Update on Judge John Fairbanks?

[unsolvedmysteriesfan]

I was reading another article on a guy who swindled people out of money and someone wrote this in the comments:

"I don't know this guy, but anyone remember the famous Judge John Fairbanks from Newport? He stole millions from his clients, went on the run and finally killed himself in Canada. I wonder if any of his victims were paid back?
I also recall he lived a secret gay lifestyle only uncovered after he ran.
Can't judge a book by his cover...or perhaps book a judge who's undercover, eh?
- soon2bbackinNH, Spring Hill, FL"

This isn't in the Case Updates/expanded info on here, so just checking to see if anyone else recalls seeing this.

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by unsolvedmysteriesfan

I was reading another article on a guy who swindled people out of money and someone wrote this in the comments:

"I don't know this guy, but anyone remember the famous Judge John Fairbanks from Newport? He stole millions from his clients, went on the run and finally killed himself in Canada. I wonder if any of his victims were paid back?
I also recall he lived a secret gay lifestyle only uncovered after he ran.
Can't judge a book by his cover...or perhaps book a judge who's undercover, eh?
- soon2bbackinNH, Spring Hill, FL"

This isn't in the Case Updates/expanded info on here, so just checking to see if anyone else recalls seeing this.

UM updated his case at the end saying he was found dead (of an apparent suicide) in a hotel room in Las Vegas. No sign of the money he stole so authorities speculate he may have blew it all in Vegas before taking his own life. UM made no mention of a secret gay lifestyle.

[ididn'tdoit]

Hey CD, I was also curious as to what happened to him, I recently watched this case for the first time, and to me the whole thing seemed so unnecessary. Besides being a judge (which pays pretty good I would guess), he had his own lucrative practice, and was apparently well off. I can't understand why anyone would want to jeopardize all that and live like a fugitive for the rest of his life

[crystaldawn]

Originally Posted by ididn'tdoit

Hey CD, I was also curious as to what happened to him, I recently watched this case for the first time, and to me the whole thing seemed so unnecessary. Besides being a judge (which pays pretty good I would guess), he had his own lucrative practice, and was apparently well off. I can't understand why anyone would want to jeopardize all that and live like a fugitive for the rest of his life

Yes the only reason that makes much sense is greed. No doubt he wasn't hurting for money but UM did mention of the extremely fancy home he had and I suppose he felt he needed the best of everything. Just such a horrible crime, to betray the trust of all those people who had the utmost faith in him and steal their money.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by crystaldawn

UM updated his case at the end saying he was found dead (of an apparent suicide) in a hotel room in Las Vegas. No sign of the money he stole so authorities speculate he may have blew it all in Vegas before taking his own life. UM made no mention of a secret gay lifestyle.

Secret gay lifestyle? Aha! Now I have a theory as to what might have happened to all the money he stole from his clients: he used the money to secretly invest in a bathhouse!

Here's the theory: he invested in a bathhouse with all the money he stole from his clients. He also used the place for his own personal pleasure (if you catch my drift), but all he got was displeasure. To make matters worse, the bathhouse was a failure and went out of business. Judge Fairbanks was so depressed by these setbacks that he did away with himself.

[Zero]

Originally Posted by Kane

Secret gay lifestyle? Aha! Now I have a theory as to what might have happened to all the money he stole from his clients: he used the money to secretly invest in a bathhouse!

Here's the theory: he invested in a bathhouse with all the money he stole from his clients. He also used the place for his own personal pleasure (if you catch my drift), but all he got was displeasure. To make matters worse, the bathhouse was a failure and went out of business. Judge Fairbanks was so depressed by these setbacks that he did away with himself.

I know you meant that as a funny (and it was), but hey, gay life style, money, bathhouse, Vegas..... All sounds pretty possible when you think about it.

[Avante]

His 65th birthday was October 19, 1987. This same day was also Black Monday where the stock market had the largest crash (up to that point). He likely had already invested and lost a lot of his own money and other people's money (but not all of it).

His scam might have worked for many more years in a bull market; however, the house of cards began to crumble when the stock marked crashed in 1987. That is when people started asking questions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Monday_(1987)

Before he disappeared, one person realized that his brother's estate was already 70% in the red and the Judge had taken the money.

He had been investing other people's money for years and embezzling money. It is likely his lucrative practice was mostly just embezzling and not the legal practice everyone thought he had. He was investing other people's and losing it for a 20 year period (and likely stole over 10 million).

The market was still in major trouble in 1989 when he disappeared (it took two years for the market to get back to where it had been) and he only had $250,000 of the original ten million when he left.

What happened to that money? Who knows.

[Blackout]

glad he's no longer around to steal anymore money from his citizens

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by Avante

What happened to that money? Who knows.

I think the speculation was that he'd actually spent it all before he committed suicide. You'd think there would be property or possessions you could trace it back to.

[MegtheEgg86]

http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...a-b3a0df28a4d2

I saw this today and found this comment posted below by a man who says he was on a Fairbanks investigatory committee:

Revisit the inside details of the Judge John C. Fairbanks case if you want a glimpse at inside trading on influence in New Hampshire's state affairs. The recorded testimony from numerous legislative hearings on the subject is still on file in Concord. As an attorney, Fairbanks allegedly bilked many clients of millions of dollars. He also allegedly traded decisions from the bench for sexual favors. When it came time to arrest Fairbanks, instead of going to Maine to pick him up at his summer cottage in Ogunquit, state law enforcement told him to drive himself to Concord and turn himself in. Fairbanks fled. He was never brought to justice despite state law enforcement being able to locate him. In my opinion, for reasons having to do with the prospect of testimony that would damn many high placed players in government and politics, it was in their interest that Fairbanks never appear in court.. Fairbanks died in Las Vegas, a suspicious “suicide” and the dishonest players he would have likely revealed in court skated free. When I served on the second legislative committee that investigated certain aspects of the Fairbanks affair, we were informed that the Las Vegas P.D. would be happy to re-open the investigation concerning Fairbank’s death if would only ask . Nothing ever came of this for reasons that for me are self-evident. Anyone interested can get a glimpse of just a tiny bit of this sordid episode if you Google Fairbank’s name.
- Paul Mirski, Enfield Center

So I searched around and gathered that Fairbanks was actually found suffocated in his hotel room; apparently, a bag was placed on his head and cinched. Also found in the room was a note allegedly written by Fairbanks attached to the mirror.

http://articles.latimes.com/1994-03-...as-vegas-hotel


Apparently the people of Sullivan Co, NH don't come to the suicide consensus. Many of them think it was an organized hit. I could personally understand that, as it's difficult to imagine that someone would choose to commit suicide by those means. The circumstances might lend into the scenario as well--perhaps Fairbanks owed money, for one reason or another, to a party on the other side of the law.

[idol]

If I can figure out which beach house he lived in during the summers in Maine, I'lll try to get a pic posted in the locations thread.

[scandal101]

I know it's a LATE reply... but, when his body was found in Las Vegas, there was a supposed "police convention" going on... that's what they called it, and local police officers of Newport and Sunapee were in attendance. They were also booked into the same hotel. What a coincidence, huh? Body was identified by Alan Soucy... a Sunapee, NH police officer. Sunapee is a town in Sullivan County.

PS - for the record... I am from Sullivan County, New Hampshire.

So... basically...
#1 ... the time his body was found... in Las Vegas... a police convention was going on, with Sullivan County officers in attendance.
#2 ... They were booked into the same hotel.
#3 ... A Sullivan County officer identified his body ASAP.

[River Walker]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

Apparently the people of Sullivan Co, NH don't come to the suicide consensus.

You got that right.

[freakbook]

HUGE bump. And I'm sorry if a more recent thread exists. But I was watching this case on Amazon, and in the glorious HD you can see the actor who's playing as the judge wearing a bald cap. Look at that discoloration. Beautiful.

[DazzlerSparkler]

omg lmao...

well....at least they tried?