“…the children had arrived in Thailand after being trafficked through Romania. Chained to their beds, they were available for purchase in the brothel's photographic catalogue. A mix of boys and girls, the youngest was 4, the oldest 10. 'I was shaking with disgust, which the other people assumed was excitement,' he says, as he recalls looking through the catalogue. 'Those images will stay with me. You can't erase them from your mind.' - 'Race Against Evil'. by David Race Bannon
The problem of high-level politicians and clergy involved in the practice and cover-up of organized paedophilia is so vast that Interpol has resorted to the use of “Assassination Teams” to access and eliminate those beyond the law. That is, according to David “Race” Bannon.
Contained in Bannon’s book: Race against Evil are his alleged revelations of a state sanctioned killer who becomes embroiled in a heady brew of revenge, love and espionage. The book also explores, in part, his personal “misgivings as to whether or not killing criminals make the sanctioned assassin no better than his targets.”1 The publishers, New Horizon press, describe the book as an: “…electric narrative of suspense and intrigue…” where the author “shares the joys and pains of victims and officers; the thrill of love under fire which ends when his fiancée, a French DST agent, dies in his arms during a savage confrontation with terrorist cells;….”
It sounds like a cracking read does it not? And it is. All the ingredients are there: disclosing secret intelligence tactics; infiltrating prisons in Korea; tracking down child pornographers, terrorists and criminals; revenge, murder and adrenalin-pumping martial arts all tied up neatly with a dollop of cathartic redemption – a lone crusader in a dangerous and unforgiving world…. The problem with Race against Evil is not that the descriptions of assassin teams or any form of skulduggery used to weave a ripping yarn, it is the claim that it is a work of cold fact that is hard to swallow, not least because so many of the facts of his operations and events are groundless. (In reality the machinations of governments and intelligence agencies are probably a lot worse).
Bannon and his supporters may say that this is the natural reaction from Interpol. After all, one would expect this kind of disownment and denial right? Unfortunately, the personality of Bannon and his history is less than convincing once we look behind what could seen as some carefully erected literary stage lights. If so, then Bannon went to an almost super-human effort to make it all appear genuine. According to one online journal the author:
If Bannon is making it all up, he's pretty adept at deception. He’s also gone to a lot of trouble -- radio and newspaper interviews, book signings, producing copious (if somewhat oblique) documents, not to mention committing to memory a catalogue of names, places and events. And for what? He's not getting rich from the book's publication. However, he is receiving increasing attention. Since the book was released last month, he's reaped a growing amount of both local and national media coverage. […] 2
The problem is, career narcissists and psychopaths (Bannon may be neither of these I hasten to add) are not just adepts - they are masters. Aside from the “gut feeling” unease from some journalists that Bannon was not all he appeared to be and the absence of any proof to substantiate his claims there are several serious flaws in his real life drama that led Interpol to issue an arrest, but not for the reasons the author would have us believe. These include:
o A riot in Kwangju City, Korea in 1981 of which there is no record and which much of the story derives its impetus.
o the author’s fiancée who worked for the French Direction de Surveillance du Territoire (DST) whose existence cannot be verified nor the tombstone that Bannon claims he bought for her;
o The depiction of a uniform including a hat claimed to be the rank of major that is also claimed to be from the Belgian gendarmerie when it is in fact a inspector’s hat from the municipal police;
o No record of one of the few verifiable murders that was alleged to have been committed on a non-existent tenth floor of a hotel -no suites.
o A raid in Florida connected to the Wonderland Club internet porn investigations which never happened.
o His subsequent refusal to address the above points.
o Unsubstantiated qualifications and questionable martial arts proficiency.
A copy of the arrest warrant affidavit claims that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation began at the urging of Interpol to look into Bannon in January 2005, two years after Bannon's book was published. The document repeats many of Bannon’s claims, lists some of his many media appearances, and reports that he was born David Wayne Dilley, but changed his name to David Dilley Bannon in 1990. It then alleges that:
o Bannon lost a job at Wake Technical Community College "based on questionable degree information" relating to the education he claims to have earned in Korea;
o The verification Bannon provided to the college regarding his education was fraudulent;
o Bannon’s ex-wife told investigators that Bannon is obsessed with comic books, changed his name to Bannon in honour of a comic book character, and is ‘a habitual liar’;
o His ex-wife said she didn't see how he could have been an Interpol agent/assassin without her knowledge;
o CBI investigators orchestrated an introduction with Bannon, who offered to teach a two-day workshop based on his Interpol experience for $3,000, plus air fare and a per diem;
o This was not the first time Bannon had been paid for training or lectures;
o Bannon was able to charge such fees only because of his claims to have expertise in human trafficking. 3
If Interpol did indeed send out assassination teams as described in the book, it is hardly the most revelatory piece of news. It is standard protocol of most military intelligence agencies, whether in Europe, the Middle East or the Americas. The premise begins to strain at the seams when we asked to believe that Interpol is a kind of vigilante star chamber – rather than a default enforcer of Establishment protection - a far more likely scenario. The fact that “almost all of the original 250 “cleaners” are “dead or missing” and Bannon is allowed to publish a book and charge extortionate fees of up to $3,000 per lecture may just be a tad too convenient. High-level paedophiles, once groomed for office will be tucked up in their penthouse suite beds well beyond the likes of Interpol and Europol whatever Bannon’s claims to the contrary.
Bannon helped to create a muddying of fact and fiction in an area that desperately needs clarity and vision, not false and sensationalist reporting. In fact, the John Grisham-like formula of entertainment rode a little too uncomfortably towards literary exploitation of child suffering even before the accusations of fraud arose.
On April 24, 2006, in the State of Colorado, Bannon pled guilty to the charge of criminal impersonation, and the additional charges of computer crime and attempted theft were dropped accordingly.
Bannon was not the first to lie for kudos and material gain. The art of forgeries is a long and rich one, from the forged paintings of the old Masters to the recent resurgence in “True Life” stories which are entirely the product of authors’ imaginations. Unfortunately, Bannon’s Race against Evil will be remembered for its fraudulent nature rather than the undoubted truth of child trafficking and abuse that he claimed to highlight. He is not alone in the need to capitalize on commercial opportunities of sexual abuse even when the abuse harks back to the trauma of your mother accidentally trapping your finger in the bathroom door as a child. Turn it into a ripping yarn of sexual-deviant voyeurism and a bestseller list beckons for those whose scruples are non-existent.
Some writers even have the audacity to con Oprah Winfrey, the queen of US daytime chat, as was the case with James Frey, whose bestseller A Million Little Pieces shot to the New York Times non-fiction paperback best seller list for over 25 weeks. Frey gleefully recounted his alcoholism, criminality and various forms of abuse in lurid detail managing to sell more than 3.5 million copies. In fact, it went on to sell more copies in the US in 2005 (1.77 million) than any other title, with the majority of that total coming after Winfrey’s Book Club selection.
Frey’s tale of redemption and rebirth from an assorted catalogue of descents into hell was compelling and inspiring. Yet he neglected to mention that this was not quite as factual as he lead his adoring public believe – including a none-too-pleased Oprah Winfrey. Like Bannon, both in his first and second book My friend Leonard conveniently leaves all the characters dead or missing. Warner Brothers, Film studios, as well as Brad Pitt and his then wife Jennifer Anniston also managed to come under Frey’s spell with a film that was in the offing until early 2006, though at the time of writing, Warner Bros. are reconsidering production.
Notes
1 Race Against Evil: The Secret Missions of the Interpol Agent Who Tracked the World's Most Sinister Criminals: A Real Life Drama David Race Bannon PH.D. Published by New Horizon Press, January 2003, ISBN: 0882822314.
2 ‘Man Of Mystery - David Race Bannon: former assassin for Interpol, or outrageous liar?’ By Sam Boykin, February 26, 2003.
3 ‘Unsolved Mystery’, By Pamela White, February 2nd 2006, Boulder Weekly.
, 
, and recently also his newest book 
. His first book (Confessions of an EHM) was the reason why I became interested in what they call “conspiracy theories” which I don’t believe are only “theories”. Theories don’t kill. Theories don’t leave nations in bondage of debt, while a few families in the whole world grow ultra wealthy. To me, as it is also to John Perkins, they are conspiracy facts.