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The British Invasion: Douglas Murray and Colonel Richard Kemp, Tel Aviv International Salon, Dec.21, 2023

Douglas Murray (left) and Richard Kemp appearing in Tel Aviv Dec. 21, 2023

By GABRIEL EMMANUEL In 1964 the Beatles were banned from performing in Israel (to the Jewish state’s everlasting shame and embarrassment). Nearly 60 years later a British invasion of a different sort took place and the crowd reaction was almost like a mini Beatlemania.

Some 600 or more twenty and thirty somethings packed themselves into a meeting room at the Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv that was meant to accommodate only about a third of that size. The featured speakers were former Commander of the British forces in Afghanistan, Richard Kemp, and author, political commentator, Douglas Murray, whose book “War on the West”(2018) quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Both Kemp and Murray have spent the past two and a half months in Israel covering the war. “I’ve almost made Aliya” quipped Kemp as the talk was about to begin. When the charismatic Murray entered the room a little late for reasons which he would come to share, the audience broke into spontaneous applause.

While Colonel Kemp has been known for years for endorsing the IDF as the “most moral army” in the world, Douglas Murray shot to fame at the opening of the present conflict with his acerbic response to an interviewer’s question as to whether Israel’s response to the atrocities of Oct. 7 could be considered “proportionate”. In a segment on British Talk TV https://talk.tv/top-stories/31465/douglas-murray-proportionality-in-conflict-is-a-joke that went instantly viral Murray responded “There is some deep perversion in Britain whenever Israel is involved in a conflict and it’s the word you just used – proportion, proportionate, proportionality. Only Britain is really obsessed with this…Proportionality in conflict rarely exists but if we were to decide that we should have this fetish about proportionality then that would mean that in retaliation for what Hamas did in Israel on Saturday (Oct. 7, G.E.) then Israel should try and locate a music festival in Gaza for instance (and good luck with that), and rape precisely the number of women that Hamas raped, kill precisely the number of young people that Hamas killed. They should find a town of exactly the same size of Sderot… and make sure they go door to door and kill precisely the correct number of babies that Hamas killed in Sderot and shoot in the head precisely the same number of old age pensioners that Hamas shot in the head on Saturday…Proportionality in conflict is a joke,” spurned Douglas adding, “that it is only the Israelis that when attacked are expected to have precisely a proportionate response.”

Given the British gentlemens’ philo-semitic reputations the audience broke out with mixed laughter and applause when the two were introduced as the “two most beloved “Goyim” in all of Israel. Non-plussed by the off-colour moniker, Kemp stated proudly that “I am also an extremely talented “Shabbat Goy” the result of having been residing in a hotel with many displaced persons from Kiryat Shmona “who have used my services quite extensively.”
Asked by another Brit, moderator Deborah Danon, what drew each of them to supporting Israel in a topsy turvy world that was largely hostile towards the Jewish State, each had similar reasons for doing so. “I was taught when I was very young to know right from wrong,” said Kemp, “and it’s my duty to support those who are right. There is no question who is in the right in this fight,” he added.

Moreover, underscoring his 30 years spent fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq Kemp felt duty bound “to do what little I can do to help fight this fight with you because it’s not just your fight it’s a fight for Western civilization; the same ideology that’s attacking you now has attacked us in the past and will intensify its attacks in the future.”

Apologizing for his late entrance for having been held up in an interview on the Piers Morgan show (“It’s quite hard to get Piers to stop talking”) Murray offered another reason responsible for drawing him over to Israel’s side. “Aside from my love for this country and its people,” he said, “I also see something which I think any writer or journalist should see and get very annoyed by, which is lies. When it’s lies about an entire nation and people, when I hear someone like this blowhard I heard earlier (on Piers Morgan, G.E.) accusing Israel of ‘genociding’ the Palestinians, I can’t sit here and not say something. I’m not going to allow these canards, smears and lies and defamation to just go on…I don’t like lies being told and Israel has been on the receiving end of some of the biggest, longest, deepest and most wounding lies of our era,” said Murray. Demonstrating his effortless ability to deftly cross over from political commentary to artful literary imagery he caps the thought with finesse: “So I believe in the simple cause of “moral hygiene” that it’s necessary to try and clean some of that up.”

The moderator then asked a pertinent question: “In a world of Tik Tok where Jesus is Palestinian, do you wonder if this is just a Myth of Sisyphus syndrome where you are just pushing that rock up the hill and do you ever ask yourself just what’s the point?”
“Never, actually,” Murray replied emphatically. “Even if it was the case what option have you got? Just to sit at the bottom of the hill and get crushed by the rock?” he asks rhetorically.
Despite the omnipresence of social media in the world, where lies are able to “rocket around the world” Murray holds fast to a different view. “if you live in a world where 99 lies are being told and one person tells the truth, the truth will win,” he asserts and gives the example of writers such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn whose work was effective in bringing down the entire Soviet Empire. “The validity of a truth in an era of lies cannot be underestimated,” he says.
From the topic of lies it was an easy segue to Hamas battle figures. “I don’t know what the latest exaggerated figure is from Hamas about the number of people that have been killed in Gaza” says Kemp, “I just know that it has to be defeated. If it means that a very large number of people whether military or civilian have to die in that process then unfortunately that’s the case because no sovereign, democratic state can exist under this threat so it must be eliminated, it’s as simple as that,” states Kemp in a no nonsense, tell it like it is, military analysis. Despite the unreliability of figures Kemp posits that based on the figures he’s received from Israeli sources of 8,000 or 9,000 or more have been killed from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which would represent about 30% of the total number of terrorists. “That’s a very significant proportion,” he says, “that’s in excess of 30% of their fighting capability. The whole edifice then begins to crumble and I think we’re going to see that,” he says with conviction.

“I’ve been in Gaza on a number of occasions. I’m deeply impressed by the IDF combat effectiveness. This is going to come down at some point,” Kemp says quite bluntly.
Kamp makes regular visits to the soldiers in hospital and knows the tragedy of war from close up. “Tragically, many Israeli soldiers will die and have died already,” he concedes, “but they will undoubtedly prevail in the end.” He contrasts the irony with Hamas: “They want the I.D.F. to kill their civilians. They want as many civilians killed as possible because that then provokes the inevitable international demand for ceasefire, condemning Israel for War Crimes,” he concludes while shaking his head at the anticipated perversion of justice.

Asked about pressure from the United States, Douglas Murray elucidated his view that “You should be courteous to your allies but not subservient to them,” earning a strong round of applause. “The future of this State, of the Jewish people must be in the hands of the Jewish people,” he continued.” It cannot be in the hands of anyone else. It cannot be in the hands of people who, for instance say the day after the massacre of October 7th that this is why we need to double down on the two state solution. It just can’t be in the hands of people going at that kind of slow speed”, he says.

Had the events of Oct.7th happened in the U.S.A., Murray points out, proportionately over 120,000 Americans would have been massacred on one day. “Nobody can tell me that the Americans would have listened to anyone then, nor should they, “he adds. The one potential outcome of the war that Murray absolutely rejects is that the situation might return to the status quo ante of October 6th. “Israel must be allowed to win,” he asserts. “It cannot simply always be encouraged to fight for a stalemate.” Regarding the as of yet unresolved situation with Hezbollah, Murray poked fun at the thought that we will all have to relearn the map of the North and become experts again on the Litani River. “Since 2006 it’s just been a replay of the same thing,” he says. “It just feels like Groundhog Day,” he quips to the amused young people in the room. And then in a more somber tone: “Anything other than actual victory by the Israelis in this conflict is unacceptable because all of these efforts to make Israel fight into a stalemate will simply prepare the groundwork for the next war and this country deserves not to be forced into perpetual war,” he emphasizes.

According to Colonel Kemp’s analysis much of what has transpired in the world in terms of instability with the Ukraine and now Gaza has to do with a weak image projected by President Joe Biden. On the other hand, Kemp considers that Biden has been strongly in favour of Israel and the U.S. unlikely to pressure Israel to desist its military operations. For this dichotomous view Kemp actually earned applause from both Biden supporters and detractors.

The moderator brought up the tragic issue of the three hostages who had been mistakenly killed by Israeli troops. Douglas Murray reflected on the incident and said that he was genuinely shocked by “the lack of empathy for Israel internationally”. A glaring example of such a lack of empathy he suggested could be found with the posters of the hostages in various cities around the world. What followed was another of Murray’s innovative insights: “If you put up a poster of a missing cat or dog in your neighbourhood you would not expect anyone to rip it down,” he matter of factly suggests. “And if anyone did rip it down you would think that person was subhuman. You would think what kind of a sick person are we dealing with here?” he asks. “And this wasn’t dogs or cats. These were Jewish children. And in city after city sociopaths tore down these posters…This lack of empathy has been there since the day (Oct.7th G.E.) itself. And the media treats it as more evidence of the brutality of the Israeli soldiers – they even kill their own! Imagine the lives of those soldiers who shot those three hostages, how they must have felt. And yet instead of recognizing what a tragedy that is for everybody involved they use it as a weapon against Israel!” Murray’s damning condemnation resounds through the packed but quiet room. “That really has slightly startled me in this conflict,” he continued to reflect in an afterthought.

The door was left open for a little humour when the Moderator, in her last question, asked about the Day After. Colonel Kemp was first to pick up the gauntlet: “I think we need a two state solution with the United Nations supervising it,” he said without flinching and with a stiff British upper lip to boot which held tightly in place until the audience stopped laughing. And then more seriously his sober insight: “The I.D.F. has no option, whatsoever, apart from to stay in control of Gaza from now on. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks; it doesn’t matter what President Biden might wish to happen…What is absolutely certain is that the I.D.F. must maintain security control of Gaza. It means either a permanent IDF presence inside the whole of Gaza or it means the creation of a one or two mile buffer zone on the inside of the Gaza border which no one is allowed to go into and which the I.D.F can police.”
Kemp had nary a kind word to say about the folks on the other side:”The reality in Gaza is that the vast majority of the population of allegedly innocent civilians support Hamas, even when they see the horrors that Hamas has brought on them, they still support Hamas . And there will be efforts to have a Hamas 2,” the Colonel warned.

Murray concurs that it is a “very bleak necessity” but that Israel will need to stay in Gaza. For how long? “Call me a pessimist,” says Kemp, “but I would say forever.” Like his colleague, Murray also spends some of his days visiting the wounded in hospitals. On a recent visit he met one of the victims, a farmer, from a border Kibbutz who had lost his wife, son and both of his legs in the Hamas attack of Oct.7th . “He said something that has really stuck with me,” Murray recalled, “He said, ‘I have been a leftist all my life. I now want to look out on nothing but potato fields from here to the Mediterranean.’ Who can risk living beside these people? Nobody else in the world would be expected to have to put up with that. I don’t think the Israelis have to be an experiment test case either. I think you should have the right to live in peace and to know that the border you have does not contain genocidal maniacs on the other side who wish to kill you all.”

In the question period which followed, Murray was asked what changes he would like to see in present day Britain. “Obviously the first thing I’d do would be to make Richard Kemp Minister of Defence,” he suggests to uproarious laughter from the crowd. “I assume you’ll be Prime Minister, will you,” Kemp shot back. Feigning humility, Murray wistfully demurred saying only, “If the nations calls…” Presumably, they may one day.

Getting more serious Murray took aim at the “appalling” pro Hamas demonstrations which took place in London and included one on Remembrance Day. “I think it’s been shameful,” he said. “I want no Hamas supporters in my country. And that’s quite easy to arrange in my view,” he added making reference to a case in point of Muhammud Sawalha, a key Hamas terrorist from the West Bank who subsequently obtained British citizenship. “To get a British passport you must, among other things sign a form that says you are a person of good character. I submit that he is not a person of good character,” said Murray, “and that he lied on his form when he said that he was. I would like to see his citizenship stripped and I would like to see him deported and to try his luck in Gaza.” On a humorous roll, Murray recalled the case of a young lady whose British passport was recalled when she returned from having joined Isis and tried to pretend – once the Caliphate fell apart – that she didn’t know that they were actually a “murderous, head-hacking group” and besides, “we all make mistakes”. She shouldn’t get her passport back argued Murray maintaining vociferously that “If you’re with an Islamist death cult you should not be allowed to be in Britain.”

Colonel Kemp fielded a question about another hot potato issue, that of missiles being fired from Yemen which no one seems to be doing anything about. “Yemen has been firing missiles into Israel since the war began including the first ever in history engagement in space when a Houthi ballistic missile was intercepted by an Israeli Aero missile outside the earth’s atmosphere. They’ve been firing numerous missiles and drones towards Israel, all of which have been shot down.” Unless a message is sent soon to Yemen and Iran by the U.S. Kemp warns that war in Lebanon will be inevitable.

A visiting American Major with a pronounced Midwestern drawl asked Colonel Kemp if he could explain the concept known as “the fog of war”. “It’s an extraordinary thing that doesn’t apply anywhere else in life,” said Kemp, “you have very often young, inexperienced soldiers in the reserves with a limited amount of recent training and then suddenly they are thrown into Gaza which I would say is one of the most treacherous and demanding battlefields that anyone has fought on in the history of warfare. And they’re expected to always make the right decision. That simply cannot happen. We all make mistakes. And that’s when nobody is shooting at us. Nobody is trying to kill us. We haven’t suffered lack of sleep for days on end, we’re not cold, hungry, we’re not terrified and yet we still make mistakes. So how can these guys not make mistakes? And the enemy is trying to fool you all the time, trying to make you think that the reality in front of your eyes is not the reality in front of your eyes. And the difference is when a soldier makes a mistake very often people die as a consequence.” The reference that was embedded on most peoples’ minds was the recent tragic killing of the three Israeli hostages by friendly fire.

Murray was asked about the effect of “hasbara” (P.R. G.E) in the current war. “I believe they should be given some credit for they have done a better job that any time previously that I have been covering since 2006”, he said. Taking the Al-Shifa hospital as an example, Murray pointed out that Israel “got on top of it very fast” like releasing the closed circuit TV footage of the hostages being led in to the hospital and showing the weapons cache that was discovered there. But at the same time, he underscores why not even the best P.R. may succeed in certain circumstances. “The minute they show that the hospital has an arms dump inside it and has a load of kalashnikovs and grenades , Jeremy Bowen of the BBC goes on and is asked about it and says, ‘well, it is not inconceivable that the kalshnikovs belonged to the hospital’s security department’. On the television the next day I said, ‘yes, and it’s possible the grenades were for the cardiology department’.” Murray’s point is well taken. No matter how strong the evidence is, it is not necessarily strong enough to overcome bias.

Kemp concurs, “This extraordinary propaganda campaign against Israel – everything that Israel does is wrong. For the past 10 years the BBC has not allowed me to speak on any program about Israel. Any other security issue, any other country I’m on all the time on the BBC just not about Israel. I got a call a few weeks back asking if I would do an interview about Israel. I almost fell off my chair,” recalls Kemp. “Then I realized what was going on. They had been heavily criticized and were under a lot of pressure for their lies about Al-Alhi hospital attack (where Israel was wrongly blamed for the bombing, G.E.) They felt we need to show how broadminded we are, so we’ll even get this extremist Kemp on to speak. So that’s how I became a human shield for the BBC”, Kemp concluded with a wry smile.

In a final story, also about the BBC, Kemp relates that he was once invited to the BBC studio in Jerusalem to do a number of interviews. In the interview which was live from London he was asked why the IDF were so keen to send in ground forces to Gaza. I explained “they don’t want to go in on the ground, they know the problems with that. So I was asked then why do the politicians want to go in on the ground. I said they don’t. I’ve spoken to them, the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister they will only go in if they have to. The interviewer was completely stumped at this and all he could say was, ‘yes, but you’re a Jew’. Now how do you answer that,” Kemp asked incredulously. Do I say in a belligerent tone, “how dare you accuse me of being a Jew!?” But instead I said simply, “I don’t have that honour.”

“If I can just say something” interjected Murray, “about the youth of this country. So young! So brilliant! So vivacious. I met a young woman the other day of 21 who was an expert on Yemen! Why her contemporary in America is being educated to become stupid and wicked!” his observation met by peals of laughter. Then more seriously, “I have been so moved by these young people. They will be an example not just to Israel but to the people of the world. And if I may leave you with one last thought,” he continued. “I know this period is incredibly troubling, disturbing, upsetting and much more for the people of this country. I think the country is still going through a trauma, trying to work out what was done to you in October. You asked at the beginning why we do this. I would just say whether I can answer it or not, it is the honour of my life to be standing in alliance with you.”

The evening done, the young people rushed the small stage to take selfies with both fine gentlemen. Douglas Murray and Colonel Richard Kemp. Two of Israel’s most beloved friends, indeed.

Gabriel Emanuel is a former Winnipegger.

An edited version of this article first appeared in the Jerusalem Post, December 29, 2023 .

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Features

Part 10 of the story of the delusional Winnipeg con man: The con man asks to meet with me and ends up being thoroughly grilled about the cons he’s pulled

By BERNIE BELLAN This is the tenth -and final part of a story about a delusional Winnipegger who believes he is someone of great wealth and has spent the better part of 30 years contacting people all over the world telling them that he wants to invest in their businesses or projects. The first nine parts of this story are all available to read under the FEATURES category on this website.

Here is the final part of my story:

On April 9, 2026 I finally had a chance to meet with Fred Devlin again. The day before, I was totally surprised when I saw a message from him saying he wanted to talk to me – and gave his phone number (which is the same phone number I had for him from years ago).

I called him – and he was quite pleasant, although he said he was suffering from pneumonia. After just a couple of minutes, however, he said his wife had just walked in and he couldn’t talk.

The next day he messaged me and asked whether we could meet. I said “yes” and we agreed to meet at either the Fairmont Hotel or Hy’s. He said he would let me know. It ended up being Hy’s.

When I walked in Fred was standing beside the bar. He looked remarkably the same from the last time I had seen him, although a little dissheveled. There were no apparent signs of his having had pneumonia.

He asked the server if we could have a private table somewhere and she told us that we could go upstairs to the dining room, which was empty. We sat down and I placed my iPhone on the table, as did Fred. I told him that I wanted to record our conversation so that everything he might say would be on the record. He agreed and also said he was going to record it himself – presumably to make sure that I wouldn’t alter anything.

In every instance where he refers to the name of his company or supposed group of companies, I’ve omitted the actual name – even though in the rest of my story I refer to his group of companies as the Xanadu group. In a couple of instances he referred to real people during our conversation, but since they are not mentioned anywhere else in this story and play no part in the story I’ve told, I decided to retain their real names.

I want to explain what follows is not easy reading. Fred Devlin clearly suffers from a psychotic delusion and my intent is not to make light of his illness. There are many people who suffer from various psychoses and many of them are capable of committing great harm to others if their psychoses aren’t treated – or, even if they are treated, the treatments fail.

What makes Fred Devlin’s story so unusual, however, is the harm he was able to inflict and is apparently still inflicting on so many others by his believing the story he had somehow developed to explain his life. Even as I was talking to him I could see that his calm, measured tone could seem quite convincing to most people with whom he would connect. I deliberately went after him as hard as I could though, to see whether I could break his composure by asking him questions quickly and not giving him the opportunity to start rambling on about his group of companies, his charitable endeavours and, most important, his vast wealth.

By the end of our conversation he was shaking and kept saying the was tired. I honestly felt sorry for him, but I wanted to get him on the record contradicting his story fully in so many ways so that no one reading this would doubt for a moment that Fred Devlin is fully psychotic and can be quite dangerous when he tries to envelop trusting individuals in his web of deceit, regardless whether he himself is unaware just how deceitful he really is.

One more note: As is the case with most conversations, speakers often interrupt one another, thoughts don’t get fully expressed – and even though the transcription program I used is quite accurate, a lot of what Fred Devlin said was indecipherable. I’ve tried to do justice to what was said, but I’ve left out a lot of the pauses and words that made no sense.

Here is how the conversation went:

Devlin: Now do you want me to just talk or you ask questions – or do you have questions?

Me: Well, of course I have questions, but if you want to start off by saying something, go right ahead.

Devlin: It’s gonna take a series of interviews to cover my life, but I’m gonna give you everything. I’m gonna give you evidence.  I will show you that everything I always say is true. I started my life at… started in Israel when I was 10. My father went to teach at the Weizmann Institute. We went through Europe and then to Israel. We were in Greece on the way to Israel, and there was the (raid on Entebbe).  Okay. We got to Israel, ran into by chance Benjamin Netanyahu, who had lost his brother. And we gave our condolences and that was the first meeting I had with Benjamin Netanyahu. We lived there. I went to school there. I was infatuated with the soldiers and the guns and the bullets and… a soldier, a friend – Michael Perl….  I don’t know if you know Michael Perl – but his brother gave us all these empty shells. I went to a sporting goods store, bought a gun, a starting pistol. I converted it into a gun and I guarded my campus in Israel, and that was what I was meant to be. So my life is about guarding Israel, the … Foundation worldwide, which is just a name, it’s actually a numbered company based outta Luxembourg and the … group of companies Worldwide Holdings  are also a numbered company under … Investment Corporation, which you can look up at the Manitoba Companies office on Broadway.

Me: Let, let me stop you there. First of all, I’m not so sure about the whole story about meeting Netanyahu, but regardless, the … group of companies has no presence on the internet.  I don’t believe there is any such thing as the ….Group of Companies. Do you have any proof that there is something (by that name)?

Devlin: Of course, I will have lawyers write to you.

Me: Never mind lawyers. What can you show in terms of documentation?

Devlin: I can show you the websites. It’s just a name, okay.

Me: And what are the companies in the … group of companies?  

Devlin: There’s 3,360.

Me: Okay. Can you name any of them?

Devlin: Of course, but I’m not going to name…

Me: Name one.

Devlin: I’m not gonna name one. It’s private.

Me: You’re not gonna name one?

Devlin: Not today, no.

Me: Why?

Devlin: ’cause they are secret. They’re secret companies. Okay. I want no one knowing my business. I haven’t been in a publication since May, 1990.  

Me: How many companies now is it (in the group of companies)?

Devlin: 3,300… 3,306.

Me: When I spoke to you in 2021, it was 300.

Devlin: I was being honest. Okay.

Me: Alright. So, the … group of companies has 3,300 companies. You won’t name one. You won’t provide any proof that there is (even one company).

Devlin: I’ll provide you with okay. But not today.

Me: Alright. And it’s headquartered in Luxembourg, correct?

Devlin: Okay

Me: And David Simkin is what?

Devlin: My CEO.

Me: Okay. Does he exist?

Devlin: Of course.

Me: Where does he live?

Devlin: Luxembourg. Okay. But he traveled.

Me: No one has ever been able to establish that there is anyone by that name.

Devlin: Because he’s Mossad.

Me: Because he’s Mossad?

Devlin: Correct. And that’s not his real name.  

Me: Oh, it’s not his real name. Okay. Alright, let’s go on.

I am sort of curious to know about your business career. I did read that you were in real estate and then you became the executive director of the Winnipeg Airport ….

Devlin: No, I first started Winnport. I founded Winnport.

Me: You founded Winnport?

Devlin; Yes. Yeah. Here, I’ll show you.  

Me: Okay. And what year was that?

Devlin: About 1992 to 1994.

Me: And you have some proof for that.

Devlin: Of course.

Me: Of course. (According to Wikipedia, Winnport was established in 1998 by Lynn Bishop. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Winnport: “Winnport Logistics, a Winnipeg-based air cargo consortium, was established in 1998. The company launched Canada’s first scheduled widebody cargo operations during that year, aiming to connect Winnipeg to Asian markets, before eventually ceasing operations in 2002”.)

Me: And then you became executive director of the Airport Area Business Improvement Zone?

Devlin: No. Of the Winnipeg Development Corporation biz, not the Winnipeg…. Never with the Airport Area Business Improvement Zone. (I found that answer particularly strange because the 1998 article I referenced earlier specifically stated that Devlin had been the recently appointed executive director of the Airport Area Business Improvement Zone. Why he would he have chosen to talk about Winnport, with which he may have had some involvement, but certainly not in the years he said he was involved, and not the Airport Area Business Improvement Zone – raises new questions – both about Devlin’s resumé – and his memory.) 

Devlin: Yes, I was. And I had it (Winnport) spun off. I’ll tell you the story, but easy for you to look at. (And at that point he pulled out what I immediately recognized as his album of photos that he had first shown me in 2021.)

Me: Are you gonna show me more pictures?

Devlin: Yep. I’m show you.

Me: Okay. I don’t care. I’ve seen your pictures Fred, and you know what? I don’t care about your pictures.

Devlin: You know what, then don’t be rude… 

Me; Alright. When was that? You say that was 1992.

Devlin: It’s ’94 or so.

Me: Okay. Alright. Look, I don’t doubt that you had some sort of business career. I wrote that (in my original story that I posted to the internet in February 2026), so the question is: ‘What happened?’ (At that point a waiter came over with our soups and the conversation paused.) 

Me: Okay, let’s go on. So how long were you with Winnport then? 

Devlin: About a year, and then that was…there’s a story behind that. There’s a lot more to the story. Alright, so can I tell you the story?

 Me: The Winnport story? Yeah. Tell me the story.

Devlin: When I was running my company, … Investment Corporation, which I founded in 1987 and still operating, which owns all the … Foundation worldwide. In a … group of companies. It’s in the Companies office. It’s current and operating.  

Me: Go on.

Devlin: In May of 1990 I was featured in Manitoba Business Magazine.

Me: Yes, I have that article.

(At this point the man I’ve been calling Devlin launched into a very descriptive, but often incoherent account of part of his earlier business career. As I’ve noted previously, I have no doubt that Devlin was very bright – and successful – until something happened. So, when he weaves names of real people into his stories, there might be more than a semblance of the truth in what he’s saying. The problem is he seems to get key dates wrong – as when he talks about Winnport – and when he claims to have been the person to have started that company.

Still, it’s somewhat sad to think how much potential he had – as he explains in the following account. If only he had never veered completely off the rails and started insinuating himself into so many people’s lives, causing so mach damage along the way.)

Devlin: Yeah, (but) you don’t have the full magazine, which has much more information. (It) talks about me becoming an up and coming… and Izzy Asper saw the article and summoned me…it was a billionaire summoning a millionaire and it was the only time in my life I was intimidated a little bit. We became partners, friends, mentor, and he financed me for the acquisition of land where Centerport is. I still control land at the airport and I started Winnport. I founded it. It was my business plan, my concept, although it was talked about by others. I mapped it out on a plane coming back from Amsterdam, Holland  ’cause I mapped out a logistics plan that is now Centerport. So, I was sitting on a Saturday going through the career section at our place on Wellington. I saw a career commercial development officer wanted by the Winnipeg International Airport and Izzy Asper and I had already bought the land, so I figured I’d go as an insider.  I got the job the next day ’cause I had a presentation, which included every element of what they were trying to do. I worked technically for someone named Warren Thompson, but I really worked with Lynn Bishop, who was the general manager of the airport and eventually president of the Bombers. I talked to Lynn yesterday, I believe so. I still keep in touch with a great guy. Okay. I realized that I had a conflict of interest owning land and being the insider in the airport. So I realized I had to spin off a company. So we spun off Winnport, which I named. I actually spelled it W-I-N-P-O-R-T. Lynn Bishop on a flight back from, I believe, Chattanooga, Tennessee. No, uh, Huntsville, Alabama, where we were looking at CargoX airplanes from Luxembourg, which I own now in control. Go look it up and you’ll see nothing about me. Every company I own does not come back to me. My business is silent.

(A few days after meeting Fred Devlin, I did manage to get a hold of Lynn Bishop, who was the original founder of Winnport – in 1998, when Fred would have been around 32. Lynn told me that Fred Devlin did work for the company for a very brief time, but they had to let him go because his behaviour was so erratic. That jives with my thinking that it was sometime when Fred was in his early thirties that he became quite delusional.)

Me: Why? Why is that?

Devlin: Two reasons. I don’t want anyone knowing my business.  If I’m to buy land or buy something, the price goes up if they comes from …. So we use shell companies to buy and make offers with legal. That’s one. The other is reputation. God forbid Air Canada has a crash. And it connects to …, then my reputation is real.

Me: So Air Canada is one of the companies you own?

 Devlin: I’m not gonna say.

Me: you’re not gonna say?

Devlin: I will tell you next meeting. I will give you a paper with some holdings. I know Michael Rousseau very well, who was vice president of Finance for Air Canada.(He was actually its CEO until recently. when he resigned over his not knowing how to speak French.) I deal with him. He’s been fired. We’re bringing in a new CEO and president. I own part of Boeing, okay.  

Me: Let’s move on. What did you do after Winnport?

Devlin: After I left Winnport, I was not happy. I sold it to Cargojet or behind the scenes, and we have shares in Cargo, which is the largest Canadian cargo companies, so Winnport became very successful domestically. I’m doing the project again to introduce runs by CargoX currently, which will be Winnport again and Cargojet. (As has been noted, Winnport ceased operations after 2002.)  And I will make Winnport as I expected it to be. Then I left Winnport and I became executive director…(of what, Devlin didn’t say). Didn’t take a salary or I gave my salary to charity to stay involved with the airport area and Winnport.

Me. And what did you do then?

Devlin: I did nothing. I was executive director of the Airport Area Business Development Corporation. (The chronology is so confusing. Devlin just claimed he left Winnport and became executive director of the Airport Area Business Development Corporation, but Winnport wasn’t established until 1998 and that 1998 magazine article said Devlin was the recently appointed executive director of the Airport Area Business Development Corporation, which would have preceded his becoming involved with Winnport but, In the final analysis, it doesn’t really matter what the sequence of his various positions he hleld was – if he, in fact, actually held the positions he said he held. Still, it seems evident that Fred had an upward career trajectory until he developed his psychosis. I haven’t been able to establish what he was doing when he apparently developed that psychosis when he must have been in his thirties.)

Me: And you didn’t take a salary?

Devlin: I took a salary, but I gave it to charity.

Me: Is there a record – of your having been with Winnport?

Devlin: I can get that for you.

Me: Okay. So you were already in your thirties by then, I’m guessing?

Devlin: Yeah.

Me: Okay. Alright. I wanna move forward though because as you know, I’ve been writing about you. I wanna talk about your relationship….

Devlin: You are slandering me.  

Me: I want to talk about your relationship with Jonathan Soloway.

Devlin: Alright.

Me: I have copies of written agreements between you and Jonathan Soloway.

Devlin: You don’t have everything.

Me: I have signed agreements between you and Jonathan Soloway.

Devlin: No, I never signed an agreement with him.

Me: I have your signature on those documents.  

Devlin: Never signed it.

Me: Are they forged?

Devlin: Were they forged? I don’t know what Jonathan did with them.

Me: Okay, so you are saying that those agreements are invalid.

Devlin: They’re invalid and I can tell you what I offered Jonathan and I helped save his life, and was the only person who reached out to him after I hadn’t talked to him in 45 years.  He flew to Winnipeg to meet with me at 529 (Wellington). I befriended him. I tried my best to help him. He had lost his life savings in a bitcoin scam or some type of scam on the internet. He had nothing. He had no car. He was living at his brother’s place. He lost his marriage. And the custody of his daughter, I believe, and his life was in ruins and I was the only one to step up to offer to help him.  I offered him, I’m setting up a real estate investment trust in the fall with Nikki Bello (who, I was able to learn, is a Winnipeg Chartered Professional Accountant), if she’s interested still. And probably Lauren. (I have no idea who that is and I didn’t ask Devlin who Lauren is.)

Me: Did you tell him to stop making payments on all his debts?

Devlin: No.

Me: You deny that?

Devlin: No, I said to him, “Don’t pay if they’re not gonna come after you.”

Me: And you didn’t offer him a salary of $250,000 a year?

Devlin: I, no…. being paid on the first 50. (In talking to Jonathan, he explained that 50 would have meant 50% of the Real Estate Investment Trust he was supposed to be setting up with Devlin.) Would you like to know what it is?

Me: Sure.

Devlin: I offered him 49% of the company outta my goodwill of the shares. Jonathan was confused. He thought he was getting a job. I said, “No, you’re getting a partnership.”

 Me: So if I were to show you the agreement (promising to pay Jonathan $250,000 a year) with your signature on it, would you say that is a false document?

Devlin: I’d have to see it.

Me: Well, I can open it up for you if you want.

Devlin: Jonathan turned on me because I was in the hospital. I disappeared for five weeks with a brain injury and I couldn’t help him pay off his debt.  I talked to his creditors. I got his debt reduced. I did my very best for Jonathan.

Me: Alright, so you say that you didn’t offer him a salary of $250,000.

Devlin: Yes, I did.

Me: You did?

Devlin: But once we were operational and there was cash flow from the REIT. I wouldn’t take a salary. Nikki wouldn’t take a salary. She took shares and then I promised him a $250,000 salary as long as we had cash flow.  

Me: But these agreements are quite recently signed and don’t say anything about having to wait for a cash flow before he would get paid.

Devlin: Nothing happened. There was no money there.

Me: It’s all part of a pattern Fred of you stringing people along with promises of a big payday and then, when they start asking “Where’s the money?”, you say there is no money there – right?

Devlin: That’s your belief. It’s not true.

Me: Have you ever put up money for a project?

Devlin: Many times. All the time.

Me: And can you substantiate that?  

Devlin: Yeah. I can show you an airline project where I’m doing in Nigeria.

Me: Did you not offer Rick financial help with his publication?

Devlin: Never. No. Okay. I offered him a million dollars potentially to buy him out from 420 magazine and to have him run as CEO or in some position once we started 420 was a deadline (again – totally incoherent).  I’m still willing to meet my commitments to him, but he slandered me and set up a group of people because he’s mentally ill. Has Asperger’s, I believe, or autism and rage management and A-D-H-D-.I disappeared in the hospital the next day without being able to tell anyone. I was in for five weeks. I couldn’t communicate.  I had blinding brain injury, headaches, and vertigo. Couldn’t use my phone.

Me: How many times have you been in the hospital… committed for psychiatric reasons?

Devlin: Never. Never.

Me: Did you send a cease and desist letter to a psychiatrist?

Devlin: No.

Me: You didn’t’?

Devlin: Not that I recall.

 Me: You didn’t have Bob Anderson send a cease and desist letter?

Devlin: Yes, I did.

Me: To a psychiatrist?

Devlin: Yes, I did. Okay.

Me; Why was that?

Devlin: I’m not gonna talk about it right now. Okay. Next time.

Me: So you were in the hospital for psychiatric visits.

Devlin: No. Okay.

Me: Did you meet a fellow named Jack in a psychiatric wing of a hospital?  

Devlin: I went in to be undercover and I met him and he was my roommate.

Me: Did you tell him that you owned the hospital?

Devlin: Yes.

Me: Why?

Devlin: Because I do.

Me: That would be the Health Sciences Center?

Devlin: No, the Victoria Hospital.

Me: You own Victoria Hospital?

Devlin: . Through Internet means I control the hospital.  

Me: Okay. This is all very interesting. You are actually confirming everything that has been told to me. Okay. I wanna talk about Charlie.

Did you offer to finance a charitable foundation for him in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?  

Devlin: No.

Me: You never did?

Devlin: No.

Me: Even though he’s got letters, texts, and emails to show that you did.

Devlin: If he says so I’ve got the texts, I’ll have to read ’em.

Me: Have you been threatening Charlie?

Devlin: No.

Me: Have you not been telling him that you’re gonna ruin his life?

Devlin: Legally? Yes. For slandering me on Facebook, I’m gonna sue him to the grave.  

Me: Did you tell him that you would take his farm? (I asked Charlie whether he ever had a farm. He said he didn’t.)

Devlin: Yeah.

Me: His pharmacy? (Again, Charlie was bewildered over the suggestion he had either a farm or a pharmacy which, he says, he’s never had. He said he did own a piece of land in his community – which he sold to finance the charitable foundation Devlin told him his …group of companies would finance.)

Devlin: I paid for his books, his computers, everything and the value that he has. And I said I would take it all.

Me: Why?

Devlin: Because he slandered me on Facebook after I put him through school partially, and I was a mentor to him. I spent hundreds of hours, which are documented. You can see.  I’ll be happy to turn over all my emails and texts to you. Okay. He has not told you the truth.

Me; Alright, there are a whole slew of other people who I’ve talked to who told me that you would make promises to them. One of them was Dan Winthrop.

Devlin: I made no promises to Dan. I’m helping with a project with Israeli aircraft. Okay.

Me: And this has been going on for over 18 years?

Devlin: Correct.

Me: And you had a fellow in Las Vegas – Avi… I can’t remember his last name – who was going to facilitate your bringing over jets from Israel and convert them to some sort of use?  Did Avi not try and set up a meeting between you and various officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu?

Devlin: Our deal was once I hired him and pay him a million dollars a year. Plus 3.33% of the funds he raises. He’s earning about 120, I believe, as the director of…(Avi actually works in an area that is too sensitive to Israel’s security to reveal.)

He was not happy. He expressed an interest in working for me, so I did my best to get him a position. I became ill and was unable to fulfill it. But I am planning on fulfilling it.

Me: Okay, one more story of promises unfulfilled.

Devlin: Not my fault. I was in the hospital, very ill.

Me: Alright. I wanna get back to Jonathan Solaway though, because since you deny that you have had any written agreements with him, I wanna show you the written agreements and then have you comment on them.  

Devlin: I don’t want to do this. Getting tired. I’m sick. I do next session.

Me: You’re getting tired now?

Devlin: Yes. Very tired. But I will talk to you next interview about that.

At that point someone walked by our table and Devlin turned to him, saying: “Hi, how are you?… I’m good. How are you?… Good… Oh, you’re the delivery boy today. You do everything. A jack of all trades.  . Things are going well. Yeah. How about you? I haven’t seen you in a while. Been away and it’s been a while… I’ve been here. You been here? Was able to sneak in. You enjoy it? I am. Yeah. It’s good. Yeah. Good. Brock Wright. Brock Wright. Can you get me his number? ’cause we’re fixing the healthcare system.” (From 2000 to 2017, Brock Wright served as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for what was then the new Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and, for five years during that period, also served as the Chief Operating Officer at Health Sciences Centre.)  The person Devlin was talking to said : “I will try to, yeah. . Next time I see him, I’ll, I’ll grab it for you.”  (I chose to include this little snippet to illustrate how good Fred could be at posing as someone important – and turning on the charm.)

I resumed my questioning: “Okay. Alright. If you don’t want to see the material that I have…

Devlin: Not, not this time, I’m too tired to look it up.

Me: Okay. Well let’s go back to asking some some more questions about other people who I’ve spoken to. One of them was a lawyer by the name of Bob Anderson.

Devlin: He’s not a lawyer. He lost his license for, well he was a lawyer in Virginia. Go look him up on the internet. I hired him after he was slandered and I tried to take down the information on him.  We’ve been friends for 20 years. They came to me and approached me in Bolivia to buy banks and he came to the Forks area hotel. We became best friends and he did free work for me for many years for my foundation. And that’s it.

Me: How did you get in touch with Rick? Was it through Jack?  

Devlin: Okay.

Me: And you met Jack in a psychiatric ward?

Devlin: I met him in the hospital – okay.

Me: Well, he says it was a psychiatric ward.

Devlin: Whatever he says. I won’t argue.

Me: So you deny that you were a patient in the psychiatric ward.

Devlin: No, I was not a patient.

Me: No, you were checking out the system ’cause you were the owner of the hospital.  Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?

Devlin: You can do what you want with it. I’m telling you.

Me: You say you own Victoria Hospital?

Devlin: No, through options on the hospital with the Manitoba government.

Me: Oh really? Okay. You think that if I were to print this conversation now that this is going to make you look somehow as a bonafide, legitimate businessman?

Devlin: Not the way you are putting it. I’m just going to answer.

Me: I’m just asking you the questions and you’re giving me the answers… and I’m doing it on the record.

Devlin: I’m giving you a courtesy before I sue your ass for a hundred million dollars.

Me: Is that right? On what grounds?

Devlin: Defamation. You didn’t approach me to ever get my side of the story.  You went with a group of people – Rick, who’s a crazy man, and he stirred up all these people, dug up every single person I knew because I was too open with them and slandered me and made up stories and approached you. I don’t know the total chain of events, but I will shortly.

Me: Okay, but you say that even though there are documents with your signature on them, especially the ones signed between you and and Jonathan Soloway, they’re not legitimate documents. Is that what you’re saying?

Devlin: They’re not. Jonathan knew very well that he was getting no salary till it was operational.

Me: Even though your signature’s on your document and promises…

Devlin: We tried to put together a document. It was null and void. Jonathan knew that – when was it made null and void immediately, within 10 minutes of it being signed.  

Me: Why was that?

Devlin: Because Jonathan put in fake clauses saying that I owe him $250,000. But the other clause says he’s not gonna get paid till there’s generation of revenue. I have witnesses. Nikki Bello.

Me: Is that in the document?

Devlln: I believe so. I’d have to review it if.

Me: Jonathan is in big (financial) trouble and you deny that you told him to stop making payments on his debt?

Devlin: I said to him, these were my words: ‘If they’re not gonna come after you, it’s better to conserve your cash and not pay creditors.” I’ve had much experience with people who have worked for me with creditors.

Me: Did you not tell him that you were gonna take care of his debts?

Devlin: I did.

Me: You did?

Devlin: Yeah.

Me: Did you?

Devlin: Not yet. I got ill and I was unable to work, and now I’m happy to take care of his debts, but after he slandered me, I’m no longer willing to do it.  

Me: Isn’t that a breach of contract then?

Devlin: There was no contract. It was friendly. It was a friendly promise to do my best to help him. Okay?

Me: But when I say there is a contract with your signature on it…

Devlin: I, I’d have to see it.

Me; Well, if I showed it to you, is it gonna make any difference?  

Devlin: Could. It depends on what it says. I have to go through my documents and I’ll tell you next interview. (At that point Devlin said something incomprehensible, but then suggested that Jonathan doesn’t have a case that any lawyer would take on, saying “No one will take the case.”)

Me: There was a lawyer who was quite willing to take the case, but the problem is – you’re penniless – so there’s no point in suing you.

Let’s talk about your finances. How much money do you have?

Devlin: Look, that’s not your business, but I have a lot of money.  

Me: Okay, you don’t think there’s a lawyer who’s quite willing to take the case (of a lawsuit against Devlin)?

Devlin: Go for it.

Me: But I asked the lawyer: Can Fred’s parents and his wife be included in a lawsuit?

Devlin: Yeah. And what did they say?

Me: He said, “no,” unless we can prove that somehow they were materially involved in all your affairs. By the way, how do you pay for all these meals at Hy’s and at the Fairmont?

Devlin: With my Interac card. Why?

Me: I’m just wondering who is supporting you? Is it your parents?

Devlin: Nobody supports me. No, no.

Me: It’s income from where? From the … group of companies, right?

Devlin: Correct.  

Me: The …group of companies? And David Simkin is the CEO, right?

Devlin: Okay. I get my money from him.

Me: Would I ever be able to talk to David Simkin?

Devlin: No.

Me: Because he’s Mossad, correct?

Devlin: Right. And that’s not his real name. Ari Duran, my chief of Global Intelligence and Security based in Tel Aviv, who’s worked for me for over 20 years – he’s also Mossad. Everyone who works in my senior executives are Mossad or IDF.

Me: Are you accompanied by Mossad agents?

Devlin: Most of the time. I won’t answer that.

Me: Are you ever accompanied by Mossad agents?

Devlin: Correct.

Me: What does that mean?

Devlin: They guard my family in Winnipeg, in Cleveland – for 20 years.

Me: Do you live at …? (At that point I recited the address where Fred and his wife are presumed to live)?

Devlin: That’s our safe house. We have 1909 Wellington Crescent, and we’re moving to Number One Wellington in September.

Me: Did you live at 277 Wellington Crescent ever?

Devlin: Yes.

Me: All right. Who paid for the apartment?

Devlin: I did.

Me: You did? You paid how?

Devlin: My company paid for it.

Me: Okay. To be accurate, your house is owned by someone else entirely, with a mortgage on it, right?

Devlin: We have the option to buy it. His name is Michael (name omitted). Yeah. And his number is 3 3 3 3 3 3. (Of all the baffling things Devlin said during this conversation, that number was the weirdest. I have no idea what he meant by saying that.)

Me: We did a search for the title on that house. It’s only valued at $439,000. But you say that’s a safe house?  

Devlin: Correct.

Me: So, where is your primary residence?

Devlin: I won’t answer that – for security reasons.

Me: Oh, for security reasons. Do you know how ludicrous this all sounds?

Devlin: I don’t care. I’m sure it does, but it’s true.

Me: And do you think that if you sued me for defamation and I were to have this played in court that you wouldn’t be laughed out of court? Fred, are you under psychiatric care right now?

Devlin: No.

Me; Have you ever been under psychiatric care?

Devlin: I was once under psychiatric care, but for a fact that I have a sleep disorder and I couldn’t sleep, and they had to give me medication through psychiatry to make me sleep. I don’t sleep 24 hours a day. I have a rare sleep disorder.  I never sleep and without the aid of medication, so that was the only time.

Me: Okay. So when I approached your mother years ago after I had met you and asked her: “What’s the story with …?” And she said, “… is not well, please go easy on him.,” what do you think she meant, Fred?  

Devlin: I wasn’t well physically and she wanted you to leave me alone.

Me: Well, was it because you weren’t well physically or weren’t well psychologically?

Devlin: No, it was physically.

Me: Have you ever been hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder?

 Devlin: I’m not gonna answer that. Alright. My health is out of court.

Me: Well, you just said that you don’t have any psychiatric disorder.

Devlin: I have letters from the Cleveland Clinic. Each year for my corporation, I have to get a healthcare letter. I have no… besides pneumonia. Now I’m in perfect physical and mental health. Okay. And I have letters from doctors in Cleveland and in Winnipeg. Okay.

Me: Who do you have working for you in Winnipeg?

Devlin: I won’t answer that…many people.

Me: Is (name omitted) one of the people?

Devlin: She did some free work for me, but I’m planning on hiring her as CEO of … Foundation, Winnipeg office.  

Me: Did you ever pay her anything?

Devlin: Not yet.

Me: Why not?

Devlin: ’cause we had no agreements in place for me to pay her. She was volunteering for the foundation.

Me: Or is it not the case that you have no money and it’s all a delusion, Fred?

Devlin: Okay, Bernie, whatever you say, keep up with slander. You know what? This interview is over if you continue this line.

Me: Well, since you denied that you’ve had any agreement with Jonathan Soloway, that you had any agreement with Rick, that you had a plan to to bring jets from Israel over to Canada to convert them for some sort of…

 Devlin: We are, uh, proceeding with that project.

Me: And this project has been ongoing for almost 18 or 20 years?

Devlin: No, no, three years. Just three years with Dan. Three or four years with Dan – who I offered a company. I offered him, I sent, he went to Israel on his own money.  Yeah. And he didn’t expect anything to be offered. I wasn’t gonna go to Israel because I thought his ideas that he had for 20 years may not be solid. He went on his own way to meet Gli, who’s a tremendous person, director of … I believe I have her name.

Me: There’s a whole slew of people you’ve contacted over the years. According to what I was told by (name omitted), you’ve recently contacted the head of the Winnipeg, Airport Authority and the head of Centerport.

Devlin: Not recently, although I phoned Carly (Edmundson, the President and CEO of CentrePort) yesterday.

Me: The CEO of CenterPort? Okay, what was the nature of your communication with her and the head of the Winnipeg Airport Authority (Nick Hays)? You have plans, right?  You have projects. What kind of project is it you want to develop?

Devlin: Next interview. I’ll be happy. Okay.

Me: They don’t know about your past history. Because when I told Carly in an email that you’re totally delusional, she responded that came as a surprise, but she said all that she did is introduce you to some other people.

That’s your style, isn’t it Fred? You network with people. You find people, you use them to contact other people.

Devlin: Correct.

Me: So, you admit that’s what you do?

Devlin: Oh, that works. Yes. Yeah.

Me: Okay, so you network with people and then you find what their particular area of expertise is. You have some background in aviation, so that gives you…

Devlin: And real estate… and financial markets. 

Me: Yeah. Okay. So that gives you the semblance of having some experience.

Devlin: I have deep experience.

Me: Then you lull people into thinking that you’re actually credible – right?

Devlin: Oh my god, that’s slander.

Me: But isn’t that how you operate?

Devlin: No, I don’t.

Me: No? What do you do?  

Devlin: Not at all.

Me: What do you do then? How do you network with people?

Devlin: I try to find people I can help and do Tikkun Olam with, at every level. Tikkun Global. Yeah. And every person I touch, I try to help.

Me: Okay. What charitable foundations have you ever financed?

Devlin: In Africa, we financed USAID, Save the Children, World Vision… many.

 Me: And you have proof for all that? That’s what Charlie told me that you told him when you suckered him into believing you.

Devlin: I suckered him? Yes. What a joke.

Me: Do you know the guy is suicidal? Do you know that I sent him money?

Devlin: How much money did you send him?  

Me: I sent him 600 Canadian dollars,but he still owes a lot more. (I later sent Charlie another $800. I still keep in regular touch with him. Charlie still finds it difficult to believe that Fred Devlin was a total fraudster.)

Devlin: Good for you. I paid him more.

Me: You haven’t paid him a cent.

Devlin: I put him through school for $650.

Me: Oh you did, did you?

Devlin: Yes.

Me: And what kind of school was that?

Devlin: His certificate’s in business. (After I had this conversation with Fred I contacted Charlie to ask him whether Fred had ever given him money for anything. He sent me a screenshot of a text from Fred that was sent in 2023 in which Fred asks the director of a school Charlie was attending to give him an extension on paying his tuition, saying that he will “receive the necessary funds to pay for his school after I return from Israel on my peace mission in early December. I need to be in Winnipeg to direct these funds to him.” Of course, there never way any payment of any sort, according to Charlie.)

Me: But you’ve been sending him threatening messages.

Devlin: Because he threatened me on Facebook.  

Me: What did he say on Facebook?

Devlin: He started writing all about me and saying I was a liar and I was… he slandered me. (I’m sure that Devlin was referring to the article I had posted on my website in February which contained that very detailed email outlining the litany of Fred’s broken promises. Somehow he had it confused with Facebook.)

Me: But that wasn’t Charlie who wrote that email.

Devlin: Who wrote it?

Me: You don’t know?

Devlin: I’ll find out.

Me: You think Charlie was capable of having written that email? (Charlie’s native tongue is French, and although his English is quite good, it didn’t take me long to realize that he couldn’t have written that January 16 email. I quicky deduced that it was Rick, who is capable of writing very well.)

Devlin: No. Was it Rick?

Me: That’s right. So why don’t you sue Rick?  

Devlin: I am.

Me: You are? Where?

Devlin: I have a lawyer in Florida. I have lawyers in Toronto who can operate in Florida.

(And then I asked him about a lawyer in Winnipeg who’s his cousin – and is the lawyer who threatened to sue me for defamation. I asked Fred whether that person has ever acted for him? He said he has – for many of his over 3,300 companies.) 

Me: Can you name one of those companies?

Devlin: Yes. Worldview Capital.

Me: Which is what?

Devlin: Which is what the airport is. Worldview Capital owns the world’s only financial model that works, generates between 250003300000.0% for annum. Yeah. It’s worth $1.15 trillion. I’m going to be making a deal with their candidate. (Again, totally incoherent)

 Me: And (Fred’s cousin) acted for you in this, correct?

Devlin: Right.

Me: So if I ask (cousin’s name – omitted here) that, do you think he’ll substantiate that?

Devlin: He’ll tell you what I asked him. He won’t talk to you, he’s not talking to you.

Me: Oh, is that right?

Devlin: I’ve done this on my own – against my lawyer’s advice.

Me: Does (your cousin) know that you’re here, that you’re meeting with me?  

Devlin: No.

Me: What would he say if he knew you were meeting with me?

Devline: He’d be pissed off.

Me: Yeah. What about your wife? Does she know? Pissed off, right? She knows that I’ve contacted you though – right?

Devlin: Yeah.

Me: Has she taken the phone away from you when various people have called you?

Devlin: No. No.

Me: Okay. What’s your wife’s role in all this?  

Devlin: My wife has no role in all this. She facilitates, she works for another company.

Me: Has she sat in on meetings?

Devlin: No, she did not.

Me: Well, according to someone who asked me not to name them, she has.

Devlin: I’d have to look it up.

Me: Yeah, please do. I’ve spoken to…(and then, Devlin interrupted me.)

Devlin: I don’t care who you’ve spoken to, you’re not getting good information.

Me: Okay, do you want the real truth?  I’d love for this to go to court. I’d want it to go to court because maybe that could put a stop to you. That’s why, when people ask me why I got so involved in this story, I say to them it’s because I’m trying to stop you from hurting other people – because you’ve hurt a lot of people, okay?

Devlin: If you say so and you’re not aware of what you’re doing…You make an excellent argument based on the fallacy of your assumptions, Bernie. 

Me: I don’t know where to take this. You’re substantiating everything that’s been told me about you so far.

Devlin: I need more interviews. I’ll be happy to talk to you about everything but this, this should not go into an article.

Me: Would you be surprised to know that I’m writing a story about you?

Devlin: No, but we’re gonna co-publish that story with the truth.  

Me: Oh, really? Do you think I’m gonna give you final edit on the story?

Devlin: No, I don’t expect it.

Me: I’m not even gonna let you see it. I’m gonna let the people who are mentioned in it see it before I try to publish it.

Devlin: Try it and see what happens to you.

Me: Well, I’ve already got one publisher who’s quite interested.

Devlin: I’m sure It’s a very interesting story.  

Me: It’s been fascinating trying to flesh it out.

Devlin: How about if it’s true, Bernie? Did you ever contemplate everything I told you is true? Has that ever gone through your mind? And then think about what you’ve done.

Me: You mean the story that you’re telling? Is the story true in whole or in part?

Devlin: No, it’s true in whole.

Me: Every part of the story, every single part? Every part about you owning over 3,300 companies? Are you a trillionaire or a billionaire?

Devlin: I’m a trillionaire.

Me: You’re a trillionaire.

Devlin: Over and over.

Me: Are you richer than Elon Musk?

Devlin: Much richer than Elon.

Me: Okay. Then why do you dress like this?

Devlin: Like what?

Me: I mean you’re presentable, but it’s not what I’d expect from a trillionaire.

Devlin: I care about my parents. I…

Me: If you’re a trillionaire, where are the bodyguards? I can’t imagine a trillionaire not being surrounded by bodyguards

Devlin: They’re here. You don’t see them, but they’re here.

Me: I don’t see them. Are they Mossad?

Devlin: Yeah, they’re Mossad. We don’t want to have (his wife), for instance worry about bodyguards for my family. So it’s invisible. I don’t even know where they are.

Me: You don’t even know where they are?

Devlin: I can find out quickly by just tapping a button on my phone. That’s the truth. Okay. Now if I tell you what I’m worth, would that be helpful?

Me: Yeah, sure. Go ahead.

Devlin: $9.33 trillion.

Me: 9.33 trillion? How do you think that sounds?

Devlin: Do you think that when I have world…., but I know every up and down in stocks, commodities, currencies, commodities. I just trade. Automatically outta Luxembourg and I trade on my desk in my office and make millions of dollars.  

Me: Fred, how do you think your parents would react if I were to send them a transcript of this conversation?

Devlin: They’d be very upset.

Me: Why?

Devlin: Because they don’t know everything about my business.

Me: Do they know that you have $9.33 trillion?

Devlin: No. You know, I’m very wealthy.

(I then asked Devlin about a cottage that he’s told people he owns, but I don’t want to get too specific about the name of the lake for the same reason I didn’t give Devlin’s actual address. Even though anyone who knows the real person I’ve been calling Fred Devlin in this story would recognize him from everything I’ve written about him, I highly doubt that anyone who doesn’t know his family would know whom I’ve been writing about – but if I were to reveal his actual address and where the family cottage is, it would be much easier to establish what Devlin’s real name is.) 

Me: What kind of car do you drive?

Devlin: I drive a Porsche GT, three BMW convertibles. They’re not in Winnipeg right now because of the potholes. I store them in Florida and Cleveland. I have 17 cars that I collect for investments.  

Me: I see. And where did you tell me you’re flying to this weekend?

Devlin: I expected I’m to fly to Toronto to meet with Irvin Shane, one of my lawyers. Then I’m flying to Cleveland to spend about a month with my family going over our legal strategy to undo everybody. And then, we’re suing, unless you convince me that you’re an honest reporter.

 Me: Oh. Do you think I’m afraid of a threat of a lawsuit from you, Fred? If I were to play this in court…

Devlin: Um, you know what, Bernie…

Me: I’m surprised that you haven’t been committed to an institution.

Devlin: Um, I don’t know. I don’t know exactly the legalities of that anymore. Bernie. Bernie, be careful. Why you, you’re walking on thin ice…slandering me… try to go after my mental health.

Me: We’ll see what happens. But you go after Rick’s mental health.

Devlin: He’s self-admittedly mentally ill.

Me: No, Rick admits that he’s got some problems.

Devlin: Mm-hmm. how about anger?

Me: Yeah, he admits that.

Devlin: Why didn’t he call me when I was in the hospital to see where I am instead of gathering up all these people against me?  

Me: What were you doing in the hospital?

Devlin: I had a concussion from a brain injury.

Me: And when was this?

Devlin: Uh, seven weeks ago maybe. Yeah.

Me: You were just in the hospital? You had a concussion from a brain injury?

Devlin: Correct. Do you wanna see the picture of my head?

Me: Where did you fall?

Devlin: I was in the bathroom. It was dark. We normally have lights that light up. Motion detectors. I lost my orientation. Lost my balance and fell on my head. On the bed board. (But he had just stated that he fell in the bathroom.) Yeah. Cussed myself. Knocked myself out.

Me: Alright. But even while you were in a hospital – with a brain injury, you maintained contact with various people, right?  

Devlin: No. No.

Me: You didn’t phone people from the hospital?

Devlin: Not many. My phone was taken away.

Me: Who took it away?

Devlin: The doctor.

Me: Why?

Devlin: He didn’t want me making calls. He wanted me to rest.

Me: Which hospital were you in most recently?

Devlin: Victoria.

Me: And which ward were you in?

Devlin: I’m not gonna talk to you about my hospitalization ’cause you’re gonna twist it and write he’s got psychiatric problems.

Me: Isn’t it the case that were in the psychiatric ward of Victoria Hospital recently?

Devlin: I, I’m not gonna answer that. Do you have evidence that I was?

Me: I don’t, I’m just asking.

Devlin: Okay. Do I sound crazy, Bernie?

Me: Oh, you want me to answer that? Sure. You sound totally crazy, Fred.   And I feel sorry for you, I feel deeply sorry for you, but what happened is just that you harm so many people.

Devlin: I never harmed anybody. No.

Me: What about Charlie?

Devlin: Never harmed.

Me: He’s suicidal.

Devlin: That’s not my fault. No, no, no.

Me: So you didn’t promise to fund his charitable foundation and he went out and spent money on his own?  

Devlin: No. Never to start feeding (children). That’s not true.

Me: Poor African children, based on your promises to him?

Devlin: No, no, no. He asked me if I would send some money. ’cause he wants to feed the hungry. He brings porridge to them. Okay. To the hungry people.

Me: So did you send him money?

Devlin: No. No. Okay.

Me: Why not?

Devlin: Because I wasn’t involved at the time. I was planning on sending money…

Me: But you funded USAID and… which other charities? But you couldn’t send him a couple of thousand dollars. Why not?

Devlin: Was planning on it, but I, I got sick

Me: Did you ever pay Bob Anderson for any of the work he did?

Devlin: He never – I don’t owe him.

Me: Isn’t it true that either your father or your wife paid him?  

Devlin: No.

Me: Or maybe one of your brothers?

Devlin: No.

Me: Gave him a thousand dollars. That’s what he says.

Devlin: Could be.

Me: Because he said you kept refusing to pay him.

Devlin: Bullshit. He’s in the deepest of troubles.

Me: The confidentiality agreement thats you had him prepare, you had loads of people sign confidentiality agreements that Bob Anderson prepared, didn’t you?

Devlin: He didn’t.

Me: He prepared almost 15 non-disclosure agreements for people to sign. Why would you have people sign non-disclosure agreements? ‘

Devlin: Cause I don’t want to be gossiped about.

Me: Or is it the case you didn’t want other people to know about what you were doing?

Devlin: No.

Me: Because if other people knew about the nonsense you were spouting, absolutely they would’ve cut you off at the knees.

Devlin: Absolutely not. No. That was not my motive. No.

Me: So, when you approached Jonathan Soloway because he was an old childhood friend and you told him that you could help him by setting up this real estate investment trust and you sent him contracts, what was your motivation?  

Devlin: I didn’t send Jonathan contracts. No, I believe he sent them to me. (On that point Devlin was correct. I checked with Jonathan and he did say that he had the contracts prepared and sent to Devlin, adding that Devlin was incapable of producing the type of sophisticated agreements that Jonathan sent to him, but which show Devlin’s signature on them nonetheless.)

Me: Regardless, you signed the contract, but you say you didn’t sign the contract.

Devlin: Bernie. I didn’t say I didn’t sign it. I said, Jeff’s agreement that he sent me was bullshit.

Me: Okay, well, do I sound like I’m cross-examining you – because that’s what would happen if you went into court, Fred.

Devlin: I have zero problem. I’ve been in court many times.

Me: Would you be surprised to hear that different people are trying to initiate a police investigation of you now?

Devlin: There’s a police investigation of Rick…for threatening our lives, my mother’s and my life.

Me: Is that right? Where is that police investigation?  

Devlin: Rick twisted it to say I threatened him. What a joke.

Me: Would you be surprised to know that there was a file opened on you by York Regional Police in Ontario and it was sent to Winnipeg ?

Devlin: No. I don’t care. No.

Me: Do you care that there might be a police investigation of you?

Devlin: Doesn’t bother me.

Me: Doesn’t bother you at at all?

Devlin: No, I’ll be happy to speak to the police… and give them evidence.

Me: I’m not sure where it’s at. I just know that there was a file opened on you.

Devlin: I’m not going nowhere, but if it does go further, I’ll be happy to talk to the police.

Me: Okay, I think this is enough, Fred.  

Devlin: Um, are, are we gonna have another session? If you want,, I’d like the full truth to come out and then you can decide what to publish. I don’t feel you’ve given me justice.

April 26, 2026 This concludes my writing about Fred Devlin and his delusional cons. I was still receiving phone calls from Fred, however, asking when we could meet again – until I blocked him. And then I received a phone call from the man I’ve called Jack, who met Fred in the psych ward at Victoria Hospital. He was also totally incoherent, so I’ve blocked him too. I expect though that this story will still be ongoing. The man I’ve called Fred Devlin will likely continue to make contact with many more unsuspecting people and try to persuade them that he has a huge amount of money which he is willing to use to invest in various projects.

Further, I rather doubt any police force will proceed with an investigation. I’m sure whatever file ended up at Winnipeg Police Service has long been buried. But, since I decided to post these stories to my website – and I can reopen the story at any time, there may be more chapters to write.

If you’ve been reading these stories – either in whole or in part, you might like to know that I will compile them into one large pdf and make it accessible on this website at some point.

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Features

BOOK REVIEW: “Fighting the Hate: A Handbook for Jews Under Siege”

Cover of "Fighting the Hate"; author Melanie Phillips

Reviewed by MURRAY BENDER “Thinking on your feet”—quickly defending a position in a coherent, persuasive manner—is a situation that many people find challenging and stressful. “If only I had said this.” or “Why didn’t I say that?” Hindsight is always 20-20.

Following the Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023, it has become increasingly necessary for diaspora Jews to “think on their feet” as they unwittingly face a barrage of tough, sometimes hateful, questions about Jews and their Israeli homeland.

Why is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? Why doesn’t Israel return the land it has stolen from Palestinians? Why are Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian farmers? How is Israel different from apartheid South Africa? Why can’t I criticize Israel without being called antisemitic? Is it true that Jews control the world? The list of potential questions is nearly endless.

Engage or hide? This is the difficult choice that confronts Jews as they look to deal with anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli behaviour. Fortunately, author and journalist Melanie Phillips comes to the rescue with her practical and insightful book, Fighting the Hate: A Handbook for Jews Under Siege.

According to Phillips, the dilemma has no single answer. “People need to decide how to behave in accordance not just with the specific circumstances but also with their own attributes and limitations.”

Some regard engagement with their opponents as a sacred duty. “They believe it is a betrayal of the Jewish people not to uphold Israel’s case.” Ohers may be uncomfortable with such a direct approach, but “those who decide to keep their heads down and avoid any altercation may well find that this leaves them with a permanent sense of regret and even failure,” she says.

As a result, it’s probably a good idea to adopt some sort of balance. And that’s where Phillips’ 150-page handbook comes in.

She starts by providing context around the “crisis of legitimacy and acceptance” from which Jews are reeling post-October 7. On the basis of extensive conversations with Jews from across the U.S., Britain and Australia, the author found that many “were near stupefied by the terrifying hatred and irrationality that was unfolding around them.” Again and again, they asked: “What should we do? What can we do?”

In response, Phillips offers a pragmatic approach to help prepare for the inevitable conversations, including a number of key principles:

Get smart rather than emotional
Stop playing defence
Find common ground
Be positive and confident
Keep physically safe

Based on these overarching criteria, she provides an extensive list of quick and clever retorts to a range of different situations, emphasizing that “it’s our duty to our children and grandchildren to fight for truth and justice.”

So, the next time it is necessary to “think on their feet,” diaspora Jews will be able to respond quickly and confidently to those difficult questions about themselves and Israel. And they can thank Melanie Phillips for coming to the rescue.

Fighting the Hate: A Handbook for Jews Under Siege by Melanie Phillips is available online from Amazon and Indigo.

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ESports Meets Casinos: Overview of Bet Sport Gaming

ESports has become part of the interactive entertainment of online casinos. In fact, many fans already have the opportunity to use Dragonia Casino Bet Sport options while watching the matches of their favorite teams. The hybrid entertainment model opens up many possibilities and increases audience engagement. When video games intersect with betting, it creates a unique collaboration where participants have the opportunity to get a completely new experience right in their own home. At the same time, you can continue to enjoy the usual viewing of familiar tournaments and competitions.

How ESports and Casinos Interconnect

ESports has become a multi-billion-dollar industry that attracts spectators. Traditional casinos are focused on luck. But now they are introducing additional methods of encouraging their customers. Among such options, eSports events deserve special attention. Such bet sport offers combine the usual excitement with an element of competition. The structure of the casino entertainment provides participants with the opportunity to test their skills and reveal their own hidden talents. There are several forms of integration of eSports mechanics into the structure of a classic online casino:

Competitive betting. Online casinos provide the opportunity to bet on eSports tournaments, which is similar to the usual sports betting. In addition, the possibilities are significantly expanded compared to simple viewing platforms.
Skill-based casino games. Games inspired by eSports encourage players to actively participate in what is happening on the screen. The games reward the player’s results with certain prizes.
Interactive arenas. Some casinos broadcast eSports events in real time. This allows players to follow the games directly online, which creates a feeling of real participation in familiar entertainment.
Cross-platform interaction. Online casinos are introducing eSports-style leaderboards and achievements to attract more participants.

Such innovations appeal to new participants. Cultural changes are part of the development of the infrastructure of the classic casino, and eSports fans find a new environment for entertainment and communication.

Growth of ESports Betting

Global eSports revenue in 2025 exceeded $1.5 billion. Each bet sport option has made a significant contribution to the development. Surveys show that over 60% of players will express interest in betting on eSports, which reflects the demand and the need to develop an updated infrastructure for participation.

ESports events attract 15-20% more new participants compared to conventional casinos. The eSports betting market will exceed $20 billion by 2027, according to analysts’ forecasts, which encourages new participants to more actively watch tournaments and participate in various types of activity.

Why Fans Choose ESports

Bet sport gambling is gaining popularity. This is due to several reasons. For example, large casinos in Las Vegas and Macau now host full-fledged eSports tournaments alongside traditional entertainment. Venues are also experimenting with separate fan zones where sports betting and classic gambling are available.

Some of the most popular eSports disciplines are League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Some online casinos even introduce eSports mechanics into slots so that players can try something new.

In short, the intersection of eSports and casinos is a natural development of the industry. Competitive play and an optimized betting system create a comfortable environment for true fans who want to diversify their leisure time.

Post Views: 139

Jewish Post and News

The British Invasion: Douglas Murray and Colonel Richard Kemp, Tel Aviv International Salon, Dec.21, 2023

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The British Invasion: Douglas Murray and Colonel Richard Kemp, Tel Aviv International Salon, Dec.21, 2023

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