More lies EXPOSED!!
So I've been following this thread from the beginning, I didn't want to post anything until now because I didn't want to blow my cover. You see, I decided to give William Anthony aka Mark Jones a taste of his own medicine!

Knowing that he had a hot snake that he'd have to dump, I decided to search craigslist and found this ad:
http://providence.craigslist.org/pet/2471677995.html
rhode island craigslist > community > pets
Dwarf Albino Tiger Retic (RI)
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Date: 2011-06-30, 9:17PM EDT
Reply to:
[email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]
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Hello there i am looking to rehome my male 4 foot Dwarf Albino tiger Retic Python super tame great eater healthy wont get to big because dwarf but still prob 12-13 feet i bet as normals get 20 plus so anyways just looking to rehome him for 250 which is a very low rehome fee or trade for a boa morph or ball morph cant really house a retic in a small house but email for pics and offers ty have a great day.
Location: RI
it's ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 2471677995
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So I sent a message hoping it would be him. My plan was to convince him to trade me the retic for some ball python morphs (which I don't have) lol... Obviously the plan was to have him ship first and not ship him anything in return.

I would then arrange for the snake to be shipped to Dylan, the rightful owner!
Here are the messages...
Dwarf Albino Tiger Retic
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InboxX
Reply |LUIS TRIANA to comm-uekbm-247.
show details Jul 8 (5 days ago)
Hello,
I was wondering if you still had this snake available. I was also wondering if you would consider a trade for some dart frogs, thumbnail frogs, or ball python morphs. I am looking to transition into retics so please let me know if you have any others available as well.
Thank you,
Luis
www.frogmorhps.com
Reply Forward
He replied from: William Anthony <
[email protected]> I then knew I was on the right track! Below is his reply...
Reply |William Anthony to me
show details Jul 8 (5 days ago)
ball morphs wat u got def interrested
Reply |LUIS TRIANA to William
show details Jul 9 (5 days ago)
In ball pythons I have:
male bumble bee 500-600 grams
female pastel 800-900 grams
female spider 400-500 grams
female lesser about 500 grams
male albino about 800 grams
I also have a clutch of albino spiders and het for albino spiders and a young pair of blue aru green tree pythons.
Let me know which ones you were intersted in. Some of them are higher end morphs so I would need some cash to cover the difference. Some I would just straight up trade. Although, I think I should mention that I am located in Miami,Fl and this trade would require that we both ship. I don't know if you're fammiliar with shipping snakes, but it's really not that hard I can walk you through it. Let me know if this is something that would interest you. Also, if there's any other reptiles or amphibians you may be looking for please let me know. I have a small store at a local flea market so if I don't have it I can probably find it for you.
Thank you,
Luis
www.frogmorphs.com
- Show quoted text -
Reply |LUIS TRIANA to William
show details Jul 9 (5 days ago)
Also, do you have any other retics available for sale or trade? Also, let me know if shipping is an issue. I noticed you're in Rhode Island, I have a few buddies in Mansfield who might be able to pick it up for me. Oh, and can you text me some pics of the snake to (786) 394-7048 and are you feeding frozen or live?
Thanks,
Luis
www.frogmorphs.com
- Show quoted text -
Reply |William Anthony to me
show details Jul 9 (5 days ago)
well my girl is worth of a grand so how about the bumblebee and albino male and spider female thats still in ur favor price wise let me know ty.
Reply |William Anthony to me
show details Jul 9 (5 days ago)
shipping is cool bro will take pics for u bro
Reply |LUIS TRIANA to William
show details Jul 9 (5 days ago)
Well, that doesn't seem very fair to me. How about the bumblebee and the spider female for your retic? Please let me know soon as I am working on another trade with someone and they might want the bumblebee. Also, I'd be willing to trade you the bumblebee with the pastel female... she'll be ready to go soon and you can make killerbees! Adult female pastels are probably just as pricey as your retic. Amyways, let me know what you had in mind.
Thank you,
Luis
www.frogmorphs.com
Reply |William Anthony to me
show details Jul 9 (5 days ago)
can u do the bumblee and albino?
Reply |LUIS TRIANA to William
show details Jul 9 (5 days ago)
Damn, those are my favorite 2 snakes. I don't know... can you send me some pics of the retic?
Thank you,
Luis
www.frogmoprphs.com
Reply |LUIS TRIANA to William
show details Jul 9 (5 days ago)
Hey do you have gmail chat? or can you call or text me? I'm eager to make a deal and I feel like this whole emailing back and forth thing is time consuming. At this rate we'll establish a deal sometime next week lol... feel free to call or text me with any questions you may have 786-394-7048 my name is Luis.
Thanks,
www.frogmorphs.com
From here on out we communicated through text messages. *Please note* My outbox on my phone was full and messages were lost, therefore my replies through text message might not be precisely word for word how they were written at the time. I tried to write them as accurately as I could from memory. I still have all of the messages he sent to me, they are written verbatim.
He then texted me " hey luis buddy whats good im the retic guy"
I replied " Hey buddy, what's up? I'm a little hesitant to give up my 2 favorite snakes, can you tell me more about your snake? Is it a male or female? Size/weight? And can you text me some pics?
He text me from 774-285-0030
He then texted me " def female 4 to 5 feet about 1 to 2 years old and will send pics"
He then texted me
I then compared the images to the ones on this thread, I also contacted Dylan so that he can confirm that the pictures were of his snake. Once he confirmed it was, I proceeded with my plan.
He then texted me " u get the pics ?? "
I replied " Yeah, she's beautiful!"
He then texted me " U got pics of the 2 ballz??"
I replied " I really want your retic, but you're killing me with the bee and albino."
He then texted me " how u find me from craigslist?"
I replied " Yeah, craigslist. Is she cage aggressive?"
He then texted me " No cage aggression at all bro tamest retic i ever owned"
I replied " Is she eating live or pre-killed/frozen?"
He then texted me "live never had any issues destroying them fast lol eating large rats with eaze"
I replied " Sounds good, but I'd really like to keep my albino. How about I trade you the bee and the pastel female? She'll be ready to go soon and you can make killerbees!"
He then texted me " bees are like 350 here and albinos 300 i paid a grand for this dwarf girl"
I replied " so the bee and the pastel? An adult female pastel alone is worth about what your snake is worth."
He then texted me "unless u want to do the bee,pastel and spider i got to get a close value on her pastel females aint that much like 200 that size spiders 150 just telling u prices in mass."
I replied " You know what? Screw it, I'll give you the bee and albino. I really want a retic to show off at the beach!"
He then texted me " lets do. it"
I replied " Ok, great. What method of shipping do you use?"
He then texted me " i do overnight post office its same as fedex but way cheaper thats how i will ship u can ship overnight however i pack my own box and do it the right way lol"
I replied
"Would you be able to ship Monday for Tuesday delivery because I will be going out of town on Wednesday."
He then texted me
"monday is cool"
He then texted me
"ok buddy awesome"
I replied
"Okay, cool, so as soon as she gets here on Tuesday I'll ship out my snakes and you will receive them on Wednesday."
He then texted me
"so hold up u came to me on a trade but u want me to ship my girl out first?? Cause i got burnt before i dont know you bro i got good refrences in trades i can give u"
I replied
"I guess I should have mentioned before that I do not ship first. I have hundreds of good references I can provide."
He then texted me "cant u send them to ur buddys in mansfield then i meet up with them bang out the trade then they ship to u?? Doesnt that seem straight?"
I replied "I can give him a call, but we would have to make it worth his while somehow."
He then texted me "ya def lets do it i can hook him up"
I replied "Okay, I'll give him a call."
He then texted me "ok buddy"
I replied"So where does he have to drive to?"
He then texted me "i can meet him somewhere"
I replied "Would it be at least under an hour drive for him?"
He then texted me
"Ask him how far he is from fall river"
I replied "He said it's about an hour away, but he still hasn't given me an answer. Honestly, it doesn't sound like he wants to do it."
He then texted me "tell him i will drive to him and give him 20bucks all he is doing is receiving the package and shipping urs"
I replied"I just spoke to him, he had a pretty nasty tone. God knows what he's going through, I didn't even ask. He still didn't give me an answer and I don't want to keep bothering him."
He then texted me "if not every trade i did we shipped same day and traded tracking numbers it worked well"
I replied "Sorry, but I need to check out your girl first to make sure she's healthy. As soon as she gets here and I open the box and see that she's healthy I will package my snakes and send them to you."
He then texted me "im thinking it over man im out with my kids so will text u later tonight ok"
I replied "Alright, but let me know soon because I'm working out a deal on another retic and the guy is interested in the bumblebee."
He then texted me "let me think it over and let u know later tonight im out with my kids bro"
I replied "Hey, have you decided? The other retic guy keeps pushing me for an answer, and if you're not going to trade I don't want to miss out on his offer."
He then texted me "u can go with him then its ok honestly all my years of dealing with reptile people people that contact u usually ship first or same day"
He then texted me "i listed her in mass u hit me up from florida and say ur gamr for a trade but u dont ship first or same day nothing personal but throws a red flag up ive been burnt before bro cant take a hit"
I replied "I just did a google search for [retic craigslist] and found your ad. I figured we could work something out, especially since I have a friend nearby. Google the term reptiles4rmlu, that's me, I've been around for a while. But you know what, if it's too much trouble just forget about it. Thank you for your time."
He then texted me
"no problem"
He then texted me
"dont u feel like if i take a risk u should to?? Its only fair bro"
He then texted me
"mind u i seen no pics of the balls"
I replied ""With all due respect, I don't know you. I'd hate to send out my snakes and receive an empty box in return, or even worse, a dead snake. I'm not saying that you would do such a thing, but I'm sure you understand."
I replied "I'm a business owner, you can read about me online. I used to operate under crestedgeckomorphs.com, but have since then sold the site. I now operate under frogmorphs.com. If something goes wrong you can go after me and my business."
I replied "Who would I go after? Where can I read up on you? I don't even know your name! Plus I gotta take your word that your snake is a dwarf. You know exactly what my snakes are just by looking at them."
He then texted me
Ok i will ship first if u paypal me her value then once i get the snakes i will refund if i pull anything u got buyers protection just so i can feel safe"
I replied "If I had her value lying around I would just buy her. Are you into boas? I'm not, but I have a long time customer who came in today and brought me a baby hogg island. I'll sweeten the deal and throw her in. What do you say?"
He then texted me
"u will have my address my phone number my name if i fu

ed u i could get charged with theft bro i aint trying to cop a charge"
I replied "Ditto"
He then texted me
half her value then?? Its just a deposit bro u get it back wat part of florida u in??"
I replied " Miami"
He then texted me
" i got a buddy in miami can i send him the retic and have him meet u???"
I replied " Yeah, that'll work."
He then texted me
"then i will hit him up and have him meet u no prolem bro so i can have the hogg boa to i breed boas"
I replied "I guess."
He then texted me
"can i still get the pics first then its a deal"
I replied "Yeah, I've been meaning to send you pics, but my camera is out of batteries. I'll get some in the morning and send the pics then."
He then texted me
"ok cool bro deal. Thouhj"
I replied "So your buddy will meet me Tuesday morning then?"
He then texted me
"shouldnt be a problem"
He then texted me
"he will def meet u so the grams and sex on the bee and albino again are??"
I replied "The male bumble bee is about 600 grams and the male albino about 800 grams."
I then emailed him...
Reply |LUIS TRIANA to William
show details Jul 10 (4 days ago)
Here are some pics...
I then texted him "Did you get the pics?"
I got no reply...
Reply |LUIS TRIANA to William
show details Jul 13
Hey, I never heard back from you. I thought we had a deal.
Thanks,
Luis
www.frogmorphs.com
Still no reply.
I stopped hearing from William when someone on the thread mentioned that they knew him personally and confirmed where he lived. I imagine he then got scared and agreed to give the snake back to Dylan.
I did a search on facebook with William Anthony's aka Mark Jones' email address,
[email protected], and found his profile. This was the first picture posted of William Anthony on this thread. On his profile there were also two young boys, which I'm guessing are his kids, probably named Tim around age 8 and Ben around age 2. I'm making this assumption because of his email address.
It's funny how the craigslist ad stated he wanted $250 for his
"MALE" snake, but he then wanted $1,000 in trade value for his
"GIRL". OMG! Are there hermaphrodite snakes?!

Honestly, I went along with it because I was trying to get Dylan's snake. I knew what the snakes I was supposedly trading were worth, but decided to down play how much I actually knew.
For the record, I do not know anyone in Mansfield, MA. I made it up thinking someone could meet him locally and get the snake. While thinking it through, I realized this guy was probably going to ask to meet in a public place. Then he would wait to see who was there to trade with him all the while hiding behind his tinted windows. If he saw anyone who he even thought looked like someone from law enforcement or without snakes in their hands he probably would have left as if he was never there.
Everyone on this thread may have an opinion on this situation. I, like many others, tried to see what I could do to help Dylan. This is why although some may not agree with what I was trying to do, I do not regret it. It would have been great though to get a healthy snake sent back to its owner and have a thief asking when I'm completing my side of the "trade". I would simply have replied "i never got ur snake bro!".
I'm just glad Dylan got his snake back. Not in the conditions we all hoped, but he got her back nonetheless. It is amazing what the people on this forum have accomplished.

Let's hope for a speedy recovery.
Written by: Luis
Icons inserted by: Christina