After I was falsely convicted of burglarizing an office building, my friends were searching for proof of my innocence. In doing so, they visited DBS, one of the companies I was convicted of burglarizing. DBS had about 15 employees. They spoke with the president of the firm, Donald Reisler. He showed them where the burglar had written YOU LOST SOMETHING on the wall. They recognized that it wasn't my writing. To prove it to him, they loaned him several letters I had written to them while in prison.

The letters not only convinced him of my innocence, they also persuaded him that I would make a good employee. At the urging of my friends, he hired me right out of prison, and I started work there two days after I was paroled.

The writing on the wall was still there.

If I were making this up, I'd say that the writing proved my roommate's guilt to the satisfaction of the authorities, that they locked him up, expunged my records, and gave me lots of money for my trouble. And that I stayed at that company and am now its president.

Unfortunately, reality isn't quite so obliging. I left the company after ten months, since I got tired of constantly being told that I was very lucky to work there. Yes I was. Very much so. But being reminded of what a big favor everyone was doing me got very old very quickly. I soon got a better job, despite still being on parole.

And as for the writing on the wall? It wasn't my roommate's, either! I have no idea whose it was. I'll probably never know. It was eventually painted over, and later DBS moved out.

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Last updated July 4th, 1995.