The Con Kid

Script

Piraya Film presents

A film by Trond Kvist

The Con Kid

P: Hello, this is the police.

R: Hello, this is Karlsen, Bergen Precinct. I'm visiting and I met a guy I'm pretty sure is wanted. Can you put me through to the operatives?

P: Sure. What's it like for a Bergener in Oslo?

R: What it's like?

R: It's fine. I'm just visiting.

P: Here you go.

R: Thanks.

Richard Ringheim inspires confidence. He's very candid.

Principal of Stavanger Day School

There is no danger of reiteration.

Judge, Examining and Summary Court

R: Hello, this is Karlsen, I'm visiting from Bergen Precinct. I met a fellow I'm sure is wanted, could you check?

P2: What's his name?

R: I believe it's Richard Ringheim.

P: Impending arrest.

R: Yes.

P: Where is he?

P2: I'm at my hotel now, Radisson SAS. 10 minutes ago he was at the Narvesen newsstand at Oslo S.

R: He's wanted, right?

P: Yes, he is.

R: Send a car.

P: Well...

R: If one's available.

P: We might not have one.

R: Should I try to detain him myself?

P: That might be the best option.

R: I'll go. Can you tell me what we've got on him?

P: A lot of embezzlement. Numerous serious frauds and swindles.

R: Will you send a car when you can?

P: I will.

R: I'll call you when I get there.

P: Fine.

R: Bye.

R: That was me. I think they want me arrested. Or so he said.

R: Be criminal!

T: It's me.

J: Ready to go?

T: I want a coffee.

T: Three students wanting to make a film, about media clown and con man Richard Ringheim, contacted Piraya Film.

Trond Kvist, director.

T: They'd been in touch through his e-mail address , and spoken on the phone. He was on the run, maybe in Denmark or Sweden, no one knew.

Paper1: Con Man Richard Ringheim (19) still on the run

Paper2: They'll never find me in Spain.

T: I'd read and laughed about the guy, and I wanted in. These boys made the contact and we went to Sweden to meet Ringheim.

Julius Johannesen.

J: He changed what you thought was possible. I didn't think you could call the police, say you're a cop and then they'd do what you wanted. I thought if you bully the authorities they'll slap you down, but they couldn't even catch him.

Trygve Svensson

T: Imagine if I had sent all the cops to the airport, evacuated an oil platform, ordered a bomb area for the army, all the insane things Richard does. I'd be behind bars ages ago. That's the mystery in this film, why isn't he in jail, with his wild record?  

Used a PC to simulate a plane crash

R: 35 policemen went off to Flesland Airport, I called the CO at Bergen Precinct, and said: This is Steinar Karlsen, head of the Secret Service. "Hi, Steinar", he said like he knew me, but of course he only knew the name. "We have a serious situation at the airport, a brown Chevrolet with a few guys on their way. They'll blow up something and are probably armed." I called back 10 minutes later.

"I gathered the troops, are you on your way?"

"I can't find my damn cell phone, must be at the office."

 "I'm going now, give me 20-25 minutes."

"Fine, will you brief them yourself?"

"I can do that."

"On the phone, so they're fast."

"I want a Sierra 401 and 402, and two plainclothesmen."

"We've dressed one."  He said.

So he sent two guys back to change.

They get to put on their heavy vest, load their MP5, sirens wailing to Flesland and "Sierra 2 0 on site, I can't see anything."

They must have had fun... Heart thumping, adrenalin pumping, I'm sure they... I think they enjoyed it. I would have.

T: Richard said he was Steinar Karlsen when he sent the police to Flesland. Karlsen is Head of the  in western Norway. Richard is fascinated with Karlsen, and it turned out they have a relationship. Karlsen calls Richard for birthdays and Christmas. We don't know why.

Stockholm - February 2003

First meeting with Richard.

TS: I have strict orders to speak to no one. There must be some dude following us, he sent everyone around on the subway in Stockholm, we're supposed to call him at each new stop, and get new instructions to follow.     

"Alfa, Lima, Victor, India, ok."

T: Richard was scared of being arrested and wanted to make sure we weren't cops. He sent us around on the subway in Stockholm because he thought the police would never follow his orders like we did. He also had people spying on us. It seemed Richard was obsessed with spy-thriller stuff, with him being the spider pulling the strings.

"No, I'm Norwegian. Sorry, I can't talk to anyone, I'm under orders. Though I'd love to talk to you."

R: Electronics warehouse Elkjøp has a good business idea, they say. On the Internet it says "Bring your requisition and make your purchase in 30 minutes." That's advertisement.

It says: "Requisition. A purchase of the following goods or services." I can write delivery or computers or whatever. Here's the best part: Requisition is only valid..." It's valid up until 14 days after the receipt stamp, so we stamped it here with a date. It's invalid 14 days after that date. When they check, they see the date is less than 14 days ago.  And it says: "Only valid with stamp." Let's see, process development or purchase department, we can vary. "Shell process development" is my invention. Shell never heard of it.

I grew up with requisitions. I've lived in orphanages since I was 12. We shopped with those. I was fascinated with how easy it was. It looks ridiculously easy. I've known all along.

This is the Russian Federation's Embassy, or Consulate here in Ågotnes. This is where the goods were delivered, that we ordered in the name of the Consulate. They put all the stuff here, four PCs. A big pile of boxes, sofas, widescreen TVs, and if it rained for a few days, we had a trick, a man came with a tarp. Sometimes it stood for hours before we got it. I had two widescreens in the loo. 

Elkjøp Sartor Center - Sotra

Elkjøp man: We took his picture and hung it up as a warning. Do we have any requisitions from the Russian Embassy?

Welcome to the holding cell at Sartor Elkjøp. We have water and fresh air, and I'd love to keep him here for lectures on decent behavior.

Thore Mjeldheim, manager Sartor Elkjøp

If I ever see him here, this is where he'll stay. Until I say he can go.

WARNING...

Going to northern Sweden to find Richard Ringheim

J: Does anyone know where north is?

TS: We set the pace now.

J: Can't he give us any pointers?

TS: Three days ago we thought we were going to Copenhagen, then we were directed to Sweden.

J: And now we're going..?

K: To hell.

TS: We're going... I forgot where.

J: To northern Sweden.

Hudiksvall, Sweden

TS: Hello, Richard.

R: I'll come. Excellent.

TS: Hello, I'm Trygve.

R: Hi.

J: Julius.

R: Hi there.

R: Here we are.

J: Finally we meet.

J: Are your co-workers worried about this?

R: No, but... They have a low-profile policy. I don't.

J: We noticed.

R: So we compromised.

J: Why isn't low profile your style?

R: Hard to say. A vast need of attention?

R: It's tricking you, the music.

R: You go to a bank with ID. You show your driver's license and I think it's you, right? But it's not. I have three, none are me. Give me an hour and in a week I'll give you five. 

R: Social Security? This is Karlsen from the sheriff's office.

Lady: Hello.

R: Hi, we don't have people in the office right now, I have a naughty boy who won't give me his social security number, could you please?

L: What's his year of birth?

R: 1978.

L: Name?

R: Tygve Svensson. Try Bergen, he has a Bergen accent like I have.

L: Yes, there's a Trygve Svensson born in 1978.

The list is long, and he's born in September. (She gives him the number) "Sit down, we're almost done!"

All right.

I don't see any others.

R: Only him.

NRL: Yes, in that year.

R: He's getting nervous, it's time to talk. Thank you. Bye.

Is it you?

TS: Damn, it is!

R: There you go. Should we get some more info on you?

R: With a social security number and an address, you can empty a bank account, get loans of thousands, or millions, depending on your credit rating. Rent cars, stay at hotels, and you really get away with it. So imagine if you get medical information, police records, makes you wonder about protection of privacy. How does that work? Where is access denied?

R: This is Trygve Svensson, I'd like to know my balance.

Bank lady: Date of birth, please.

R: 0901 1978.

BL: Or your account number.

R: I don't remember it.

BL: Well, your social security number then.

R: Here you go.

BL: You have 6263 NOK.

R: May I have my account number for next time, please?

R: If you have less than 10 000 in your account it takes me 25 minutes to grab it. If you have 100 000 I'll play it safe and use 50 minutes. If you have a million there are several ways of doing it, and if you want it in cash I'd spend two or three weeks. Waiting for papers, getting the right ID, takes two weeks, so you wait.

When you have it you go to the bank. For less than 100 000 you can send a fax. Transfer from one account to another, it's much easier.

R: Before I started doing this, my finances were not good. This was a quick way to make money, and one I enjoyed. I like my job.  I make twice as much as an educated man. And I spend it however I want.

R: If you ask Norwegians, would you break the law for 10 million, they'd all say yes.

You go to school, get normal grades, you're an electrician till you're 50, or pound nails till you're 67,      

or program a computer, where's the fun in getting up at 7 am?

Work till 3 and go home.

They don't like it that a kid of 19 who never worked in his life can snap his fingers and you owe 200 000. People are naive and stupid and think it only happens somewhere else. Then you win the lottery. He got a passport in my name? How? I have no enemies, because no one wants to be my enemy.  No way.

People can think and do what they want, but if they hurt me I don't think it's wrong to lift 100 00 from them.

Fake Bondevik fooled ambassador.

This is Bondevik

R: When I celled the American ambassador. I said: "hello, this is Bondevik calling."

"Yes, hello."

"Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Magne Bondevik."

"Oh, hello."

"I need the ambassador please, it's urgent." I said.

 It took a while. "Mr. Prime Minister..."

"I would like to apologize the embarrassment..."

It was in Bondevik's best interest. He probably doesn't know, but was in his best interest.

I had 32 full-time employees for eight months without paying them.

Isn't that great?

T: Before R became a criminal he had a company that followed the police around and took pictures of accidents and such. He had 35 grown men working for him, and he was just 17.

They brought cars and gas money and he brought bulletproof vests and police radios.

Every time something happened in Bergen, off they went.

To take pictures. They sold some, to newspapers.

R: That was an honest job attempt.

And it was special. Fun. For a year I tracked everything the police did at night. Learned a lot about police strategy, enough to order them off later. By phone. 35 men to Flesland. In great detail, very realistic.

I was at Laksevåg. They were going to storm a building, gave the address on the radio. We got there first and were bored. So we went in.

I thought: "I can't go in." So I stood in the hall for pictures.

Then I heard on the intercom "They're coming!" and the door was locked and I couldn't get out.

The first thing those machine guns saw were blitzes. I took pictures. One cop said "I almost shot you in the face".  And my heart beat faster and I thought this isn't good, but I went back in.

R: Here you have hundreds of different weapons, ammunition, vests and extra equipment.

The cops in Norway use MP5, you can choose between single, burst or fully automatic.

Give me a second, I'll show you something. This scope is the same as an MP5. He has two clips. Don't try to kill them, aim for shoulders or knees.

When I was 13 in an orphanage in Bergen, a social worker said: "You've never been allowed to be a child."   

Later I was moved, I was 16, another one said: "You've never been allowed to be a teenager."

I was playing after a hearing on social services and private institutions and the phone rang and I answered:

"Hello, is this Richard?"

"Yes, Richard speaking."

"This is Kjell Magne Bondevik, do you know who I am?"

"Yes, but I'm busy, can you call back in half an hour?"

And he got kind of... Like I shouldn't say that because he's he and I was just me. He seemed nice but baffled.

"Of course I can" he said, and he called back an hour later and I was asked to a hearing at the Parliament.

I have a lock here, a regular safety lock here; this is all you can see from the outside. If we pretend this is the inside, a lock here, and here, and a broad one, a steel one. And here, you pull this in and down, and here's a safety chain, and here's another lock.

I have a little red box, there's a fish line that goes to a plug, and when it's pulled the alarm goes off. If someone touches this it howls.

I have another name for daily use.

People call me another name than mine, and I respond to it because I've learned to have another name, number, mother, father, I know it all by heart. Previous address, bank account, etc.

Every day I get up, go to the store, buy a coke, and go home is a victory. Because I went out, and didn't get arrested.

This I made for the cat, so he can go in and out as he pleases. I made it because I want him to have that freedom. Absolute freedom, he doesn't have to report to me, he's family and decides for himself.

In and out as he pleases.

My brother, that's one of the saddest things I know. That I remember.

Don't follow daddy when he goes to the store.

My brother died in a car accident, it's so sad. It really hurts, I could have been arrested before I made it to the funeral, so I chose not to go.

He believed life is what you make it, and so do I.

I'm broke now, I've invested in papers. I got a few stamps that say Military Headquarters and Military Headquarters Intelligence.

R: Ordered 4000 A4 100 gram natural paper with their logo, 4000 x 3 cards and two proper ID cards, bankcard quality. Military Headquarters Intelligence, nice logo, just like the real thing. I'll use it to play with Word 6.0, and let my creative juices flow.

This becomes sentences that interest the Syrian ambassador. I checked out the names of some Syrians I can refer to. I'll sell some papers, and some pictures, because how could you get this many? Now the Syrian ambassador ensured me that I don't have to worry about future finances.

Conversation with the Syrian embassy in Stockholm

(engelsk)

T: What are you doing with the Syrian embassy?

R: Giving him a paper I made myself. Pretending I work for the government. So I'm committing forgery.

T: You see no danger here?

R: No, because... What can he do, turn me in? "Hey, I bought false intelligence information!" He'll be a diplomat no more.

R: How will they find out I'm conning them, they can't call... With the requisition you can call the store, but they can't call and ask. The only way would be to harass the people I mentioned. Harass them so much they admit it, or find out it doesn't connect.

T: But the flipside of this...

T: Those you name as traitors to Syria...

R: Yes?

T: What will happen to them?

R: I hope Syria has a nice democratic system, and adheres to the Geneva Convention. If not, it's out of my hands. But I won't omit names because of the risk.

T: You're willing to have innocent people tortured or even killed for a profit...

R: They might not allow it.

R: They might not allow it. They have a legal system that...

T: Syria?

R: Syria has a legal system too.

R: Do they torture people in Syria... I can't answer that, I have limited information about the Syrian legal system.

R: Isn't that a good answer? I think so.

T: What do you get for treason in Syria?

R: 21 years... I don't know the Syrian legal system.

T: You don't know if they have an electric chair.

T: You don't even know if they have electricity!

T: When we realized the implications we faced a serious dilemma. An innocent person might be tortured in Syria... And we were involved, since we were making a film about Richard, knew about the plans and did nothing.

R: I'm going to turn myself in. I made a good deal that allows me more freedom than when I am wanted.

Stavanger - June 2003

R: Turning myself in doesn't mean paying my dues, just taking a break.

R: Most people retire when they're 67. I'm 19, so it's too early.

R: Hello!

R: Well, well. Hello!

(Sign: POLICE)

R: First I'll do two weeks. Maybe more. Even if I do a year, the revenue was awesome.

R: Hi, I'm Richard Rønhovde Ringheim, I've booked a room here for two weeks.

R: Hello!

Guard: Hi.

R: Richard Ringheim, how are you?

T: As Richard turned himself in, he was dishing out provocations. I thought he would lose his deal. But no. He was in custody for 10 days with extremely good conditions. Steinar Karlsen and the Secret Service pulled strings for kid glove treatment. The main question was: What's in it for the Secret Service?

Newspaper: Swindler gets special treatment    

R: Here we are flying home.

R: Meeting Steinar Karlsen in Bergen!

R: It even smells like Bergen.

R: They haven't charged me with any security things, no terror, no platform, nothing. Just some symbolic fraud. We discussed arraignment and agreed on 10-15 %. They had no intention of imprisoning me.

R: I'm visiting with Steinar Karlsen. He's invited me up for coffee.

(Sign: POLICE)

T: What's going on?

R: We'll see. Bye!

R: On the inside there's this button you push, and you hear a sound before the door opens. That's the sound. Then the door opens. You go in, they close the door. Then they lock it again. That's how it works.

T: We panicked about the Syria plans. I contacted Richard's lawyer, to make him stop Richard. One week later, the lawyer panics. He's afraid coffee with Karlsen meant a 21-year indictment. The police had found the Syria plans on a confiscated PC from the "Russian Embassy". So the Secret Service had known for years without intercepting.

A: The Secret Service knows all that Richard's done.

Roar Vegsund, Attorney

A: I think Richard's actions are of interest to them. I'm not sure why Karlsen invites him up for coffee, but that they are keeping a tab on him seems obvious.  

R: I've changed my business, you might say. I'm in the information business.

R: You should tape this for Steinar Karlsen.

He should see this, with Soviet uniforms and hats and the Russian flag and national anthem.

Steinar, I'm just pulling your leg!

R: He's nice! I don't think he's mad because I used his name. Nice guy!

R: Now, Steinar!

This will be more acceptable. Just kidding.

R: What will I live off? I'm considering various offers.

I'll ask Karlsen for money. More money.

T: After coffee with The Secret Service a huge change took place. He sealed up about anything to do with security and Karlsen, and asked Karlsen for permission to answer questions. A huge change.

R: Karlsen can send me to jail for 21 years for espionage. He made that very clear. My lawyer confirmed. You don't have to use that in the film. If you do, society will demand that he acts on what he knows.

R: I brought a CD with my first phone call to the Syrian embassy. When he says: "You work for the Norwegian army?" I say: "Yes!" "You are most welcome!" he says.

T: So Richard has been selling false intelligence information to the Syrians for a long time.

T: Richard comes to Bergen to meet Karlsen and the Secret Service and brings: a CD, a stamp that says: Military Headquarters, Intelligence office" and a floppy with the same logo. But he didn't dare show it, so I kept it for him. He wanted to check Karlsen's mood... Then he called and asked for the CD.

Conversation with the Syrian Embassy in Stockholm

(engelsk)

K: Steinar Karlsen.

T: This is Trond Kvist from Piraya Film.

K: Hi there!

T: Hi.

T: I'm calling because I'd like to interview you.

K: I'll have to decline. I consider myself finished with the Ringheim case.

T: We have a dilemma. We don't know what Richard has done for the Secret Service, or how involved they are. We know he's had contact with the Service, and that he's turned in material concerning his dealings with the Syrian Embassy. We can't prove anything, but we're convinced he is of use to them.

K: Steinar Karlsen.

R: Hi Steinar, Richard here.

K: Hi there!

R: I'd like to end it, I'm worried...

K: Well, are you on your cell? I'll make a phone call and call you back.

R: I'm on my cell. I'd like to conclude, we do it or we don't.

K: I understand.

A: What's special about the relationship between Richard and Karlsen is there are no lies. Richard plays square with Karlsen, and Karlsen seems true to his word.  Richard's life is full of letdowns. Karlsen is special to him, both due to his profession, which fascinates Richard, and because he's someone Richard could trust. Until now.   

R: This isn't a ploy to arrest me?

K. Not at all. You have to trust me, this has nothing to do with that.

R: Ok?

K: We'll talk, that's all.

K: Nothing else, you're safe.

R: Ok.

K: Do what you always do. Relax, sleep easy, don't think of this... From that angle.

R: I hope so. Deal.

K: Great!

R: Fine.

K: I'll call when I hear something.

R: Ok!

K: Good!

R: Bye!

T: If you could choose... Would you let go of your relationship with the Secret Service?

R: Let go of what?

T: The dependency.

R: Absolutely. I'd prefer that.

R: Ok, just a minute. Want one? Otto likes this.

Why does the cat live here?

R: He wants that bit. We'll cut it up. And garlic dressing, he likes that.

R: The cat lives here because he gets fed. So he comes back every night. It's very interesting.

T: How does that connect with you?

R: You figure it out.

T: How does that connect with you and Karlsen? Do you go to the police for food?

R: You do the math.

R: I won't go to jail, it won't happen. If I'm convicted, we'll appeal. I'll call Karlsen and have charges reduced.

In addition to the full-blown terror alert at Flesland, Ringheim sent out special patrol groups in 10 different precincts.

09.12.2001 Richard triggered the terror alarm and evacuation of the Snorre B oil platform.

Posing as a pilot in distress, Richard Ringheim caused an extensive search operation outside Haugesund 09.17.2003.

He claims to be responsible for shutting down the Bärsebäck nuclear power plant 09.24.2003. This caused a complete power failure in southern Sweden and the Copenhagen area.

R: My motor's on fire. Fuses are blown. It's not working!

Air Traffic Controller: What's your name?

R: I'm headed for Karmøy! I'm way out at sea!

R: I must make an emergency landing, I don't know if I'll reach the mainland. I'm doing 160 knots at 7000 feet.

R: I don't know if I can reach the mainland!

R: I'm alone on board.

R: I'm always... Like my brother said, life is what you make it. I keep making. I'll become very happy very soon.

Richard was only charged with economic fraud.

In the fall of 2004 he was sentenced to 14 months of prison,

7 months unconditional.

He's counting on serving his time at home with an electronic bracelet.     

Richard says he still cooperates with the National Secret Service. The Syrian Embassy was not the only buyer of false intelligence information, the Libyan Embassy followed. This, in close cooperation with international intelligence agencies. One wonders if this coheres with Norwegian foreign policy, that Norway as a nation should spy on Libya and Syria. But it's happening. At least, according to Richard.