“Supermodel on deck” was how the contestants were supposed to greet host/producer Gemase Simmons when the cameras were rolling on his model reality show — except he never had Tyson Beckford’s career. And his little show? Well, that wasn’t real either.This weekend, I caught a cold, so I had the pleasure of staying in on Friday night to watch Chris Hansen’s special on Dateline called Reality Bites, which was about the 28-year-old con man known as Gemase Simmons and his years of deceit.

In short, the San Antonio resident lured young people via Myspace looking for a promising modeling career a la America’s Next Top Model by telling them they could win $50,000 and a possible modeling contract on his “show.”

And once the group of 10 made it to their modeling quarters, that’s when things really start going awry. Some of the major offenses committed by Gemase include:

(more…)