Detective Bob Grieder

Concept: Bunco Squad Detective

AKA: Most of the cops and even a few of the dudes who know him from the street call him “Santa”

Desc:  Bob is pretty heavy. It’s alright. he’s getting close to retirement and the brass has elected not to press physical requirements for a man who does most of his work behind a desk. He’s got smart eyes and a deep bubbling laugh. His beard is a thing of wonder and white as snow. His hair is longer than regulations allow. Again. he’s a detective and close to retirement. Nobody gives him too much static. Santa is the one cop that everybody on the force likes.

History:Bob Greider has almost always been the guy who was the smartest guy in the room. Not book smart mind you. Street smart. His parents were Irish gypsies and so he’d grown up in a culture that grifts. Weird thing though, His family was also Catholic, and he sort of went the other way.  Heck. They thought he might become a priest even.  He wasn’t a pious asshole about it. He just wasn’t one to do the grift himself.  He was a poor liar.

  He understood that mom and dad and his brothers and sisters had to do certain things to survive. But even they had certain lines they wouldn’t cross.  They never stole from people who didn’t have anything to steal really.

 And as Bob grew up, he discovered that there were grifters who would. and this incensed him. 

Oh sure, he took a lot of shit from his family about being a “Buffer Cop”  But he explained himself on more than one occasion and at great length.  Finally, it seemed like they understood.  So on those rare occasions when his family rolls into town, there is an agreement in place that they keep their noses clean and there won’t be awkward arrests. 

   So, Bob went off to the police academy. He was a beat cop long enough to have really hated doing it and got himself tested for detective as soon as possible.

   And from that point on, it was open season on cons, scammers, grifters, and anybody who made money tricking it out from under people who needed it. Short cons, Big cons. It didn’t matter. And since Bunco is almost always underfunded Many times, Bob was working by himself.

     Now it’s a different story.  There’s never been a lot of money for fighting grift, and yet grift seems to be everywhere now.  Granted, Identity theft is handled by IT cops.  And people hustling senior citizens over the phone is damn near unstoppable and equally unprosecutable. Bob’s been kind of hoping that some young kid would come along and he could mentor them into the inner mysteries of Bunco enforcement.  But so far... Political cops all want to do Homicide or Organized Crime Task Force.  Nobody seems to want to go after con artists anymore.  Soon, he’ll be out of the business too. He’s been thinking about becoming a P.I. but you know he’s slow now.  Not that his mind has ever slowed down.

Attitude: “Pull the other one shitbird. It jingles.”

Skills: Physically, he’s a mess. He’s been trying to manage his diabetes for years now. If he could only stay away from pasta, he’d be alright. Socially, he’s one of the most likable guys you’ll ever meet. Got a smile for everyone. Good Handshake. Plenty of eye contact. Also, he’s plenty good at reading people (He’ll have the 3 dot version of Trained Observer along with “Bullshit Detector” specialty on top of 4 dots of Subterfuge.)

But here’s the other end of it. Bob is crazy smart. Although he’s never been to a university, he’s done enough reading on his own to merit 3 dots of Academics at least (Specs in Criminology and Law.)  He’s got 4 dots in Investigation. 4 dots in Professional Training: Cop and he’s got Eidetic as a merit.  If you’re a con and he’s on the case, He is your worst fucking nightmare.  Also, he has ALL the dots of Streetwise.

Gear: He’s got a standard issue sidearm. He’s only fired it in the line of duty once. Had nightmares for weeks afterward. Doesn’t stop him from running  2 boxes of shells through it every other week. He suffered for 3 weeks learning every single thing his smartphone could do.  His regular pocket gear includes a pocketknife, gum, and cuffs of course.

Home:  Bob’s got a decent place. He’s been careful with his money. Invests a little on the side and does well with it. Most of what he has invested went into bricks and mortar and he’s going to end up owning it early.  It’s a small place but he never married and never had kids...At least none that he knows about.   

Circle: Bob stills goes to church. They love him. Bob knows all his neighbors. They love him.  Bob knows who the players are on the streets and in organized crime. They don’t love him, but they respect him. Bob knows all the cops he works with. Once they realize that he knows exactly when they are lying, they tend to get nervous around him...if they have stuff to get nervous about. It’s rumored that more than one IAB investigation started with Bob Greider saying to his Captain, “You know what’s funny?...”

Story Uses:

“I think I doubt your sincerity.”

If your character is the sort of person that made Bob Greider choose his career path, and he crosses YOUR  path. then I expect you’ll have problems.  If you are particularly egregious, he may become your own personal Inspector Javert.

“Kid. You are perilously close to becoming useful and competent”

Bob makes a great Ally, Contact, and for a police character, Mentor.  Anybody who wants to know or help stop scam and cons will find Bob a ready teacher.

Connections:

*Chris Murphy has come to the conclusion that Bob is one of the few policemen that he doesn't hate.

* Detective Bela Janofski is a friend as is his whole family.

* Schuyler Lavey is aware that Bob has been nosing around his cult. He's been asking questions about this old cop and he does not like what he's finding out about this guy.

* Bob doesn't know it yet but Sherman Pentovale is back in town and going by the name of "Dr. Coulton Bennett"  Bob is one of the few to ever put Sherman in the jug.