Bum Farto
This celebrity goo was created by Scott Hardie.
publication date: Sunday, January 4, 2026 (part of January 2026)
category: 
Crime
clue: Down south, this cigar-smoking, red-adorned, flatulent fireman fought the heat (in more ways than one) until someone possibly extinguished him.
explanation: In the 1960s and 1970s, Farto was the colorful fire chief of Key West, the southernmost place in the continental U.S., well known around the city for his outsized public persona and habit of wearing red out of superstition. After his 1976 arrest for selling drugs to an undercover officer, he jumped bail and disappeared, meeting an unknown fate as a fugitive. more…
intended difficulty: very hard
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, Samir Mehta, and Richard Slominsky
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