- Tom Biscardi
Carmine Thomas Biscardi (born 1948) is a controversial
cryptozoology enthusiast, Las Vegas promoter, internet radio host, and film producer. He is the self-described "RealBigfoot Hunter". [http://www.wsbtv.com/news/17197939/detail.html] Biscardi has been centrally involved in several notorioushoaxes regardingBigfoot that have garnered widespread international media attention.Biography
On his website, Biscardi writes, "I was watching John Carson in 1967, and I saw the first 8mm footage that Roger Patterson took of the Bluff Creek incident. I said to myself, 'How the hell can we send a man to the moon, but we can't find this creature'." [http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com/Tom_Biscardi] His first search for Bigfoot was reported in the magazine "Saga" in 1973. [http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptotourism/biscardi-35/] In 1981, Biscardi produced a documentary film called "
In the Shadow of Bigfoot ." [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200401/ai_mark1447071369] He is the current CEO and founder of BIGFOOT Inc. [http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=photo&photo_id=02k25ih7LqaDC&tid=08qfdQ4fsQfbO&pn=3]2005 hoax
On July 14, 2005, Biscardi appeared on the radio program "
Coast to Coast AM " and claimed he was "98% sure" his group would be able to capture a Bigfoot nearHappy Camp, California . On August 19, he returned to say he knew of the location of a captured Bigfoot specimen, and that he would air footage of the creature through a $14web-cam service. However, on the day the footage was to be distributed, Biscardi claimed he was "hoodwinked" by a woman inStagecoach, Nevada , and that the specimen did not exist. "Coast to Coast AM" hostGeorge Noory demanded that Biscardi refund the money to people who had paid for the web-cam subscription. Biscardi then offered a refund on his website to those who had subscribed for the service after August 19. [http://www.bfro.net/gdb/show_article.asp?id=511] [http://www.oregonbigfoot.com/georgia_bigfoot_dead_body_in_freezer_dyer_whitton_biscardi.php#biscardi]2008 hoax
In summer 2008, Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer announced that they had discovered the carcass of a 7-foot-7-inch, 500-pound Bigfoot-like creature while hiking through the mountains of north Georgia. They said they had placed the body in a freezer in an undisclosed location. They also claimed to have seen three similar creatures when they found the body. [http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/19/bigfoot.hoax/index.html] Tom Biscardi teamed up with Whitton and Dyer to promote the claim that they had a Bigfoot corpse, and promised the media
DNA evidence. The three held a press conference in California, where they showed photographs of the alleged creature. Whitton claimed, “Everyone who has talked down to us is going to eat their words." [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26298733/] Biscardi also tried to reassure the media of its authenticity, saying, "Last weekend, I touched it, I measured its feet, I felt itsintestines ." [http://animalnewyork.com/news/2008/08/bigfoot-hunter-tom-biscardi-di.php] Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer have since admitted that it was a rubber costume.http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/19/bigfoot.hoax/index.html]Aftermath of the 2008 hoax
Matthew Whitton, a police officer in
Clayton County, Georgia , put his career into jeopardy after participating in the hoax. Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner said, "Once he perpetrated afraud , that goes into his credibility and integrity. He has violated the duty of a police officer." [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26298733/ ] Biscardi has claimed that he was deceived, and that he is now seeking justice.See also
[http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com/Tom_Biscardi Tom Biscardi's Home Page on SearchingForBigfoot.com]
References
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