While Covid-19 is dominating the news cycle around the world, in Taos, New Mexico, Fred Brito has managed to become a front page story.
At the top of this week's Taos News is a photo of Brito with the headline, "The pancake con man." In the article, reporter John Miller interviews Brito about his long history of being "one of the more notorious con men living in the United States today," and ultimately how he ended up being hired to work at their local IHOP using a falsified resume and an assumed name.
The article is partly the result of a tip this blogger sent their way last month. We discovered Brito had been working as General Manager of the IHOP under the name Max Gomis DeMaria. Miller gives credit to this blog for tipping them off, but overlooks that one month ago the Taos News had already published an article about "Max Gomis DeMaria", and that they deleted from their website soon after they were alerted to his identity.
The March 5 article was called "Breakfast and a new beginning: IHOP starts fresh", praising the work of their general manager, accompanied by a photo of restaurant staff and management, including Fred Brito.
According to the article, "Max" was hired by IHOP last September to help improve a restaurant that was facing customer service and staffing challenges, and that "Gomis DeMaria and his team are steadily reaching the peak of excellence that is their goal." While the print edition labeled the article as an "advertorial" (a paid advertisement that otherwise appears to be an article), the online version did not indicate this.
At the top of this week's Taos News is a photo of Brito with the headline, "The pancake con man." In the article, reporter John Miller interviews Brito about his long history of being "one of the more notorious con men living in the United States today," and ultimately how he ended up being hired to work at their local IHOP using a falsified resume and an assumed name.
The article is partly the result of a tip this blogger sent their way last month. We discovered Brito had been working as General Manager of the IHOP under the name Max Gomis DeMaria. Miller gives credit to this blog for tipping them off, but overlooks that one month ago the Taos News had already published an article about "Max Gomis DeMaria", and that they deleted from their website soon after they were alerted to his identity.
The March 5 article was called "Breakfast and a new beginning: IHOP starts fresh", praising the work of their general manager, accompanied by a photo of restaurant staff and management, including Fred Brito.
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| A screenshot of the article as it appeared online -- Fred Brito is on the far left. |
