Do You Know David K. Smyth?

Do you know this man?

Since October of 2008 there have been a few posts on the web about Gerald Chester McAfee AKA David Nathan Ward AKA Dennis Kennedy AKA Thomas Guthrie AKA Jerry Griffith AKA David K. Smyth  and possibly at least one other alias. Teakdoor has posted here and ThaiVisa has a post here about the arrest in Thailand in 2008 and subsequent sentencing in the US in 2009 for the 1985 embezzlement of funds from College Hospital in Downey, California. Both of these posts quote an L.A. Times post here.

All three posts mention:

Over the years, the FBI periodically sought the public's help in locating McAfee. At one point the bureau put the handsome, wavy-haired former swimming coach on a wanted poster that listed five of his alleged aliases. But the case was essentially gathering dust until last year when a tipster informed the bureau that McAfee was living in Thailand. Special agents at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, working with Thai police, traced McAfee to a condominium purchased under the name David K. Smyth. A check of immigration records revealed that Smyth's passport bore McAfee's photo, authorities allege.

ThaiVisa's post also mentions:

McAfee, now 66, was indicted in absentia in 1987 on bank fraud, mail fraud and other charges.

A 2007 tip led FBI agents to Thailand, where McAfee apparently married and had children under the name David K. Smyth. After spending eight months in a Thai prison, McAfee was extradited to Los Angeles last year.

McAfee could have faced up to 65 years in prison if he had been convicted on the charges.

In a 20 minute speech, McAfee begged the judge to allow him to immediately return to his family in Thailand, saying "the man you see before you now is not the foolish man who committed the crime in '86."

But U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real rejected his request, saying, "this man has not been truthful for most of his life."

McAfee brought up his military record, telling Real he had served in Vietnam in the early 1960s with the Green Berets.

"I am humbly pleading and begging for mercy — not for me, for my children," McAfee said.

Real had just one question: "What happened to the million?"

McAfee replied that he'd spent it all within five years of taking the money. He'd been working in Bangkok as an English teacher at an American school until his arrest.

On both the ThaiVisa and Teakdoor forums, there are comments about the scam and how he got caught etc, but no one seems to know McAfee though he spent many years in Thailand as an English teacher in Bangkok.

FBF has recently learned that McAfee may have had another alias and the folks who knew him under this alias had no idea he was an English teacher.

FBF would very much like to know if anyone reading this recognizes the gentleman in the photo above or an English teacher going by the name of David K. Smyth bearing any resemblance to the man in the photo. It is well documented that there is another David (but A.) Smyth in and out of Bangkok who is a respected academic in the Thai language. No need to mention him but if a TEFL or other English teacher happens to read this and knows of a David Smyth, FBF would very much like to hear from you. Also, if you know of any Thailand based TEFL forums where  someone might know of David K. Smyth, it would be very much appreciated if you could post a link there to this post.

Lastly, there may be those who have taken the time to read this far who are thinking of a man in black, bedecked in gold, who was a disciple of Wat Pong. If so, then you probably know Randy, or Wanchai, or Hendry, or all of the above. This alias is not mentioned here as FBF is attempting to ascertain if David K. Smyth could be the man in black. FBF tends to think not but will keep an open mind...

Again, FBF would very much like to hear from anyone who has ever worked with, rode to work with, drank with or whatever with anyone named David who resembles the fellow at the top of this page. Thanks.