THE man framed by con man Wild Bill Holbert has been warned to constantly watch his back despite the serial killer languishing in a Panamanian jail, a former FBI profiler has told The U.S. Sun.
Wealthy businessman Scott McAda was forced into hiding in the United States after finally clearing his name in Panama, having been accused of living a double life of a Mafia boss who’d ordered a string of murders.
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Holbert, a notorious serial killer from North Carolina, was arrested in July 2010 and accused of killing five Americans, was trying to pin everything on McAda.
The pair had met briefly in Bocas del Toro, a popular spot for expats on an island off the country’s Caribbean coast.
Holbert owned a bar there called the Jolly Roger Social Club, which, according to McAda, attracted plenty of “weird” people.
They had interacted only briefly yet spent enough time together for McAda to grow deeply suspicious of a con man with an insatiable thirst for violence and murder.
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Veteran FBI profiler Candice DeLong has seen everything during her storied career and helped decipher McAda’s scarcely believable for an excellent podcast series – Scott v Wild Bill – which chronicled the stranger-than-fiction tale.
She says Holbert’s method of luring McAada into a trap raised several red flags that people should be aware of should they find themselves in similar situations.
Unbeknownst to him, McAda angered Holbert initially by questioning his claim of Mexican heritage despite his inability to speak fluent Spanish.
“On the surface, framing someone like Scott might seem clever, but it wasn’t strategic—it was retaliation because Scott embarrassed him socially,” she told The U.S. Sun.
DeLong suggests key character traits of a serial con man include the charm and the ability to feed others’ egos, subtle probing for financial details to exploit as well as crafting believable stories by mixing small truths with lies.
Over-inquisitiveness about finances or personal details and bizarre behavior, like Wild Bill claiming to be “God” and demanding others bow before him, should also act as dramatic warning signs for anyone sucked into similarly terrifying situations.
McAda recalls only meeting Holbert twice, unlike many of his fellow ex-pats who socialized in the bar. Their tagline eerily reads, “Over 90% of our members survive.”
There were some encounters at the marina where his yacht was moored, although their chats were brief.
“He exploited loopholes,” explained DeLong.
“In Panama, naming an accomplice can sometimes lead to a reduced sentence. Bill claimed Scott was his boss and had hired him as a hitman. He twisted bits of truth about Scott’s life—like his business dealings—to make his accusations seem credible.”
She says Holbert expertly “used small truths to build a mountain of lies.”
“That’s what con artists do—they manipulate whatever information they get,” the 74-year-old said.
SHOWING OFF
McAda’s wealth, however, was on whole show and Holbert sensed an opening.
That, according to the expert, should have the alarm bells ringing.
“Be cautious about who you trust, especially in social settings,” she warned.
“Con artists are charming and know how to manipulate people. Watch out for red flags, like asking about your financial status or overly personal questions early on.
“A yacht, early retirement, buying property—it all screamed “money” to Bill. He preyed on that,” DeLong, who hosts the Investigation Discovery programs Deadly Women and Facing Evil and the Killer Psyche podcast.
According to McAda, who spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun about his harrowing ordeal, Holbert was a master of luring people into his world of deception and lies.
“Bill listened carefully to Scott’s conversations and used small truths to build a mountain of lies,” the former FBI profiler continued.
“That’s what con artists do—they manipulate whatever information they get.”
In May 2012, after 14 months of sleepless nights and crippling fears about the future, McAda was finally cleared.
ON TRIAL
Holbert’s trial was scheduled by the Superior Court of Chiriquí Province for December 5, 2016 – six years after admitting to killing five people in Panama.
One year later, on August 14, 2017, he was sentenced to 47 years in prison. Holbert’s ex-wife, Laura Michelle Reese, was sentenced to 26 years for her role in the killings.
McAda, who lived in a very secluded location in Panama before eventually deciding to relocate back to the United States, remains very wary about disclosing his current whereabouts.
When he appeared to talk about the case at CrimeCon earlier this year in Nashville, the former satellite TV equipment specialist was forced to speak from behind a screen to maintain his anonymity.
Yet despite being destined to spend the rest of his life behind bars in Panama, Holbert has access to the Internet and is able to connect with his legions of followers who, as McAda said, “think he’s the Second Coming.”
“He’s in a Panamanian prison that allows him to access social media,” DeLong confirmed. “That’s unheard of in U.S. prisons, but he can say whatever he wants there. It gives him an audience and a microphone to hurt Scott further.”
“He’s a narcissist. He saw himself as superior to everyone and couldn’t let go of the humiliation Scott caused him. That narcissism drove him to frame Scott but this has been devastating for his family.
“The trauma stays with them. Scott wakes up daily knowing his name is tied to a notorious case. It’s a real nail-biter of a story.”
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