Inquiry Harry Wessels - Monster Snakes inquiry

[sally-dog]

[the marion county sheriffs dept told me theyd look into it, but seemed nonchalant and didnt even take my info until i offered it to them./QUOTE]

Here is yet another person who got no results contacting authorities.

 

[Donnie_K]

Well well well, Looks like someone finally got to taste a slice of that karma cake he'd been baking for so long. Hi guys!

 

[sally-dog]

I hope that the authorities regard him more seriously in the future because that's the only thing that's really going to stop him. He's made a living as a scammer and he's actually done a decent job of it to carry on this long, except that he let the wrong person live on his property. It seems that he and his wife have made their entire existence that way. Also, he made the mistake of dealing with animals. No one likes it when you hurt children or animals!

I am ashamed to have associated with him and have acted on his part. It was only when I stopped fighting his battles for him and kept friends that he didn't like that he made up a reason to dislike me a second time. Until these photos showed up, I had just resigned that he was a huge jerk but seemed to care for his animals. He put on an outrageously good front for visitors, all the animals were healthy and the cages were clean. Seeing the animals in person those few times seemed to back up his rants against animal abuse and how he loathed it. If you modded for him, he kept you in the dark on the other side of the story, showed you bits and pieces of the big picture.

The only thing I saw during those times that had me wondering was the flea dermatitis on some of the dogs and cats, and he was letting them breed regularly and freely. Some of those dogs and cats are probably very inbred. He had a dog I saw in June 2010 with a hacking cough that sounded like late stage heart worm, if you've ever heard a dog with it you'd recognize it. If no flea prevention was being used, then its safe to assume no heartworm meds were given either. In Oct 2011, I saw the flea dermatitis offered some discounted flea meds and heartworm meds to his wife but heard nothing. I figured they were country bumpkins who just needed some education. It's pretty typical of people who live that far out in the sticks to let their animals run to and fro. But no, these people probably forgot because they are the the world's biggest pot heads. Detrimentally so. They could afford their weed smoking but not feeding or treating their animals.

Court confirmed that the dog died earlier this year, and that her husband buried it. I have a photo of it, but my Flickr account is getting full. I'd like to save room in it to host pics of my own healthy animals. If you want the rest of them, PM me and I can forward them.

 

[Micha]

My husband and I were also fooled by Harry. I couldn't believe what I saw when Court showed us the pictures especially of the emaciated albino. It made sense why he hadn't posted recent pictures of his snakes. I can only hope that Harry will man up and get help for his animals instead of worrying about his ego.

 

[Donnie_K]

It's odd seeing all these people say Sonny said he couldn't afford it... the guy used to literally swear up and down on the phone all day that he was a millionaire. Which was obviously a lie because he lives in a doublewide behind his mom's house, I've been there. Our falling out happened when he got some titanium hets from Chris McVicar and started telling people they were a new morph, "Gargoyle, a Monster Snakes Exclusive" and I told him he was wrong for doing that. Up until then I was his main mod, as sad as that is to admit.

I got forwarded the pics in an email, but when I try to click on the links it tells me access denied? anyone know what's up with that?

 

[sally-dog]

It's odd seeing all these people say Sonny said he couldn't afford it... the guy used to literally swear up and down on the phone all day that he was a millionaire. Which was obviously a lie because he lives in a doublewide behind his mom's house, I've been there. Our falling out happened when he got some titanium hets from Chris McVicar and started telling people they were a new morph, "Gargoyle, a Monster Snakes Exclusive" and I told him he was wrong for doing that. Up until then I was his main mod, as sad as that is to admit.

I got forwarded the pics in an email, but when I try to click on the links it tells me access denied? anyone know what's up with that?

You hear that and then you go to his house for the first time and it's not the sort of place you'd see a millionaire living. It's an OK place, but it's small and obviously kept up for visitors but you're like "Um, well... maybe he's humble or something?" There is no doubt a LOT of money has been through his hands but no where near what he claims. Or maybe it has... he just smokes and drinks it away.

He did have a penchant for naming things that he'd never proven. The latest was the "cryptic". Apparently a weird super-tiger-esque looking thing hatched out of breeding with a normal female and something else that wasn't a tiger to produce an animal that looked like that. So he called it a cryptic.

The animal he gave me 2 years prior was an offspring of that female. She's pretty but not oddly patterned, but he came to me and said that Felony (my snake) is het cryptic and I should breed her. If anything she is a normal het albino and I have no plans to breed her at all. No offense to other retic breeders but I do feel they are over saturated and the odds are that the majority of people that own them won't keep them for the duration of their lives. I'm glad I got this snake from Harry instead of someone who would get tired of her, neglect her, or abandon or sell her.

He gave away a lot of snakes, claimed it was generosity, but in all reality its obvious he didn't want to feed them or couldn't sell them due to low market value. I remember some of the pictures these people were posting of animals they got from him. One was this baby snake laying on a dirty coffee table right next to a plate of beans, an ashtray, and a pack of cigarettes. How classy. If you were a mod, all you were allowed to say was "looks good". I don't care how people live but if you are proud of something, show it more respect. Goes without saying that the majority of snakes Harry gave away either are dead now or were sold or given away. Some are still with their original owners, though, but it's a rarity.

This is Felony. Some of you recognize her from forums. She's done public education for 2 years. Hundreds of people in Kansas City have seen our demos. She now works with models and photographers as needed, but is otherwise just spoiled. Some good did come from such a terrible situation.


honeybee by rakels87, on Flickr

 

[ShadowAceD]

You hear that and then you go to his house for the first time and it's not the sort of place you'd see a millionaire living. It's an OK place, but it's small and obviously kept up for visitors but you're like "Um, well... maybe he's humble or something?" There is no doubt a LOT of money has been through his hands but no where near what he claims. Or maybe it has... he just smokes and drinks it away.

He did have a penchant for naming things that he'd never proven. The latest was the "cryptic". Apparently a weird super-tiger-esque looking thing hatched out of breeding with a normal female and something else that wasn't a tiger to produce an animal that looked like that. So he called it a cryptic.

The animal he gave me 2 years prior was an offspring of that female. She's pretty but not oddly patterned, but he came to me and said that Felony (my snake) is het cryptic and I should breed her. If anything she is a normal het albino and I have no plans to breed her at all. No offense to other retic breeders but I do feel they are over saturated and the odds are that the majority of people that own them won't keep them for the duration of their lives. I'm glad I got this snake from Harry instead of someone who would get tired of her, neglect her, or abandon or sell her.

He gave away a lot of snakes, claimed it was generosity, but in all reality its obvious he didn't want to feed them or couldn't sell them due to low market value. I remember some of the pictures these people were posting of animals they got from him. One was this baby snake laying on a dirty coffee table right next to a plate of beans, an ashtray, and a pack of cigarettes. How classy. If you were a mod, all you were allowed to say was "looks good". I don't care how people live but if you are proud of something, show it more respect. Goes without saying that the majority of snakes Harry gave away either are dead now or were sold or given away. Some are still with their original owners, though, but it's a rarity.

This is Felony. Some of you recognize her from forums. She's done public education for 2 years. Hundreds of people in Kansas City have seen our demos. She now works with models and photographers as needed, but is otherwise just spoiled. Some good did come from such a terrible situation.


honeybee by rakels87, on Flickr

This whole situation is just depressing.

On a side note, Felony looks as amazing as she always has with you, Rachel.

 

[wheresstimpy]

Wow. To read all of this blows me away. Those pictures are beyond upsetting to me, and I can't imagine how Harry and Brenda have let this get so out of disgustingly out of control.
I used to talk to Harry quite frequently, I modded on his forums, I've been to his "house", and I even bought a snake from him. Keep in mind the snake I bought is nowhere near what he was sold as genetically, but I am happy with him none the less, so I will consider myself lucky that I was only overcharged.
Harry and I got along pretty well since we had a few similar interests (snakes, pc's, and bikes) and in all the conversations I had with him, (in person, on the phone, and on the internet) he always came across as a guy who genuinely loved his animals. I can honestly say I would have never expected THIS from him. I knew he was a narcissist, right off the bat, but I was drawn in by the love him and his wife seemed to have for their animals.
When he invited my girlfriend and I to come to one of his little parties I looked him up. It's amazing what you can find on the internet if you know where to look. I found out that he has gone by a couple different names, he's originally from Chicago, he got in trouble as a kid, it appeared there was some issues with drugs, fighting, and armed robbery, but many many years ago, some of this I believe was covered up by Harrys father (this is also supported by a conversation I had with Harry after a few drinks). I found out he was a video game dealer (obvious to anyone who has seen his collection) and a quick look on some forums showed that he burned his bridge there by scamming some people. The I found Ozark Herps, which I wasn't sure was him until he told me how him and Brenda used to deal with a lot of Burms and Boas which pretty much confirmed it for me, and I knew he started monster snakes and he kicked up a whole bunch of bad relations with all the other players in the game, mostly due to what I guessed to be issues with his ego. To be perfectly honest though, I was willing to let it all go (not forget) because he seemed to genuinely love the animals. And when I was at his house, I never saw anything like what these pictures show.

They had a lot of animals to care for, but since neither of them work, it didn't seem to be an unreasonable task. They live in a BF Egypt part of Yellville Arkansas, a part of the country where the cost of living is nothing, and from what I understand, his mom owned the property. It seemed plausible that a guy selling high end snakes could support himself , and he certainly had all the toys to make it seem like money was flowing.
I watched Harry burn through a whole bunch of people in the time i was friends with him, and i always knew a falling out would happen, but honestly it lasted longer than i thought. I watched him basically make himself out to be hero to the hobby against everyone. Granted, some of the people he has grievances with I do believe are trash, and warranted the bashing, but he is at the top of that list now as far as I'm concerned. Towards the end I was starting to get fed up, mostly because i felt the transition to the facebook account dimmished the value of the information given to help people (since the knowledgeable posts get buried in shit so fast on facebook, and the organization of info is horrid). But the other part i didn't like was that about half of the mod group believed he was a egotistical narcissist, and the other half believed he was god. People like Court and Angel would mindlessly parrot anything he said, and answer all questions with "ask Harry (as if no one else on the planet knows anything)", Court (who thrives on this drama just as much as he does) became a retic expert over night, and helped build Harrys ego up to a new high. I was kind of done, i missed the forums, but i still love the animals and wanted to be a part of the hobby and helping people.
Earlier, Harry had introduced me to Eric at Sentec, and I had purchased three cages from him while him and Harry were "partners". Later on, just like everyone else, Harry burned that bridge and declared Eric a bad guy. Well i like Eric, and i like his cages, and with growing snakes i needed another cage (and another one soon). When Harry found out that i purchased an additional matching cage from Eric, he branded me SCUM and told me i lined the pockets of his enemies. That was it for me, i bounced out of that group, blocked them all and eventually deleted facebook altogether (never happier). No need for any drama.
To see this now would be funny it's so ironic, except that i care for those animals and am infuriated about how they are being cared for (if they are even alive anymore). I looked up his Youtube and he is still posting away out of that weird little "house" like nobody's business. I am ashamed to say I knew him and more ashamed to say that were any sort of friends.

-Ren Paolino

 

[Donnie_K]

Harry was never about helping the animals or anyone else. He was just a good bullshit who wanted to play king and scam as many people as he could. He knew the shit would come out sooner or later.

 

[sally-dog]

Wow. To read all of this blows me away. Those pictures are beyond upsetting to me, and I can't imagine how Harry and Brenda have let this get so out of disgustingly out of control.
I used to talk to Harry quite frequently, I modded on his forums, I've been to his "house", and I even bought a snake from him. Keep in mind the snake I bought is nowhere near what he was sold as genetically, but I am happy with him none the less, so I will consider myself lucky that I was only overcharged.
Harry and I got along pretty well since we had a few similar interests (snakes, pc's, and bikes) and in all the conversations I had with him, (in person, on the phone, and on the internet) he always came across as a guy who genuinely loved his animals. I can honestly say I would have never expected THIS from him. I knew he was a narcissist, right off the bat, but I was drawn in by the love him and his wife seemed to have for their animals.
When he invited my girlfriend and I to come to one of his little parties I looked him up. It's amazing what you can find on the internet if you know where to look. I found out that he has gone by a couple different names, he's originally from Chicago, he got in trouble as a kid, it appeared there was some issues with drugs, fighting, and armed robbery, but many many years ago, some of this I believe was covered up by Harrys father (this is also supported by a conversation I had with Harry after a few drinks). I found out he was a video game dealer (obvious to anyone who has seen his collection) and a quick look on some forums showed that he burned his bridge there by scamming some people. The I found Ozark Herps, which I wasn't sure was him until he told me how him and Brenda used to deal with a lot of Burms and Boas which pretty much confirmed it for me, and I knew he started monster snakes and he kicked up a whole bunch of bad relations with all the other players in the game, mostly due to what I guessed to be issues with his ego. To be perfectly honest though, I was willing to let it all go (not forget) because he seemed to genuinely love the animals. And when I was at his house, I never saw anything like what these pictures show.

They had a lot of animals to care for, but since neither of them work, it didn't seem to be an unreasonable task. They live in a BF Egypt part of Yellville Arkansas, a part of the country where the cost of living is nothing, and from what I understand, his mom owned the property. It seemed plausible that a guy selling high end snakes could support himself , and he certainly had all the toys to make it seem like money was flowing.
I watched Harry burn through a whole bunch of people in the time i was friends with him, and i always knew a falling out would happen, but honestly it lasted longer than i thought. I watched him basically make himself out to be hero to the hobby against everyone. Granted, some of the people he has grievances with I do believe are trash, and warranted the bashing, but he is at the top of that list now as far as I'm concerned. Towards the end I was starting to get fed up, mostly because i felt the transition to the facebook account dimmished the value of the information given to help people (since the knowledgeable posts get buried in shit so fast on facebook, and the organization of info is horrid). But the other part i didn't like was that about half of the mod group believed he was a egotistical narcissist, and the other half believed he was god. People like Court and Angel would mindlessly parrot anything he said, and answer all questions with "ask Harry (as if no one else on the planet knows anything)", Court (who thrives on this drama just as much as he does) became a retic expert over night, and helped build Harrys ego up to a new high. I was kind of done, i missed the forums, but i still love the animals and wanted to be a part of the hobby and helping people.
Earlier, Harry had introduced me to Eric at Sentec, and I had purchased three cages from him while him and Harry were "partners". Later on, just like everyone else, Harry burned that bridge and declared Eric a bad guy. Well i like Eric, and i like his cages, and with growing snakes i needed another cage (and another one soon). When Harry found out that i purchased an additional matching cage from Eric, he branded me SCUM and told me i lined the pockets of his enemies. That was it for me, i bounced out of that group, blocked them all and eventually deleted facebook altogether (never happier). No need for any drama.
To see this now would be funny it's so ironic, except that i care for those animals and am infuriated about how they are being cared for (if they are even alive anymore). I looked up his Youtube and he is still posting away out of that weird little "house" like nobody's business. I am ashamed to say I knew him and more ashamed to say that were any sort of friends.

-Ren Paolino

Good to hear from you, Ren. I was glad to meet you and Fiona back in Oct 2011. I still have that placemat Fiona made Felony.

Despite what a waste of air this fool is, he did have habit of attracting good people (who later figured out his BS and fell out with him). I owe one of my greatest friendships to this turd, ironically.

 

[amercnwmn]

Wow..I had no idea you felt that way about me, Ren. I'm sorry you feel that way. I have PMs from Harry demanding I stand up for him or comment/reply on some drama BS I only realized later that HE initiated behind the scenes and managed to make himself appear the victim of attacks and drama. As his friend, I stood up for him. Little did I know his experience was BS, and Brenda was the "hands on" keeper. I enjoyed meeting you and Fiona, and I still have my placemat

 

[jadonh]

I have read this whole thing, and just Wow. I mean I looked up to him, trusted what he told and took it all into account. Then I see the pics, this man, well he is Crap. There is a special place for child molesters and animal a users in hell, and I'm sure he is at the top of the flames

 

[sally-dog]

I'm surprised more people haven't come forward. It is my understanding that he has sent sick snakes out to people too, and then threatened them (typical).

 

[Micha]

Luckily the animals we received from him were healthy and mite free. I'm more upset about how he convinced so many people that he actually cared about his animals when they were actually sitting in their own filth and being starved.

 

[sally-dog]

That's what I'm saying... I'm hearing that he sent out sick animals to other people back when he was active in the scene, but I don't know first hand that it's true. All I can assume is that things went to hell AFTER he lost interest in scamming people over animals, which is evident from the pictures seen recently.

 

[hhmoore]

I'm hearing that he sent out sick animals to other people back when he was active in the scene, but I don't know first hand that it's true.

From whom are you hearing that? (You know how well that anonymous informant thing flies here)

 

[Lynn]

I guess I am glad I have not seen any pictures that are being talked about but not shown
I hate to hear any of this
I was a mod on his forum but always stayed on the outside of fights and tried to keep my opinions to myself as I did not want to be on his bad side. or anyone's bad side as far as that goes I

 

[reticguy76]

Hopefully people that received sick and mite infested animals from him will come here and tell/show pics.

 

[sally-dog]

From whom are you hearing that? (You know how well that anonymous informant thing flies here)

I've heard it from people who know people who supposedly got sick/mite infested animals. That is why I didn't elaborate on what I heard. I just heard it. I do find it surprising that with all I've heard about people getting sick animals, none of those individuals have actually come forward. It is a fact that Harry will threaten people who dare speak out against him though, so I guess time will tell.

 

[reticguy76]

Hopefully people will or do realize his threats are empty threats.