worked out so we all got our photos , but all it takes is that one photog to run up out of no where and make their images and cause us to jump into the circle."

Five years later, Frischling jumps into a discussion on photographers' biggest goofs to share the Gotti story. But now it's different. No mention of that photographer getting tossed into the street. This time it's Frischling who (after experiencing more unfortunate equipment failure) bumps into Gotti, "nearly knocking him to the ground!" He also claims this was all captured on video.

Sports Shooter, 7/9/03

"I was assigned to cover John Gotti's Jr's perp walk from a police station in South Brooklyn. After waiting hours outside Gotti came out free to go to his own car, not a cruiser, with only two other shooters there (one TV, one still) I figured it would be easy (and highly unexpected).

As I began shooting I ripped off 3 frames then nothing.....since the frame counter on my F3hp was busted I did not realize I had not swapped in a new roll into this F3 (I had two, both with busted frame counters). Standing there like an idiot, ticked at myself, I stepped backwards into Gotti nearly knocking him to the ground. Luckily I had one good frame which the wire was able to use.

My mother saw the perp walk on TV the next morning where they showed me walking backwards into Gotti and has not stopped giving me $#!+ about it yet."

Happy Lying!

Steven Frischling's Conflicting Accounts of Same-Sex Wedding Photos

Steven Frischling claims that his photos of same-sex wedding ceremonies in 2000 in Vermont ended up in Life, Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report, etc. Maybe true, maybe not - we've never suggested he's never had photos published.

But what does concern us here at the FishFraud Blog are the major inconsistencies in his stories about how he got those photos.

Story #1
In this story, he states that he was approached by a wire service to cover the event but turned it down to shoot it for UPI. Of course his photos were so fantastic he sold them for years after.

From Sports Shooter 2/8/03
http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=1113

"I shot the first day same sex marriages were legal in Vermont (anywhere in the US). Initially I was approched to shoot it for a wire, with full copyright transfer, I turned it down. I shot it for UPI (again, no copyright transfer) and Corbis, and in the next year photos I had shots appeared in LIFE's Year in Pictures (full page), Time's Year in Pictures (full page), LIFE's Photo Album 2001 (one and a half pages), Newsweek (3/4 page), US News (1/2 page), and about 32 other resales. In the past 2.5 years since the event I have made another 25+ sales of the images. I am not sure what the totals are for the licensing fees, but go to Editorial Photos estimator to figure out my sales to Life (twice) Time, Newsweek and US News. Quite a bit more than the $180 AP pays."

Story #2
Five years later, in a discussion on FlyerTalk about digital cameras, the story has changed. First, he was no longer shooting it for UPI but now says he was shooting for Life Magazine (not that he had a photo that ended up in Life, but he shot it for Life). Second, he says that he had to use a point-and-shoot digital camera to take the picture because both of his Nikon D1 (digital) cameras failed simultaneously. (He just has the worst luck!)

From Flyertalk 7/16/08
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-photography/845151-digital-newbie-10mp-vs-12mp-major-difference-2.html#post10044736

"Back in 2000 I shot a full page photo for Life Magazine with a 2.0mp Nikon Coolpix 950. Why the Coolpix 950? Both my 2.7mp Nikon D1 bodies failed simultaneously! Life Magazine was a large format magazine, quite a but larger than Time/Newsweek/USNWR, closer to the format of ESPN The Magazine."

Story #3
Remember his terrible luck, with both his D1 cameras failing simultaneously? But back on Sports Shooter in 2003, he posted a total contradictory story in which he shot this for a newspaper! This time, he claims he used the point-and-shoot CoolPix because his film camera (Nikon F100) ran out of film. He claims an intern who "begged" him to develop his film ruined it all, and then he "shortly after" bought a D1!

From Sports Shooter 4/21/03
http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=1705

"On July 1, 2000 same sex weddings became legal in Vermont. This was my first assignment back after my daugher was born (June 17), and I chose to shoot the midnight story because it was the first wedding to take place, it was 3 blocks from my house and I knew both "brides", so I knew I'd get all the access I wanted blocking out AP, Reuters, AFP, etc etc etc.

A summer inten (daughter of a layout person) begged me to let her run my film, since she was a photo student, and she has souped some film in the past I let her get the film back so I could keep shooting after the small ceremony.

When I got back to the paper my four rolls were all rolled together (in individual reels, but rolled tight) and burned. She had to confess she had been bringing in her own plastic reels and never used metal reels before. She did not want a problem so she did not ask someone to help her or wait for me.

Major national news has been destroyed....and I was upset because the wires and other papers got the ceremony in the clerks office, but not the brides getting dressed, re-reading the vows in private, speaking with the clerk in a private meeting with the other media trying to peek in the window, and other private tender moments,

Oh well, at least I got two different photos from a different wedding from the same day in Life's Year in Pictures (full page) and Life's Photo Album (1.5 pages). The full page was shot on a Nikon CoolPix 950 (my F100 ran out of film)

I bought a D1 shortly after this little incident (which caused me to break a finger when I punched the wall next to my desk in anger)."

Story #4
Now he says he bought his first D1 in September 2000, while the first same-sex weddings occurred in July 2000.

From Sports Shooter 10/25/03
http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=4980

"But the first digital body I bought was my D1 (for $5,500) in Sept 2000, followed shortly there after by a second D1."

Our questions:

• Why are there so many conflicting details surrounding these photos?
• Who did you shoot the photos for - UPI, Life Magazine, or the newspaper where the daughter of a layout person ruined your film?
• Did you use the CoolPix because BOTH your D1s failed simultaneously, or because your F1 ran out of film, shortly before you bought your first D1?
• What exactly is wrong with you?

Happy Lying!