Variety Jones and Smedley

Variety Jones aka Cimon and Smedley aka Smed, Charger are pseudonyms of individuals reported to have been closely involved with the founding of the darknet market Silk Road.

According to security researcher Runa A. Sandvik, Variety Jones joined Silk Road in 2011 as a marijuana seed vendor, opposed to the war on drugs. Working closely with Ross Ulbricht, he was to act as a penetration tester, financial advisor and mentor, and was the person who suggested the 'Dread Pirate Roberts' title. According to seized chat logs, Jones was the one who suggested the first alleged murder for hire,^[1] though it did not actually take place.^[2]

Smedley joined the site as a coder following the Gawker user influx^[3] as a relatively highly paid employee. Unfinished projects included encrypted email system 'Silk Mail' and other prospective financial and internet projects. At times it appeared Smedley reported directly to Jones.

Research into these individual's identities has been conducted via tracking blockchain Bitcoin transactions, confidential sources, rare Thai marijuana seeds and rationalisation of aliases. Consequently, it has been suggested Smedly's true identity could be Mike Wattier, a US web developer living in Thailand. Jones could be 'Thomas Clark', a Canadian also living in Thailand.^[4] On December 3, 2015, Clark was arrested in Thailand and is facing extradition to the United States.^[5]

References

1. Greenberg, Andy (1 April 2015). "Silk Road Boss’ First Murder-for-Hire Was His Mentor’s Idea". Retrieved 11 October 2015.
2. Bearman, Joshuan. "The Untold Story of Silk Road, Part 1". Retrieved 11 October 2015.
3. Adrian Chen (1 June 2011). "The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable". Gawker. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
4. Cox, Joseph (10 September 2015). "These Are the Two Forgotton Architects of Silk Road".
5. Cox, Joseph (4 December 2015). "FBI Says Suspected Silk Road Architect Variety Jones Has Been Arrested". Retrieved 5 December 2015.