Story of homeless ex-Marine who gave his last $20 to stranded motorist takes an ugly turn

Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

PHILADELPHIA — Johnny Bobbitt says he has no access to the $400,000 raised for him by strangers on GoFundMe and fears the couple who started the fund may have squandered it.

A homeless man who famously helped a stranded motorist in Philadelphia by giving her his last $20 to buy gas is panhandling once again and using drugs.

And Johnny Bobbitt, 35, says he has no access to the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for him by strangers throughout the world who were touched by his story and donated to a GoFundMe campaign.

GoFundMe is investigating whether the $400,000 raised was mismanaged, and said it will work to ensure Bobbitt “receives the help he deserves and that the donors’ intentions are honored.”

Bobbitt gained worldwide attention when he used his last $20 to fill up the gas tank of stranded motorist Kate McClure in November 2017.

McClure and her boyfriend Mark D’Amico started a GoFundMe campaign in return to thank Bobbitt for his generosity and help him.

The money quickly poured in.

“This is nuts,” McClure told the New York Post — when the money raised was about US$65,000. “It has changed my entire outlook about people, my outlook about people has skyrocketed. It’s the best Thanksgiving that I’ve ever had.”

Eventually, the campaign raised US$400,000.

“He will never have to worry about a roof over his head again!!” the couple said.

But a new home never materialized. Instead, Bobbitt, an ex-Marine, and firefighter started living on a camper that was on land McClure’s family owns.

Bobbitt told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he can’t use the US$200,000 left out of the US$400,000 that donors raised on GoFundMe, and he no longer has a camper or a car.

A tearful McClure told the paper that the couple did all they could to help Bobbitt.

In an interview with the Inquirer last week, D’Amico said he controlled the money and would start dispensing it when Bobbitt got a job and stopped using drugs.

“Giving him all that money, it’s never going to happen. I’ll burn it in front of him,” he said, adding that giving an “addict” the money would be like “giving him a loaded gun.”

I think it might have been good intentions in the beginning

 

Bobbitt told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was doing drugs again.

But he also questioned the couple’s motives and feared they may have squandered the money.

“I think it might have been good intentions in the beginning, but with that amount of money, I think it became greed,” Bobbitt said.

He told the paper he wondered how McClure, a receptionist, could afford a new BMW and pay for vacations to California, Florida, and Las Vegas, as well as a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. He also questions how much D’Amico, a carpenter, spent gambling.

Homeless advocates have helped put Bobbitt in touch with pro bono lawyers.

“I think he is just a genuine, sincere person who has been the victim of so many bad circumstances,” Jacqueline Promislo told the Inquirer. She and colleague Chris Fallon have agreed to represent Bobbitt. “We want to make sure he has the opportunity to benefit from the incredible generosity of people.”

The Associated Press -August 23, 2018