Is this true?

[BZ770]

I got this in an email.  Pretty ironic if it is.

Outside the Bristol Zoo, in England , there is a
        parking  lot for 150 cars and 8 coaches, or
        buses.  It was manned by a very pleasant attendant with
        a  ticket machine charging cars £1
        (about $1.40) and coaches £5 (about $7).

This parking attendant
        worked there solid for all of 25 years.  Then, one day, he 
just
        didn't turn up for work.

"Oh well", said Bristol Zoo Management -
        "we'd better phone up the City Council and get them to send a
        new  parking attendant . . "

"Err
        . . . no", said the Council, "that parking lot is
        your  responsibility."


"Err . . . no", said Bristol Zoo
        Management, "the  attendant was employed by the City
        Council, wasn't he?"
        "Err . . . no!" insisted the Council.

Sitting in his
        villa somewhere on the coast of Spain (presumably), is a 
man who
        had been taking the parking lot fees, estimated at £400 
(about $560)
        per day at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years. Assuming 7 
days a
       week, this amounts to just over £3.6 million ($7 million - or
        $280,000 every year for 25 years)!

And no one even knows his
        name.  Talk about flying under the radar!!

        Why couldn't I think of sometning like
        that?

[Buzz Killington]

Snopes is your amigo.

http://www.snopes.com/crime/clever/carpark.asp

[Kaos]

Pay no attention to the Buzz Killer and his phony website.  That story is 100% accurate. 

It does remind me, BZZZZ, I've got this friend in Nigeria.  His name is Nbutu Magawe. 

As you know, the entire African continent is rife with political struggle and in many cases bloodshed. As it turns out Nbutu is the descendant of one of the old ruling tribes, but his family has since been removed from power by coup.  Amazingly enough, Nbutu's family squirreled away a great deal of money during their tenure in power, most of it in offshore banks.

Because they were savvy like that, the money's still there. Nbutu is the only surviving family member, so he has full access to it.  Or should have.  Laws are tricky in Nigeria.

In order for Nbutu to get to the money, he's going to have to first get out of the country and that's going to take money.  He'll have to change his identity and bribe a bunch of local officials to get new paperwork. The current military leadership isn't about to let the last surviving Magawe out of their grasp. 

Once he gets out, he'll need transport to Switzerland and then on to some of the Caribbean nations to collect the money. 

I've come to know Nbutu pretty well as we've kept up a long email correspondence. He is in fear of his life, but also somewhat secure because he knows the ruling party won't kill him as they think he might have access to a great sum of money they can get.  But if they found out he was plotting to leave?  That could be bad. 

He's reached out to me asking for my help. He's got roughly $17 million in the offshore banks. He figures it will take about $32,000 to cover the bribes, new paperwork, air fare and other assorted expenses. 

Nbutu says that he's willing to split his fortune with me if I help him out. If I front him the $32k, he'll give me $7 million when he gets the money out.

I figure that's a pretty good deal.  And really, what else is he going to do? He either gets nothing and a life of fear in Nigeria or $10 million and a chance to start over.

Right now, I have about $18k gathered up.  If you'd be willing to cover the other $14k we could expedite this and get Nbutu out of there quicker. If you're willing to do that, I'd cut you in for $3 million. Again, what do I have to lose? It's found money. I'd rather have $4m today than wait around and maybe something happens oto Nbutu and I get nothing.

Send me a PM and I'll tell you where to wire the money.  No checks or credit cards.  Money order, okay?

[Buzz Killington]

Too late...I sent him my money order last week.  I'm expecting the big check any day now.