I Am The Imposter, Koo Koo Ka Choo

A former Navy MI'er from Orlando has gotten himself in a spot of bother. He's spent the last 20 years in England pretending to be a "Lord Buckingham," but now the gig's up for the Beatles fan:

In January last year, a prosperous man with a posh English accent boarded a ferry in Calais, France, for the quick run across the channel to Dover. Immigration officials did a computer check on his passport and discovered something startling: The man's particulars matched those of an infant who had died in August 1963.

He was arrested in Dover on suspicion of false identity. From there his tale grew ever more intriguing: He had passed himself off as Lord Buckingham in British society for close to 20 years, marrying, fathering two children, writing notes on stationery bearing a family coat of arms.

Last October, he pleaded guilty to lying to obtain a passport under a false name. But if he is not Lord Buckingham, who is he? Held in British jail cells for close to a year, he has refused to say.

Now British authorities think they probably have the answer: He is Charlie Stopford, an American from Orlando. Stopford family members in Florida have come forward to say that Charlie disappeared 23 years ago, remembered for his large collection of Beatles records and ability to perfectly mimic British speech.

He didn't get terribly rich, but he did carve out a comfortable life for himself as Lord Buckingham -- that is, until he started wallowing in jail for identity fraud. The tombstone-identity ruse from "Day of the Jackal" seems to have fired his imagination. I think we all read that page a couple of times; it was very cool.

There's quite a bit of British coverage on this. They don't seem to be flattered by Charlie's imitation.

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Posted by floridacracker at May 6, 2006 05:07 AM