Back described as greed. There is no way to justify t。The Expensive Fantasy of Lord Williams Tomintoul, Scotland—On Saturday night at The Grouse’s Nest, they’re still willing to raise a glass or two to “Lord Williams”, though now his title prompts laughter. And now they just call him “Tony”. There are those in this beautiful village in the mountains of Scotland (population, 320) who say they were never quite sure about Anthony Williams, the soft-spoken, wealthy noble who arrived in 1986 with his well￾dressed wife. And there are others who say their Back suspicions were aroused over time, as the 55- year-old Mr. Williams, who appeared on weekends turned out in fine suits, bought up property after property, providing such a large injection of cash into the village that he single-handedly brought the community back to life. But no one could have possibly guessed the truth—that the man with endless money and a friendly manner was not a lord at all but a government employee living out a fantasy that he was a Scottish noble and paying for it by stealing funds from Scotland Yard. About two weeks ago, a regretful Mr. Williams who had worked for the London police since 1959 and who had risen to a £ 65,000 a year position as deputy director of finance , was brought into court and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Estimates are that he poured nearly £5 million of the stolen money into the village and gave jobs to 43 people. And now that he has fallen upon dark days at least some villagers are sticking by him. “I found him a very charming man, very friendly, considerate — not at all proud,” said Georgie McAllister, 70, the manager of the local museum whose family has been farming the surrounding hills for generations. “It’s hard to understand how a clever person like him could mislead people like that. It’s sad. Of course, it did benefit the village. A lot of the properties were beautifully restored.” A few doors down the square, barber Donald Corr sat inside his shop and described how suspicions began to grow. “Everyone wondered where the money was coming from. Why was he spending it in a little place in the mountains? Christ, he wouldn’t have gotten it back in 100 years.” According to the court, Mr. Williams stole more than £8 million over eight years. Most of it came from a secret fund that had been placed under his sole authority and that was supposed to be used to pay spies and conduct secret activities against the Irish RepublicanArmy. Instead, it went to create one more British lord. Mr. Williams bought an estate with a fine brick house in England. He bought a beautiful home with white walls and a pool in Spain. He bought noble titles at auctions, spending £95,000 to become the Lord of Chirnside, and then adding on 10 more Scottish titles. But most of all, he sunk his dishonest gains into this village that captured his heart with its fine stone cottages, its central area of green grass, green rows of hedges, and its fantastic view of rolling fields and pine forests disappearing into the distance like the men of an ancient army marching over the horizon. He bought multiple cottages and fixed them up. He purchased the pub and made it into a fine place to have a glass of Glenlivet Scotch whiskey, produced only 10 miles (16 kilometers) to the north. And most of all, he bought the run-down Gordon Arms Hotel and totally restored it, transforming it from a mess into a glorious first-class hotel with 30 handsomely furnished rooms, wood-paneled stairs, false bookshelves with fake leather books and an outstanding restaurant. “I would offer him three choices of glasses for the restaurant: an average one, a poor one, and fine crystal. Always, he chose the crystal. Nothing but the best,” said David Abdy, who was chosen by Mr. Williams to manage the construction work and run the businesses. Mr. Williams deceived everyone, including Mr. Abdy and including even his own wife, telling them that he inherited the money from a rich uncle. He was caught because his bank deposits were so large that they were noticed by the bank’s management. The bank notified the police, who discovered, to their terrible embarrassment, that the criminal was one of their own. The London police commissioner publicly apologized for poorly supervising his department. Under a hastily made arrangement, the police will sell the properties, but at a substantial financial loss. Mr. Abdy, a 27-year-old businessman, acquired the bulk of the properties for about half a million pounds, obtaining bank loans and striking deals with various people to pay only a part of what they are owed by Mr. Williams. In the only interview he has given since his arrest a year ago, Mr.Williams discussed his motives for the crime with a London newspaper: “I discovered this bloody huge amount of money. I went from the need to pay off a few debts to what can only be described as greed. There is no way to justify it