"Dr. Coulton Bennett"

Concept: Big Con/Long Game

AKA: His real name is Sherman Pentonvale

Desc: Tallish and barrel-chested. Capped Teeth. Twinkle in his eyes. Shock of white hair. Strong handshake and always great eye contact. Looks great in a tux. Think Brian Denehy at his most charming.

History: Sherman is pretty good. I’m not saying he’s never done time, Short cons tend to make more trouble, at least that’s the way he’s always felt.  But you do a big con, and you do it well enough, and you can retire. Or you can take some of your retirement now instead of at the end of your life.

   So, Sherman as a part of a big con was forced to attend a charity event, and frankly, it was a bit of an eye opener. And with a little research and a lot of thought, Sherman realized that Charities, with the right management and with the right handling, can be a never-ending gravy train.

  So, with a bit of help from some con artist friends and some very well made credentials, Sherman went into business for himself.

    He created Dr. Coulton Bennett and set about making the YDLSF. (The You Don’t Look Sick Foundation)  which is, on the face of it, a medical research charity specifically for curing and treating diseases that have very few outward symptoms, like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,or Fibromyalgia.

   And in truth, He’s actually done some work to raise awareness of people who have these illnesses.  And if he were putting ANY of the money into anything other than the charity galas (And he STILL gets people to donate time, venues and catering.) Maybe it would DO something about the problem.  

In any case, Sherman has plans in place in case the balloon goes up ahead of schedule of the blow-off. And his team has code-words to know when the walk-away is now.  But frankly. He’s having the best time of his life right now and he kind of thinks that this particular con will become legend.

He would likely be right. If it weren’t for the fact that certain members of The Vermillion House have looked into him.  They are actually a little split. Some want to make an “Example” of him. Others...Are impressed, and want to see what he might be capable of with some real backing.

Attitude: “Friends let me tell you, the statistics about these sorts of diseases are staggering and the social stigma of having one of these diseases and receiving passive pressure NOT to talk about it is like the double whammy in my opinion. The foundation is all about treating these silent agonies, and it’s my devout hope you’ll help end the suffering. God knows that some people need more spoons.”

Skills: More dots in Empathy, Expression, and Subterfuge and Science: Psychology, than any PC is EVER likely to have. Strong socials, and while he’s not had much formal education, his wits are ridiculous.  He’s charming like a sociopath, but he does have his limits. Additionally, Sherman has become pretty adept at Ballroom dancing.  He’s good that way. He’s probably got a sprinkling of single dots in nearly every skill.  In truth, Sherman likes learning, but his learning is usually broad and shallow.  At present, he can pass himself off as a credible epidemiologist.   

Gear: Smart Phone, dead sexy automobile (leased), A Blank firing pistol in an armpit holster. Two wallets. One with getaway documents and tin foil (For wrapping the phone) . a second burner phone. Money belt.

Home: Upscale and leased. But he’s got a Winnebago stashed somewhere in case he needs to get out of town.

Circle: Professionally, he cozies up to the rich and powerful, initially, love bombing them a bit and then pulling back a bit with small judgments about their morals and ethics. Which of course, makes them want to prove themselves to him. He usually takes the opposite tack with women he intends to bed. ignoring them or discounting them and slowly warming up to them.  If allowed to continue in this particular con he’s developed a fairly good cross section of high society types, both old and new money. 

On the more serious side, he’s got a fairly decent troupe of fellow con artists and a few criminal specialists on speed dial.  He used to have a protege,but that didn’t turn out so good. She thought she was much smarter than she was. And now she’s committed to the violent wing of the state mental hospital.  She’s not actually crazy...but good luck getting anyone to believe THAT.

Story Uses:

“Ugh...My...heart...Quick... Get my pills. They’re in my jacket.”

And he’ll be gone by the time you turn back around. Sherman may be a crass,greedy, scum-bag. But he might be a useable crass, greedy, scum-bag.

But you’d have to see him coming and put him on the hook. And neither of those things will be easy to do.

“Kid. You may have talent. If there’s anything I can’t stand. It’s talent.”

While Cindy has probably soured Sherman on ever teaching anyone how to grift, you could do worse for a mentor, and Sherman’s pride generally means that if he gives his word to a fellow criminal, he’ll abide by it. Not keeping your word in criminal circles is usually bad for business...unless he can fix it so that no one ever knows that he broke that word. In which case...

Connections:
* Has met Marcie Hawkins in passing. Was impressed with her.  If he was planning a con which required serious stage management, he'd definitely give her a call. Marcie, for her part, tends to be wary of professional extraverts.
* Meredith Shaw's family is one of many who routinely gives to charities as a means of massaging their ego's, their guilt, and their taxes. Meredith and "Coulton" had a lovely dance at a charity gala affair. Each walked away having thought the other figured out. Neither was entirely correct. Meredith, for her part, is willing to put on a "Friendly" smile.
* Something about Lorna Crane puts Sherman's antenna up. He's not sure what. Something about her reminds him of Cindy.
* Every single "Man of God" that Sherman has ever met, especially the ones who preach about what a moral cesspool this country has become, has something to hide.  He definitely gets this sense from Reverend Mike Plumber and would dearly love to know what it is so he can soak him for serious money through a proxy. For now, he smiles and plays the game and allows the good reverend to be his entry into a world of rich conservative people with more money than sense, and more guilt than desire to give their excess wealth away. You know...like Christ instructs.  He may be a con man, but he's READ that Gideon bible.
* Has employed Lambrose Karanikas and First Class Limo Service as window dressing for various events. Lambrose loves this guy. He's fun.
* Has used T.C. Mitnick for tech support in the past.  Sherman is one of the few people who is psychologically adept enough and patient enough to REALLY talk to T.C. And on some level, T.C. appreciates it. Also. the money's good.
* Has used Clavo Hernandez over and over and has touted his work to other career criminals. Clavo enjoys repeat business and Sherman is very complimentary of his work AND his art. 
*Has been ducking Patricia "Carnie" Pitt because he says the work of the foundation isn't about him and he doesn't hold with "celebrity doctoring" (Whatever the fuck THAT is.) but it's mainly because he doesn't want to be on camera and get recognized.
* Yeah...Lillian Penobscot. You got to know he hit that...Just saying. Lil is actually enjoying the attention a bit. But she IS recognizing that she has to keep certain secrets from him. After all, he's a man of science and probably wouldn't understand.
* Knows Esmerelda Duchene of Bryson Import/Export from the bad old days. Remembers a memorable night when she came to him with a proposition that needed some head-shedding. After that, Tino met a bad end. Good for her.  Each time he hears about Bryson he smiles and privately thinks he ought to come up a with con that he can cut her and her girls in on. After all...They're already trained.