An Atlanta newspaper has identified the Indiana man who says he was the middleman in a $50,000 deal to buy the body of Bigfoot.

William Wald Lett Jr. of Eaton, Indiana, says he met the Georgia men in the Clayton County (GA) Justice Center parking lot, handed over cash and loaded a freezer containing a frozen, furry “carcass” onto a trailer. When he got back to Indiana, the object thawed and was revealed to be a Halloween costume.

Matt Whitton, in happier days, when he was an active police officer.

In a complaint filed Thursday with Clayton County police, Lett said he brokered and videotaped the transaction on behalf of Tom Biscardi, a Bigfoot hunter in California. Lett said Biscardi said he’d repay the loan at 50 percent interest within 90 days.

Lett said he met with two men the night of Aug. 14 in the Justice Center parking lot, where the two men signed a “transfer release agreement” to sell the frozen remains of Bigfoot, a gorilla-like creature that some people claim to have seen in wilderness areas throughout the nation. Lett said he handed over $50,000 in cash.

Lett said he then followed the two men to a house on nearby Poston Road, where another person was “standing guard” over a freezer that held the alleged remains. Lett said the freezer, which weighed almost a ton, was loaded onto a trailer towed by his GMC Yukon Denali.

Once Lett returned to Indiana, the thawing process began, and the creature turned out to be a Halloween costume, he said. Lett said he has tried without success to contact the men to get his money back.

The two suspects are not identified in the report, but they are thought to be former Clayton police Officer Matt Whitton and former corrections officer Rick Dyer. Both men appeared on WSB-TV Wednesday and admitted their roles in the hoax.

Police Capt. Greg Dickens said suspects are not identified in incident reports until charges are filed. The case might be assigned to a detective by Friday afternoon.

“I think the solvability expectation in this case is pretty high,” he said.

Whitton, 28, was fired Tuesday after six years with the department because of his involvement in the hoax, police Chief Jeff Turner said. Dyer, 31, worked at three state prisons, according to Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council records. However, he now drives a truck for Big Foot Towing Co. and sells used cars over the Internet.

Both are being represented by Jonesboro attorney Steve Lister, who was in court Thursday afternoon and not immediately available for comment. No formal criminal charges have been filed.

The whereabouts of the two Georgia men are unknown.

Reporter Kathy Jefcoats of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote her article on Thursday, August 21, 2008.