Scott Prouty, who changed the entire context of the 2012 presidential elections when he clandestinely videotaped Mitt Romney being Mitt Romney, has a few hiccups in his past.
Let's not exaggerate the infractions. But still, interesting to note.
Prouty -- who today lives in a swank condominium high-rise overlooking the ocean in Hollywood -- owes $15,396 in unpaid taxes from 2000 and 2002.
Prouty, who for one day, at least, was the most famous bartender in the United States, also once sold alcohol to a minor, according to court records.
While speaking with Ed Schultz on MSNBC two nights ago, Prouty fretted that the "radical right" was going to come after him and dig up all sorts of scurrilous truths from his past. So far, however, no one's had too much luck.
Nearly 1,000 articles materialized about Prouty yesterday -- but most everyone said, Gee, what a swell guy.
"He's always been a good kid," stepmother Ann Marie Prouty of Braintree, Massachusetts, told New Times yesterday. "We never had any idea this would happen."
Several months ago, when we did a 1,500-word piece on the 47 percent video and emailed back and forth with Prouty -- who was then using the pseudonym "Anne Onymous" -- he told us he didn't want to talk because he was worried about potential lawsuits.
This was a justifiable concern. Under state law, it's illegal to surreptitiously record someone without their permission, which is exactly what Prouty did. But now, according to father Ken Prouty, concerns over potential lawsuits have dissipated. "No one has tried to sue him yet," Ken Prouty said.
There is, however, one mystery that lingers.
For months, Scott Prouty has dispatched tweets and other social media to highlight Romney's alleged disinterest in the plight of sweatshop workers. Then, and now, it's unclear why Prouty, a white blue-collar bartender from Boston, would choose this issue to obsess over.
"Scott cares about sweatshops because he's a decent human being," Prouty's dad said. "He cares about his fellow man despite what color they are or nationality they are.
"He also loves animals."
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