Tom Cruise--Real-life assassin?
David Hans Schmidt was found dead in Phoenix this week. Mr. Schmidt is best known for his numerous attempts to extort celebrities. He was the one who sold the infamous Dustin Diamond ("Screech" in Saved by the Bell) sex tape, the Tonya Harding wedding video and most recently, tried to squeeze $1 million out of Tom Cruise.
Mr. Schmidt was found dangling from his shower road in his bathroom. The stall was so tight and the rod was so low that he had to squat down to choke himself.
Schmidt was on house arrest and wore an anklet until his courtroom case next month.
He was ostensibly the "go-to" guy for celebrity blackmail and was one of the ones who helped shape this bizarre famous people peeping market that's emerged coincident with the rise of surveillance technology. Although in almost every case (Pamela Anderson, Rob Lowe, Paris Hilton), the targets taped themselves with their own recorders.
An alternative take on this story is that the apparently fruitcake Cruz is in fact, more competent than he lets on and that the couch-jumping, Scientology thing is really an act. Perhaps he is actually a government assassin and decided to clean up his own mess by hanging Schmidt and making it look like suicide.
Nah.
Posted on October 01, 2007
