Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary living up to its title in every way conceivable, Netflix’s David Farrier-helmed ‘Mister Organ’ can only be described as equal parts bewildering, disturbing, intriguing, and haunting. That’s because it comprises not just archival documents but also exclusive interviews with key figures to really shine a light upon the notoriously bizarre New Zealand native Michael Organ. He’s an enigmatic man who allegedly thrives off of hurting others with nothing but subtle yet intricate mind games.
Who is Michael Organ?
While not much regarding Michael’s early years or upbringing is publicly known, we do know he comes from a relatively big family with at least two brothers and claims to have a solid royal lineage. According to court records, he has often referred to himself as the blue-blooded Prince Michael Organ-Schirinski or former Count Michael Andrassy-Organe, with official papers indicating the same. Yet, around the mid-1990s, it ultimately came to light that these pieces of identity documents were utterly phony — they were plagiarized before a cut-and-paste job with his name was skillfully done.
This actually brought up the fact Michael had once also asserted he’d received the Star of the Order of the Central African Empire by ex-President Jean-Bedel Bokassa in 1987, but it was a lie too. Then came his legal troubles, starting with his decision to take revenge against his landlord for forcing him out of his commercial sex shop on Karangahape Road for repeated non-payment of rent. This former entrepreneur really tried to steal the former’s beloved personal yacht (valued between $35,000-$45,000) in the middle of the night, only to swiftly get caught by his personal security.
It turns out Michael had even gone as far as to forge his landlord’s signature on a sales paper as well as get two friends to swear affidavits that his sex shop had been swapped for the luxury boat. He was thus convicted of using a document, theft, forging a false sales contract, plus two counts of attempting to pervert justice in 2002, for which he was subsequently sentenced to three years. The then-37-year-old did immediately appeal this verdict, but the Court of Appeals soon dismissed it on the grounds of his clear, sophisticated premeditation and cynically manipulative behavior.
Michael hence served his time, just to file for bankruptcy shortly following his release — this was around the same time he came across Jillian Bashford Evers, the owner of Bashford Antiques. As per the documentary, the two formed a deep connection of sorts rather quickly despite their 3-decade age gap, resulting in him assuming the role of this business’ Security Lead and later Director. With this authority, whenever the Williamson Avenue shop closed down in the evening, he began clamping the vehicles of those who parked in their private space on the grounds of trespassing.
What ensued were several arguments as well as verbal assaults from Michael’s side that even made national news, especially considering he used to demand an exorbitant sum to let them go. This price usually ranged around the $700-$750 mark, but no legal action against him could be taken since New Zealand’s law allowed citizens to protect their property in such a manner at the time — though the popularity of this exploitative case led them to change laws. David Farrier also came across Michael for the first time through this ordeal, unaware he’d get caught up in his enigmatic tale.
According to the documentary film, Michael has apparently spent the last few decades as a wolf in sheep’s clothing by subtly gaslighting, harassing, and manipulating people for his own sick pleasure. He has targeted numerous individuals for this over the years, per the original production, with one of his methods being to poison them with boredom by telling a single story over hours in a compelling manner, basically wasting their time. Moreover, whenever anyone has tried to speak up against him, he has even gone down the legal route — he claims to be a lawyer and thus represents himself, but he purportedly has no qualifications for it.
Michael Organ is Keeping a Low-Profile Today
From what we can tell, since there have never been any concrete con-related complaints or cases against Michael, he remains a free man residing in his native New Zealand alongside Jillian to this day. The truth is the details of their relationship are unclear even today as neither of them has publicly acknowledged it beyond a professional sense, yet they do apparently have shared assets and continue to live together. We should also mention that he had filed a temporary restraining order against David ahead of the 2022 release of ‘Mister Organ’ in the hopes of stopping it, but it didn’t pan out. Nevertheless, it is ostensibly believed Michael is still finding new methods to continue in his ways and will do so until something major transpires.
Read More: Where is Jillian Bashford Now?
