Fort Lauderdale businessman John Nevin reveals in a new book that he's actually a convicted felon from New York named James "The Goon" Young. In this article in the South Florida Times, Nevin explains that he used to be a counterfeiter and served time in prison a couple of times, including for first-degree manslaughter and attempted murder. Nevin reveals his transformation this way:
"I got the name John Nevin from a fake driver's license a friend gave me in New York, which I thought was real at first, so I became that person."
So he moved to Florida in 1982 and is now a respected businessman and publisher of the monthly Vanguard Chronicle newspaper. And this is the part that could ruin it for the rest of us.
Everyone knows that South Florida is where to go for anyone who wants to reinvent
themselves, but the secret is that you're NOT SUPPOSED TO REVEAL YOUR SECRET! Since Young has ruined it for the rest of us, I'm ready to reveal that, before working for the Juice, I was a dirty carnival worker named Tracy Two Rings. I didn't exactly commit crimes, but I'm ready to reveal that those rings are not large enough to land on the bottles.
In Young's case, he served nine months in prison in 2005 after he turned himself in to parole authorities in New York. He continued to publish the Chronicle from prison by mailing notes to his wife. If the same fate befalls me for my ring scam, I too will mail notes to Young's wife, who will hopefully not wonder why she's getting notes from a dirty carnie.
