Nearly 20 years ago, I made a Craigslist post looking for a roommate.
This guy named Justin responded saying he wasn't looking for a roommate, but he liked my ad and the interests and music I'd listed and thought we might make good friends.
I ended up exchanging a series of emails with him and he was really cool and interesting.
At some point, I learned his last name was Franchi, so, being the absolute creep that I am, I googled his name and came up with a series of articles and bulletins about how Justin Franchi was wanted by the FBI for terrorism.
I was like WTF? but I was so curious about this guy so I continued talking. I brought it up to my friends and one was like "Yo, stop talking to that guy!" and the other was like "Keep talking! There's a REWARD!"
I was like "Y'all, I’m no narc. Besides, he's an 'ECO terrorist' so maybe he's not the bad guy?"
My friends were now even more invested than I was so we pored over his well-written yet strangely cryptic emails trying to figure out details on his whereabouts, reading into EVERYTHING as if it had a secret meaning.
At some point he said he would be "Coming from the west" and we were like "WTF, we're in Michigan, he could be ANYWHERE!"
He eventually gave me enough information to figure out that this Justin Franchi was just a normal guy from a suburb of Detroit and just happened to share a name with an eco terrorist on the FBI's most wanted list.
Even though I was no longer going to get a reward, I ended up meeting him and he was super cool and I remember hanging out and driving around in my Jetta listening to Swedish indie pop and we remained friends for several years until I moved to Chicago and changed my phone number and lost contact.
Just wanted to say hi (if you're out there) Justin Franchi (the indie pop one, not the terrorist one).
@Alice I miss craiglist. When I moved to L.A. and was unemployed, I almost, for real, took a job I found on it that was to play with a high level execs hair while she fell asleep every night. No words or talk or anything, just play with her hair until she falls alseep, then leave. Went back and forth through a few e-mails, but I chickened out. Wish I'd taken the job just for the story. I miss those old, weird internet things.
@Alice I used to go to a Middle Eastern music camp, where one of the (violin) teachers was Justine Francis’s girlfriend Briana Waters, who was arrested for that.
@Lazarou I agree! That's why I wasn't going to turn him in, even for a reward. But I was SO curious about him when I thought I was talking to THAT Justin Franchi.
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