Tommy College

Tommy College got his name and a lot of his money running a diploma mill in the 1990s, just as the Internet got big. He left when competition became too fierce.

"I got a visit from these Libyans one day, and that steered me to greener pastures," he says.

He did some odds jobs in Vegas and then in Morocco. Now he makes a living smuggling flowers in Europe.

He was in town last week and we had some beers. He had plans to make money off the Greek debt crisis that I couldn't quite follow, so I pushed the conversation back to smuggling.

"You ever think of running guns instead of daisies?"

"I don't do daisies."

"You know what I mean."

"You mean become an arms dealer like your friend B*****?"

I shrugged. I wasn't really thinking about B*****, just trying to change the conversation.

"Not enough money in it," said Tommy College. "Let's get another round."