Who is "Variety Jones"?

[AGD]

Interesting post on Reddit: http://np.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3b0kwl/whats_your_deep_web_story/cshrivc

[–]throaway4goodmeasure 881 points 3 hours ago

Okay this is probably either one of the stupidest decisions of my life or it may just be the only redeeming thing I have ever done. So you all know about "Silk Road" (the defunct online drug market that was shut down in oct13). The man sentenced to life for running it (Ross Ulbricht), is not the only guy who ran it. I dont think he was too involved at all. I have since moved and the person I am about to talk about has gone ghost as well so here it goes:

I spent a few months dating this guy (considerably older) who was probably running the website for 80% of the time. He was always online logged in and many times in-front of me not only used the Dread Pirate Roberts account, but also chatted with who I now believe was the Ulbricht boy. My former SO often joked that this "kid" was essentially his robot and worshipped him. I know he had probably over 2,500 bitcoins at one point. I saw other things that he is stupid for flaunting, such as his conversations that he would decrypt and save to USB drives as "insurance" (his words) of him discussing things with police. Either he was an informant or he had them working for him. I think both. I know for a period of about 8 or 9 months that Ulbricht had not logged into the site portal because my ex-SO became paranoid that the guy might have been arrested or killed or turned informant. he pops back up and they start chatting like old buddies, supposedly he was hanging out with family and having personal problems.

I dont know the specifics and have never told a soul. When they arrested this boy, my ex took off. Said he was going to visit his parents and lay low for a bit, and then abruptly vanished. I did see him as "last online X hours ago" on Whatsapp here and there, so thankfully he's not dead or in jail.. I think.

For those who might think I could be getting him in trouble and Im being a bitch/vengeful/rat. No I aint. He's not a US citizen and is most likely not in the US.

TLDR/ELI5: Ross Ulbricht was definetly not "The Dread Pirate Roberts" as much as he was accused of. That would impossible. He sure is paying the price for it though. May God make this guys situation better one day, he's pain a price for shit he wasnt too vested in.

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[TheIllusveGoose]

A thought occurred to me quite recently.....what if the author of this post is in fact VJ himself and all of this is just his way of finding out who knows what about him & his connections to whoever.     

[Gleb Gamow]

A thought occurred to me quite recently.....what if the author of this post is in fact VJ himself and all of this is just his way of finding out who knows what about him & his connections to whoever.    

You wanna hear my theory?

Name:   TheIllusveGoose
Posts:   1
Activity:   1
Position:   Newbie
Date Registered:   Today at 03:51:43 PM
Last Active:   Today at 04:46:32 PM

[AGD]

A thought occurred to me quite recently.....what if the author of this post is in fact VJ himself and all of this is just his way of finding out who knows what about him & his connections to whoever.    

You wanna hear my theory?

Name:   TheIllusveGoose
Posts:   1
Activity:   1
Position:   Newbie
Date Registered:   Today at 03:51:43 PM
Last Active:   Today at 04:46:32 PM

I want.

[AGD]

A thought occurred to me quite recently.....what if the author of this post is in fact VJ himself and all of this is just his way of finding out who knows what about him & his connections to whoever.     

It would be easier to read this here topic or antilop.cc, which I am pretty sure he is doing on a regular basis.
I also think he is still around on sites like myplanetganja and icmag.com.

[AGD]

Variety Jones arrested? Nahhhh! So they don't know about him beeing Thomas Clark?

http://darkwebnews.com/news/silk-road-2-0-vendor-admits-to-selling-class-a-and-b-drugs/

The charges against him, however, tell a starkly different story. Ward has been charged with nine crimes: two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, and another for Class B, as well as six other charges relating to the supply and importation of Class A, B and C drugs.

Ward said that he suspected that the main reason for his arrest was to do with the police’s belief that he was “Variety Jones”, one of the original Silk Road advisors, the one who supposedly came up with the name Dread Pirate Roberts for Ross Ulbricht. Variety Jones is also suspected to have mentored Ulbricht in his early days.

[AtheistAKASaneBrain]

An interesting theory would be that it's someone from the FEDs that has inside info from previous Silk Road raids (and stolen Bitcoins as well) so knows it's ways around it. We know for a fact there are people inside groups like those that are interested in BTC and have stolen BTC before, so it's a possibility.

[AGD]

Amir Taaki talking about the multiple personas DPR moniker:

http://www.miningpool.co.uk/amir-taaki-backs-up-ross-ulbrichts-claim-of-leaving-silk-road-after-creating-it/

“Years ago, when I messaged the Silk Road, I had a conversation with the Dread Pirate Roberts – a very personal conversation where he was [talking] about how one day he hopes to be on the outside struggling for freedom together. You know, not having to hide his identity. One year [or] two years later when I messaged the guy — I’m pretty certain it was not the same guy. The tone was completely different. He had no recollection of the events that happened before, and his attitude to me was in stark contrast to the exuberant and wordy Dread Pirate Roberts of the early days. So, free Ross Ulbricht.”

[bitcoinDash]

./

[AGD]

An interesting theory would be that it's someone from the FEDs that has inside info from previous Silk Road raids (and stolen Bitcoins as well) so knows it's ways around it. We know for a fact there are people inside groups like those that are interested in BTC and have stolen BTC before, so it's a possibility.

http://varietyjones.com

Not sure what's going on, but anyone familiar with Atlantis market? It shutdown a few weeks before Silk Road was seized. Anyways, interesting connection between Variety Jones and Atlantis.

This link looks like an art site (nice pics btw). Where is the connection to Atlantis?

[AGD]

Possible that this page is indeed from the original VJ, because its content could make one think it is, but I doubt it as long as he don't sign it with his pgp key from 2010.

[AGD]

Possible that this page is indeed from the original VJ, because its content could make one think it is, but I doubt it as long as he don't sign it with his pgp key from 2010.

That particular pgp key is basically radioactive. Had Ross' trial gone differently (with those corrupt agents a part of it), maybe, someone would sign. Life in prison without the possibility of parole? This whole case is messed up...

This guy is giving away his address and telephone number. He doesn't look too scared to me.

[AGD]

More info on the VJ copycat:
https://twitter.com/blockOperator
Interesting that after my request to sign with his 2010 key a few days ago he answered with a new one, which looks like he is following this topic:
https://keybase.io/varietyjones/sigs/iSYOSv1FoCVb7k4zWdUGFyMOO97xGqhjBfP3

[AGD]

A message to the original VJ:

Code:

-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
Version: GnuPG v2
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=qwtq
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

[S4VV4S]

Possible that this page is indeed from the original VJ, because its content could make one think it is, but I doubt it as long as he don't sign it with his pgp key from 2010.

That particular pgp key is basically radioactive. Had Ross' trial gone differently (with those corrupt agents a part of it), maybe, someone would sign. Life in prison without the possibility of parole? This whole case is messed up...

This guy is giving away his address and telephone number. He doesn't look too scared to me.

That phone number is part of pop culture. Mike Jones... a rapper who used to include his number in songs and whatnot. That address is fake as well. 330 1st Avenue ... 330 1... 3301. Probably poking fun at Cicada 3301?

I highly doubt that, that is the real Variety Jones.
Probably some kid trying to have fun without knowing what he getting himself into.

The real VJ is long gone (if not an agent) as I am sure he knows the seriousness of this.

[AGD]

Possible that this page is indeed from the original VJ, because its content could make one think it is, but I doubt it as long as he don't sign it with his pgp key from 2010.

That particular pgp key is basically radioactive. Had Ross' trial gone differently (with those corrupt agents a part of it), maybe, someone would sign. Life in prison without the possibility of parole? This whole case is messed up...

This guy is giving away his address and telephone number. He doesn't look too scared to me.

That phone number is part of pop culture. Mike Jones... a rapper who used to include his number in songs and whatnot. That address is fake as well. 330 1st Avenue ... 330 1... 3301. Probably poking fun at Cicada 3301?

You are right, I didn't pay attention on that. So the address/no is fake then. I still think, that someone is using the fame of the nick "Variety Jones", rather than VJ beeing the mother of all attention whores (which IS still possible btw, knowing the backstory of PoM). He is doing a good job in imitating the style of VJ and his art on vj.com is respectable good, but only signing with his old key or answering my encrypted message would convince me.

[AGD]

Here is a link to a lot of information about the DNMs incl. Atlantis by Gwern ( https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/3dfq8s/dark_net_market_archives_20112015/ ) : https://archive.org/download/dnmarchives

[Mikel]

An account on reddit (/u/VarietyJones37) posted a thread "Solve riddles, win bitcoin via Electrum's restore function. Free to play. Early feedback to be rewarded." with links to the website discussed earlier in the thread (varietyjones.com).


https://np.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/3gap1k/solve_riddles_win_bitcoin_via_electrums_restore/

https://np.reddit.com/user/VarietyJones37

[AGD]

These Are the Two Forgotten Architects of the Silk Road:

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/these-are-the-two-forgotten-architects-of-the-silk-road

Through a source, Motherboard has gained access to emails sent and received by one of those characters, who is perhaps best known by the pseudonym Variety Jones. This reporter has seen first hand the contents of this email account, and verified that it is legitimate.
...
The information in these emails led to two names: Mike Wattier and Thomas Clark.

Variety Jones

Variety Jones joined Silk Road in 2011, according to site archives maintained by the security researcher Runa Sandvik. He was known as a vendor of marijuana seeds, and his aversion to the failed War on Drugs was clear from his postings on the site forums.

“I'm here to break the back of prohibition, to make the jack-booted thugs from the DEA roll up their tents and sneak off into the night, and to do what I can to ensure a future where 65 year old MS patients aren't shot by SWAT teams during drug raids because they suspect there was a fucking plant growing in the back room,” he wrote.

But in private conversations with Ulbricht, he acted as a penetration tester, financial advisor, and, in the site creator's own words, a “mentor.” Variety Jones even suggested the now infamous moniker Dread Pirate Roberts, often shortened to DPR, which Ulbricht adopted.

Variety Jones was also the one who suggested Ulbricht’s first attempted murder-for-hire, which targeted an employee (although, it's important to note, didn't actually result in anybody being killed).

“[He] was the biggest and strongest willed character I had met through the site thus far,” Ulbricht wrote in a 2011 journal entry.

Documents released during Ross Ulbricht's trial highlighted how the Silk Road mastermind (pictured) relied heavily on the assistance of Variety Jones. Photo: AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams

Earlier this year, an independent researcher known as “La Moustache” published an extensive investigation into the history of Variety Jones, tracing digital footprints of the character back to pre-Silk Road cannabis forums.

Based on that research, Motherboard contacted several people who may have known Variety Jones in real life.

One of those contacted provided an email address for the individual suspected of being behind the Variety Jones alias, which, through a search of public online records, led to a website owned by the same person. Linked to this website was another email address, which included the name “varietyjones....”

[AGD]

This possibly is Smedley (~shabang~ ?):



More about the number 3 of SR:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewattier
https://twitter.com/MichaelWattier



Just a coincidence?:

From Wattier's Twitter:

Marcus McNeill ‏@MarcusMcNeill73 5. Mai 2012

Ima forever be a #Charger beeeliiieeve that!!
14 Retweets 6 Favoriten

from http://motherboard.vice.com/read/these-are-the-two-forgotten-architects-of-the-silk-road

Smed worked closely with DPR, and communicated with the site leader more than anyone else, under what evidence suggests is one of his pseudonyms, “Charger”, according to TorChat logs released during Ulbricht’s trial.