Posted on 02/05/2017 1:45:11 PM PST by nickcarraway
A commercial fisherman in Florida made a costly mistake that could land him in prison for life.
Thomas Breeding, a 32-year-old boat captain, was out fishing in the Gulf of Mexico when he came across a mysterious package floating in the water. Inside the package was 45 pounds of cocaine. Breeding reportedly said he knew the right thing was to turn it over to the police, but Breeding decided to go a different route.
Instead of doing what he knew was right, Breeding gave the package – worth $500,000 to $620,000 on the street, says AL.com – to four other individuals to distribute. They sold the drugs and paid Breeding a cut of the money, but they weren’t out of the woods just yet.
Authorities weren’t far behind Breeding and his scheme, as they unraveled the whole deal and charged all five men involved with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Breeding was also found with a gun in his car, and would be charged for illegally transporting a firearm. He will face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $4.25 million fine. He offered the following caution to others not to follow in his footsteps:
“I would like to let the public know the dangers and what not to do if this situation comes about,” said Breeding, who is to be sentenced Feb. 16. “This changed my life and way of thinking, and also made me aware of some of the dangers that can be found off-shore.”
Leave it alone. Could be DEA “bait.”
Finding a compressed bale of $20.00 bills washed up on a Gulf shore beach is at the top of my bucket list.
Nice! I like what you did there.
“Leave it alone. Could be DEA “bait.””
DEA bait, Colombian Cartel bait.
The DEA sends you to prison for life.
The Colombian Cartel sends you to to bottom of Gulf of Mexico for eternity.
LOL! Best of the day!
Puncture all the packages and throw it back in. That way no one profits.
“Puncture all the packages and throw it back in. That way no one profits.”
You do that to the cartel’s product and you are going to be the one with a whole lot of punctures.
The smart thing to do would be to sink the package. That way there is zero potential for anyone getting into trouble.
I have no sympathy for the guy that got caught selling the stuff.
I wonder where he found his gun.
I remember some duck/goose hunters ended up dead for being in the wrong place at the wrong time near Freeport TX in the late 70’s. They just happened to be near where the transfer was to take place. We hunted in the same area.
Spent some time in a Central American coastal village. Occasionally, you’d see someone in a fancy new pickup truck, or building a rather grand house.
“How does he afford that?”
“Oh, he just caught a ‘whitefish’.”
Brilliant!
He might not have an opportunity to do any more Breeding.
True, but I can see how a combination of debt and temptation can cause a person to lose their head. Being a commercial fisherman down here after a few really bad economic years and all the regulatory crap from the EPA and other alphabet agencies he probably had a lot of debt to make him stupid.
On the other hand in my experience a lot of commercial fishermen here are on the shady side and they often hire ex cons who can give them ideas and contacts.
Anyone else wouldn’t even know a couple guys who could market the stuff. Obviously this guy knew some shady folks well enough to bring it up to them so he’s not exactly as naive as advertised.
Hope he learned his lesson.
A real life “Breaking Bad” situation here.
Yeah I'm told a little red devil appears on your shoulder and screams "WE'RE RICH!" into your big stupid ear.
There is a pub down here on the Jupiter inlet nick-named the Square Grouper. More than a few stories of the mental anguish with comes from holding ~20 million dollars of whatever in your hands and then tossing back overboard, waving goodbye.
Lots of crying. The beer heals.
He should have changed his name to Hillary Clinton right quick.
That would have done it. :)
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