Expensive Fantasy of Lord Will
Tomintoul, Scotland-On Saturday night at The Grouse's Nest,
they're still willing to raise a glass or two to "Lord Williams"
though now his title prompts laughter. And now they just call him "Tony".
There are those in this beautiful village in the mountains of Scotland
(population, 320) who say they were never quite sureabout Anthony Williams,
the soft-spoken, wealthy noble who arrived in 1986 with his well-dressed wife.
And there are others who say their suspicions were aroused over time,
as the 55-year-old Mr. Williams, who appeared onweekends turned out in fine suits,
bought up property after property, providing such a large injection of cash into
the villagethat he single-handedly brought the community back to life.
But no one could have possibly guessed the truth - that the man
with endless money and a friendly manner was not a lordat all but a government employee
living out a fantasy that he was a Scottish noble and paying for it by stealing
funds fromScotland Yard. About two weeks ago, a regretful Mr. Williams,
who had worked for the London police since 1959 and had risen to a $65,000 a year position
as deputy director of finance, was brought into court and sentenced to seven
and a half years inprison. Estimates are that he poured nearly $5 million of the stolen
money into the village and gave jobs to 43 people.
And nowthat he has fallen upon dark days at least some villagers are sticking by him.
"I found him a very charming man, very friendly, considerate - not at all proud,"
said Georgie McAllister, 70, themanager of the local museum whose family has been farming
the surrounding hills for generations. "It's hard to understandhow a clever
person like him could mislead people like that. It's sad. Of course,
it did benefit the village. A lot of the propertieswere beautifully restored."
A few doors down the square, barber Donald Corr sat inside his shop and described how
suspicions began to grow. "Everyonewondered where the money was coming from.
Why was he spending it in a little place in the mountains? Christ,
he wouldn'thave gotten it back in 100 years."
According to the court, Mr. Williams stole more than $8 million over eight years.
Most of it came from a secret fund thathad been placed under his sole authority and
that was supposed to be used to pay spies and conduct secret
activities againstthe Irish Republican Army.
Instead, it went to create one more British lord.
Mr. Williams bought an estate with a fine brick house in England.
He bought a beautiful home with white walls and a poolin Spain.
He bought noble titles at auctions, spending $95,000 to become the Lord of Chirnside,
and then adding on 10 moreScottish titles.
But most of all, he sunk his dishonest gains into this village that captured his heart
with its fine stone cottages, its centralarea of green grass, green rows of hedges,
and its fantastic view of rolling fields and pine forests disappearing
into the distancelike the men of an ancient army marching over the horizon.
He bought multiple cottages and fixed them up. He purchased the pub and made it into
a fine place to have a glass ofGlenlivet Scotch whiskey, produced only 10 miles
(16 kilometers) to the north. And most of all, he bought the run-downGordon Arms
Hotel and totally restored it, transforming it from a mess into a glorious
first-class hotel with 30 handsomelyfurnished rooms, wood-paneled stairs,
false bookshelves with fake leather books and an outstanding restaurant.
"I would offer him three choices of glasses for the restaurant: an average one,
a poor one, and fine crystal. Always, he chosethe crystal. Nothing but the best,"
said David Abdy, who was chosen by Mr. Williams to manage the construction work
andrun the businesses.
Mr. Williams deceived everyone, including Mr. Abdy and including even his own wife,
telling them that he inherited themoney from a rich uncle.
He was caught because his bank deposits were so large that they were noticed
by the bank'smanagement. The bank notified the police, who discovered,
to their terrible embarrassment, that the criminal was one oftheir own.
The London police commissioner publicly apologized for poorly supervising his department.
Under a hastily madearrangement, the police will sell the properties,
but at a substantial financial loss. Mr. Abdy, a 27-year-old businessman,
acquired the bulk of the properties for about half a million pounds,
obtaining bank loans and striking deals with various peopleto pay only a part of what
they are owed by Mr. Williams.
In the only interview he has given since his arrest a year ago,
Mr. Williams discussed his motives for the crime with aLondon newspaper: "I discovered this
bloody huge amount of money. I went from the need to pay off a few debts to what canonly
be described as greed. There is no way to justify it."
they're still willing to raise a glass or two to "Lord Williams"
though now his title prompts laughter. And now they just call him "Tony".
There are those in this beautiful village in the mountains of Scotland
(population, 320) who say they were never quite sureabout Anthony Williams,
the soft-spoken, wealthy noble who arrived in 1986 with his well-dressed wife.
And there are others who say their suspicions were aroused over time,
as the 55-year-old Mr. Williams, who appeared onweekends turned out in fine suits,
bought up property after property, providing such a large injection of cash into
the villagethat he single-handedly brought the community back to life.
But no one could have possibly guessed the truth - that the man
with endless money and a friendly manner was not a lordat all but a government employee
living out a fantasy that he was a Scottish noble and paying for it by stealing
funds fromScotland Yard. About two weeks ago, a regretful Mr. Williams,
who had worked for the London police since 1959 and had risen to a $65,000 a year position
as deputy director of finance, was brought into court and sentenced to seven
and a half years inprison. Estimates are that he poured nearly $5 million of the stolen
money into the village and gave jobs to 43 people.
And nowthat he has fallen upon dark days at least some villagers are sticking by him.
"I found him a very charming man, very friendly, considerate - not at all proud,"
said Georgie McAllister, 70, themanager of the local museum whose family has been farming
the surrounding hills for generations. "It's hard to understandhow a clever
person like him could mislead people like that. It's sad. Of course,
it did benefit the village. A lot of the propertieswere beautifully restored."
A few doors down the square, barber Donald Corr sat inside his shop and described how
suspicions began to grow. "Everyonewondered where the money was coming from.
Why was he spending it in a little place in the mountains? Christ,
he wouldn'thave gotten it back in 100 years."
According to the court, Mr. Williams stole more than $8 million over eight years.
Most of it came from a secret fund thathad been placed under his sole authority and
that was supposed to be used to pay spies and conduct secret
activities againstthe Irish Republican Army.
Instead, it went to create one more British lord.
Mr. Williams bought an estate with a fine brick house in England.
He bought a beautiful home with white walls and a poolin Spain.
He bought noble titles at auctions, spending $95,000 to become the Lord of Chirnside,
and then adding on 10 moreScottish titles.
But most of all, he sunk his dishonest gains into this village that captured his heart
with its fine stone cottages, its centralarea of green grass, green rows of hedges,
and its fantastic view of rolling fields and pine forests disappearing
into the distancelike the men of an ancient army marching over the horizon.
He bought multiple cottages and fixed them up. He purchased the pub and made it into
a fine place to have a glass ofGlenlivet Scotch whiskey, produced only 10 miles
(16 kilometers) to the north. And most of all, he bought the run-downGordon Arms
Hotel and totally restored it, transforming it from a mess into a glorious
first-class hotel with 30 handsomelyfurnished rooms, wood-paneled stairs,
false bookshelves with fake leather books and an outstanding restaurant.
"I would offer him three choices of glasses for the restaurant: an average one,
a poor one, and fine crystal. Always, he chosethe crystal. Nothing but the best,"
said David Abdy, who was chosen by Mr. Williams to manage the construction work
andrun the businesses.
Mr. Williams deceived everyone, including Mr. Abdy and including even his own wife,
telling them that he inherited themoney from a rich uncle.
He was caught because his bank deposits were so large that they were noticed
by the bank'smanagement. The bank notified the police, who discovered,
to their terrible embarrassment, that the criminal was one oftheir own.
The London police commissioner publicly apologized for poorly supervising his department.
Under a hastily madearrangement, the police will sell the properties,
but at a substantial financial loss. Mr. Abdy, a 27-year-old businessman,
acquired the bulk of the properties for about half a million pounds,
obtaining bank loans and striking deals with various peopleto pay only a part of what
they are owed by Mr. Williams.
In the only interview he has given since his arrest a year ago,
Mr. Williams discussed his motives for the crime with aLondon newspaper: "I discovered this
bloody huge amount of money. I went from the need to pay off a few debts to what canonly
be described as greed. There is no way to justify it."
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