Coleco Chameleon .... hardware speculations?

[Flojomojo]

Let's face it, he will never just go away. We feel like we stepped in a pile of dog shit; we hosed it off our boots and off the front porch steps, but the smell never fully goes away. We occasionally find a few shit stains that somehow got onto the carpet and are constantly reminded of that original pile of dog shit, and perpetually worried that a new pile of dog shit will pop up in our path when we least expect it. Those of us foolhardy enough to originally think the pile of dog shit was tasty chocolate pudding continue to deal with the aftertaste.

Following up a year later ...it worked! He just went away. The spirit of the Chameleon kinda-sorta lives on in the AtariBox, which has gone silent but has failed to deliver the good clean stupid fun of this endless thread.

[SoulBlazer]

Not really much of a choice but to lay low and hope people forget. His name is very much persona non grata now. Which is a shame, I've said it before, but I really liked him on podcasts and miss that.

[godslabrat]

Not really much of a choice but to lay low and hope people forget. His name is very much persona non grata now.

 

Mike stuck around as long as he had some trinkets of the Retro empire at his disposal. We were never rid of him while he could still trot out his magazine, or his storefront, or his auction house. When those were sold off, Mike's relevance (such as it was) went with it. I know he was supposedly a great guy BITD, but anything we've seen of him in the past few years has been a guy who only cares about the parts of the hobby he can monetize.

 

. Which is a shame, I've said it before, but I really liked him on podcasts and miss that.

I really liked the comedy stylings of Bill Cosby, but I'd be lying if I said I could watch them and enjoy it just as much.

[Pipercub]

 

 

Mike stuck around as long as he had some trinkets of the Retro empire at his disposal. We were never rid of him while he could still trot out his magazine, or his storefront, or his auction house. When those were sold off, Mike's relevance (such as it was) went with it. I know he was supposedly a great guy BITD, but anything we've seen of him in the past few years has been a guy who only cares about the parts of the hobby he can monetize.

 

I really liked the comedy stylings of Bill Cosby, but I'd be lying if I said I could watch them and enjoy it just as much.

 

 

 

I'd sooner trust a grinning Bill Cosby offering me a drink than a Kennedy with a business pitch.

[S1500]

Just as I predicted, that Stop, Drop & um, who? wait, uh,..

 

j/k

[godslabrat]

He's baaaaaack....

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/274244-pac-man-suit-kohls-25-clearance/

[Shawn]

He's baaaaaack....

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/274244-pac-man-suit-kohls-25-clearance/

 

Oh for fucks sake

[+x=usr(1536)]

Sean Robinson remains a giant heap of untrustworthy shit. However, there was something that I didn't really go into in any serious detail in my original post regarding his criminal past: the fact that he somehow managed to get the State of California to reduce his felony counts of Grand Theft fraud to misdemeanors. Based on information I've recently received, there is something in relation to this that is worth mentioning.

 

This is significant in that Sean Robinson started out with a standing felony conviction for check fraud in California before he began screwing over arcade game collectors. By the time that his activites in that regard went through the courts and to conviction in 2003, it meant that he had two strikes on his record. One more and he was headed for if not Federal, at least State

(NSFW) prison.

 

In 2006, he successfully petitioned the State of California to have the fraud charges reduced to misdemeanors and, effectively, dismissed; see attached court records from 2017 for reference. This kept him safe - at least for now - from having to worry about a third conviction being a life stretch, or near enough as doesn't matter in his case.

 

Coming back to the information that I've recently received: he's apparently been pulling the same scams - again - in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle and Portland, specifically) after having once again returned to his old stomping grounds in SoCal. The losses in these cases are apparently not insignificant, and certainly were derived from patterns that match his earlier behavior.

 

If you have been swindled by Sean Robinson, I strongly recommend involving law enforcement at the earliest available opportunity and presenting the documentation that has been made available to them. It's clear that he is apparently incapable of finding a living for himself that doesn't in some way involve taking advantage of others, and he will keep doing this until he's put away. Help to make that happen if you are in a position to do so.

HEF005102 Case Report - Countywide Criminal & Traffic.pdf

OC99CM05056 Case Report - Countywide Criminal & Traffic.pdf

OC95CM07695 Case Report - Countywide Criminal & Traffic.pdf

[cybercylon]

By pulling the same scams again, I assume you mean screwing over arcade game collectors and the retro community. Anything that affects our community?

[+x=usr(1536)]

By pulling the same scams again, I assume you mean screwing over arcade game collectors and the retro community. Anything that affects our community?

 

I'm not actually sure how to answer that question; you may need to rephrase it for me to give a more accurate answer.

 

What I can say is this: he really doesn't have any boundaries on who he'll defraud, but his scams typically center around people or communities with an interest in old video games, consoles, and computers. That includes people who are a part of this community and have been defrauded by him in the past. By those terms, I'd say that yes, his activities (past and present) affect this community.

 

Is that the answer you were looking for? I'm genuinely not sure that I've given you the answer you were looking for, so clarification would help.

[cybercylon]

Your answer mostly got to what I was asking even though I was less than clear with that question. Is he scamming any people here (at atariage) currently or have some role in any recent vaporware shenanigans going on?

 

Did he ever have an account on atariage and does he have any favorite aliases (namely, would we be able to figure out it is him if he ever rears his ugly head here again...)

[+x=usr(1536)]

Your answer mostly got to what I was asking even though I was less than clear with that question. Is he scamming any people here (at atariage) currently or have some role in any recent vaporware shenanigans going on?

 

Did he ever have an account on atariage and does he have any favorite aliases (namely, would we be able to figure out it is him if he ever rears his ugly head here again...)

 

Gotcha. Unfortunately, those questions are ones I don't have answers for as I have no knowledge beyond what I've presented thus far.

[Parrothead]

This was from my investigation of Sean after I discovered his past. I reached out to Greg Albricht , the Depity District Attorney Grand Theft Auto that was involved with Seans case.

 

From my emails with Greg.

 

-

 

Hey Greg,

 

Thanks again for all the information you've given me about Sean Robinson. Currently, I seem to have my hands tied, in that the police consider this a civil complaint. This is crazy as I was swindled out of $10K and it goes a lot further than that. His deceit caused a potentially lucrative product deal to tank and it also caused a family investor in this venture to lose his $40K investment (out of which I pad Sean the $10K).

 

Is there anything else I can do? The State Bar actually said there was nothing they could do because even though he is impersonating an attorney, through emails and a website, that since he isn't actually practicing law there is nothing they can do. Crazy!

 

Any additional help our guidance you could give would be much appreciated. The State Bar did mention in their letter back to me that if Sean is "perpetrating a fraud on the public, you may wish to report him to the District Attorney, Attorney General or other criminal authorities in your area."

 

Thoughts? Thanks !!

 

On Thu, Apr 7, 2016 at 3:22 PM, Albright, Greg <GregAlbright@rivcoda.org> wrote:

Here are several paragraphs from the opposition that I wrote:

 

 

 

This was not simply an isolated, one-time incident in which the defendant screwed up. The defendants convictions resulted from sophisticated confidence scams that stretched out over a period of nine months. His methods did not involve a single act of taking the victims money and running. The defendant actually communicated with each of his victims repeatedly, and either assured them that their merchandise was on its way, or he attempted to shift the blame to a fictitious company that he created to further his crimes. When the police were finally involved, numerous victims handed over dozens of pages of e-mail messages from the defendant, in which he continued to try to earn their trust by assuring them that he was a legitimate seller and by offering excuses that the delays were not his fault. It was defendants continuous and deliberate deception that made his victims experience ongoing frustration and suffering throughout that time.

 

The defendants criminal sophistication is clear. He chose many victims from out-of-state, which makes confrontation and prosecution difficult. He used his wifes name on E-Bay to build up the positive feedback ratings on the site. He explained that the more positive rating a seller has, the better the chances are people will bid on their items. In other words, the more likely people will trust him and fall victim to his scam. He created false shipping companies, with false employees, and created false shipping invoices, all to convince the victims that he was a genuine seller, and to try to shift the blame for the victims losses on someone else. He even sent e-mails back and forth with a fictitious shipper, Brian Johnson from BJ Shipping. The police were unable to locate a business license or any other proof that BJ Shipping or Brian Johnson ever existed. The defendant had Anonymizer and a firewall installed on his computer to prevent others from finding out who he is and to keep victims from tracking him down. Anonymizer software allows the user to send emails and prevents the receiver from finding out where the messages were sent from. The only practical purpose is to disguise where the e-mails originated from, which no legitimate business would do.

 

The defendants basis for his motion is that he is a changed man who has been rehabilitated. But this court cannot ignore the fact that the defendant is a compulsive liar. He lied all throughout this case. He lied to his wife, over a period of two years, telling her that he was employed by Sprint. He got up every morning and pretended to go to a job he didnt have. He lied to each of the victims, telling them that he was a legitimate businessman and that their merchandise was on its way. He told them that the problems were not his fault, and blamed them on a fictitious shipping company that he made up. He even had the audacity to accuse the victims of being unreasonable and threatened to sue one of the victims for defamation of character.

 

Once the defendant was arrested, he repeatedly lied to the police. During interrogation, he evaded responses with one lie after another. He initially told Detective Anderson that he worked for Sprint. When asked for some documentation of his employment, he said that he had no ID card. When asked for a pay stub, he said he did not keep them. He then said that he worked for Sprint part time, but had not worked in about a month. He finally acknowledged that he did not have a job with Sprint, and had not worked for two years. When the detectives asked him why he did not pay back one of the victims money, he said he tried to but the victim changed his e-mail address and would not return phone messages.

 

The defendants criminal sophistication and compulsive lying show that he is a man who cannot be trusted. His failure to fulfill his obligation of full restitution after representing to the court that he had already done so shows that he is just trying to manipulate his way out of trouble. Given that the defendant has been convicted of seven felony counts of grand theft, this court should hold him to his plea and deny his motion.

 

 

 

Gregory R. Albright

 

 

 

Deputy District Attorney

 

Grand Theft Auto Unit

 

Riverside Co. District Attorney's Office

 

 

 

From: Mike Kennedy [mailto:socalmike@gamegavel.com]

Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2016 3:05 PM

 

 

To: Albright, Greg

Subject: Re: Sean Robinson

 

 

Greg,

 

 

 

Do you know what Sean did specifically to be convicted?

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

On Thursday, April 7, 2016, Albright, Greg <GregAlbright@rivcoda.org> wrote:

 

Hi Mike,

 

Wow, I sincerely apologize. It turns out I was wrong. I did not become an attorney until June 2007, and this case was completely closed out in 2006. I looked through the entire court file for this case, as well as our internal case management system, and searches for my name came up empty. Thus, I figured there was no way I handled it. I had no independent recollection of ever handling it, but to be honest I have handled hundreds of cases since then and the particulars of them start to blend together. I simply assumed the person who previously referred to me was mistaken. However, when I clicked the link that you just sent me, it brought up not only my name but also the phone number that was assigned to me when I was a law clerk here in the Fall of 2006. There was no way anyone could have had my name AND my phone number unless I actually was involved. So I dug up an old flash drive that contains work I did as a law clerk, and sure enough I was assigned to write the formal opposition to the defendants request to have his convictions expunged. While I wrote the opposition, it was actually signed and filed by the assigned Deputy District Attorney, Quinn Baranski. I guess you can occasionally believe what you find on the internet. My apologies. This takes us back to our initial conversation. Now that my recollection has returned from Neverland, what is it that you wished to know?

 

I am relieved to learn that you are filing a police report. The court granted his motion for expungement under the erroneous belief that the defendant had become a changed man. Clearly the judge was just one more person who fell victim to the defendants con game.

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

 

 

Gregory R. Albright

 

 

 

Deputy District Attorney

 

Grand Theft Auto Unit

 

Riverside Co. District Attorney's Office

 

 

 

From: Mike Kennedy [mailto:socalmike@gamegavel.com]

Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2016 2:28 PM

To: Albright, Greg

Subject: Re: Sean Robinson

 

 

 

Hey Greg,

 

 

Here was another link with your name. I am filing a police report here in Orange County today.

 

 

 

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.games.video.arcade.collecting/3GHJlQ2mErk

 

 

 

On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 2:32 PM, Mike Kennedyy

[Albert]

Why is this discussion of Sean in this thread and not a new one?

 

..Al

[Shawn]

Why is this discussion of Sean in this thread and not a new one?

 

..Al

 

It's a little bit of the left over Chameleon Oil being used as a diversion by MK for ol' times sake. Perhaps looking to get some leniency from the community as it's clear he's trying to weasel his way back in. He can spread out some of the blame with the talk swinging towards this Sean guy as it's someone aside from him getting attention in this thread. These shenanigans are just a weak move in showing Mike let his family get screwed out of $40k and he still won't take full blame for his own actions which are well documented in this thread (and others). Oddly only $10k of that money from his family was paid to this Sean Robinson creep? God knows what Mike actually did with the other $30k if it was supposed to be spent on the RetroVGS. I say that as we all know a couple digital renders and a bucket full of lies doesn't cost $30k. The cost of acting like a Mike Kennedy will "only" cost you your self worth, social status, dignity and pride.

[godslabrat]

So Mike, buddy, pal-o-mine... why not tell us why you were lying through your teeth about the status of the project months before Sean allegedly got involved ?

[phoenixdownita]

Another 8K views and this thread passes the psychological 1M views.

 

Me personally I would appreciate if Mike wrote a chronicle (not a giant wall of text though just couple dozen salient points) of what happened to him after the ship sunk, aside from the email exchange with the law about Mr Lee.

 

Just a chronicle of events, no emotions, no "I thought" or "I was about to" ..... something more like:

 

1) the Coleco head cut our relation on ....

2) the gang of 7 split up on ...

3) Woita left me on ....

4) .....

5) .....

 

Just as a way to document when a ship sinks how hard it can hit bottom.

 

As I say it's not an obligation by any mean, just curiosity and likely there's a lot to be learned from knowing the full aftermath. I have the feeling there may have been a hefty personal cost that had to be paid, and while part of it was likely deserved I'd still be interested to know what the heck happened to MK in the 2Y or so since the fuxx up.

 

PS: and if MK ever decides to write it I'd ask anyone to avoid name calling as unless there's some factual discrepancies I really just would like to know how deep a failed venture can impact one's life (whether one is in on it or not as humans we're generally really bad in forecasting how bad it can get).

For instance I heard a rumor that MK is no longer living in SoCal, I have no way to know if it's true or not. If it is and if it is related to the RVGS+CC fiasco then I'd say it can't be that good having to relocate.

[Tickled_Pink]

Sean Robinson remains a giant heap of untrustworthy shit. However, there was something that I didn't really go into in any serious detail in my original post regarding his criminal past: the fact that he somehow managed to get the State of California to reduce his felony counts of Grand Theft fraud to misdemeanors. Based on information I've recently received, there is something in relation to this that is worth mentioning.

 

This is significant in that Sean Robinson started out with a standing felony conviction for check fraud in California before he began screwing over arcade game collectors. By the time that his activites in that regard went through the courts and to conviction in 2003, it meant that he had two strikes on his record. One more and he was headed for if not Federal, at least State

(NSFW) prison.

 

In 2006, he successfully petitioned the State of California to have the fraud charges reduced to misdemeanors and, effectively, dismissed; see attached court records from 2017 for reference. This kept him safe - at least for now - from having to worry about a third conviction being a life stretch, or near enough as doesn't matter in his case.

 

Coming back to the information that I've recently received: he's apparently been pulling the same scams - again - in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle and Portland, specifically) after having once again returned to his old stomping grounds in SoCal. The losses in these cases are apparently not insignificant, and certainly were derived from patterns that match his earlier behavior.

 

If you have been swindled by Sean Robinson, I strongly recommend involving law enforcement at the earliest available opportunity and presenting the documentation that has been made available to them. It's clear that he is apparently incapable of finding a living for himself that doesn't in some way involve taking advantage of others, and he will keep doing this until he's put away. Help to make that happen if you are in a position to do so.

 

If there was ever a case for "three strikes and you're out," this is it.

[Flojomojo]

Friendly suggestions for Piko, who is sending out Retro Magazine emails once again:

 

 

1. "Just go to this link" but no link is given. Confusing.

2. Why 2 coupon codes? Odd

3. Links to Patreon, which still says it needs to hit the $5000 level to print ONE physical issue, but a yearly "subscription" of 2 issues per year is offered. What?

4. Links to ReadRetro, where one can subscribe for $8.50 for a year. What's the difference between the Patreon site and the regular subscription?

5. I guess ReadRetro is the place where we can download the specific free issue #13 from the store with a coupon code. Offering something for "free" but demanding email and physical address prior to downloading? That's kinda obnoxious.

6. It's the Mike Kennedy product. I thought you were a new team?

 

I downloaded the thing. I know people have physical magazine nostalgia, but if anyone can explain why this "needs" to be formatted in this way, I'm willing to listen.

[TPR]

I know people have physical magazine nostalgia, but if anyone can explain why this "needs" to be formatted in this way, I'm willing to listen.

 

I like to read old magazines (Electronic Games, EGM, Nintendo Power) in their original physical magazine form, but that being said, anything "new" published give me a website, PDF, or something to download to my mobile device. I don't think I've actually picked up and read a physical "new" magazine in probably a decade. But that's just me...

[Flojomojo]

I like to read old magazines (Electronic Games, EGM, Nintendo Power) in their original physical magazine form, but that being said, anything "new" published give me a website, PDF, or something to download to my mobile device. I don't think I've actually picked up and read a physical "new" magazine in probably a decade. But that's just me...

 

Not just you. "Retro Gaming News" is self-contradictory. "Olds" is more like it.

[Bill Loguidice]

I downloaded the thing. I know people have physical magazine nostalgia, but if anyone can explain why this "needs" to be formatted in this way, I'm willing to listen.

 

I'm curious what you're asking here. Can you elaborate?

 

I too wonder about the need for a physical magazine anymore, but there are certainly plenty of current efforts in that area in the vintage space. Presumably there are reasonable enough markets for these things, although none have yet to reach anywhere near the polish of something like Britain's Retro Gamer after all these years. I'd actually entertain subscribing to that again if it were US-based and not so expensive. I even tried a digital subscription and just found I didn't read it on my tablet despite doing all of my other "fun" reading on there, probably because it was just the print magazine essentially PDF'd for a screen. In that case I agree these should be reformatted for the screen. I'm not sure if anyone has really cracked that yet, although I do admire some of the more experimental features by sites like The Verge. The concept is definitely ripe for disruption, though.

[Flojomojo]

I think it's hard to monetize it. Patreon is one way, but without compelling content, why would anyone spend anything?

 

Hardcore Gaming 101 does both -- a great blog, and digital "books" for Patreon and paying customers.

 

I don't think "Retro Magazine" is in a position to ask money from anyone without producing some sample articles first. For FREE ... and not just warmed-over Kennedy stuff.

[Eltigro]

I recently came into possession of a Game Informer from 2002. Not my favorite magazine and not the most interesting era (in my opinion), but I still stayed up late with a flashlight in bed reading it. It was just like the old days.

 

I like old magazines, but I just don't think they are the best media today. The information is usually already available in two hundred different places before the issue hits the stands, and a physical magazine is, therefore, immediately out of date. Sad but true.

[Newsdee]

I do like the UK Retro Gamer magazine... but I mostly prefer their anthologies and "bookazines" rather than paying a subscription.
I would pick it up on a whim if I see it on a store though... unfortunately they are very rare where I live.