Stephen Paddock’s ‘secret life’: Why assume that he made his millions legitimately?

American Thinker ^ | 10/05/2017 | Thomas Lifson

[SeekAndFind]

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, an elected official who plans to face voters again next year, has been letting out more interesting tidbits on the investigation into Stephen Paddock than others who have appeared at the press conferences. Yesterday, he mentioned that Paddock had a “secret life” and “that it was only logical to ‘make the assumption’ that Stephen Paddock had ‘some help at some point’ in pulling off Sunday's massacre.”

This would seem to open the door to some sort of connection to an international terror group, but if so, evidently there is no evidence on hand, because the sheriff also added to his secret life comment:

“What we know is Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood,” the sheriff said.

My guess is that the “secret life” Paddock led was part of a life plan he absorbed from his father, who twice lived a life on the run from police under phony identities he manufactured.

In 1960, when Stephen Paddock was 7, F.B.I. agents showed up at his family’s tidy white ranch house in the hills outside Tucson, Ariz., stunning the neighbors and even the local sheriff. No one could fathom that Pat Paddock, the big, jolly father of four young boys who owned a small business in town and was a special deputy at the sheriff’s office, was really Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, a serial bank robber with a rap sheet that stretched back to Chicago.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Pat Paddock:

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Would not be surprised if he was a professional money launderer for either drug lords or islamists. Vegas is the perfect place to do that.

[oh8eleven]

he mentioned that Paddock had a “secret life”
At one time in this country, all good Americans led "secret lives." It was no one's damned business - especially the government's - who we were or what we did.
Sadly, we'll never see those days again.

[Alberta's Child]

As soon as I saw some of the descriptions of his personal background I immediately thought he fit the profile of someone involved in money laundering, arms trafficking, drug dealing, etc.

[Alberta's Child]

True. Actually, this guy's history should give everyone some level of comfort that it's still possible to do such a thing.

You could probably eliminate about 95% of the means for tracking you down if you don't use the internet -- especially if you're retired and don't work for an employer who is paying payroll taxes for you.

[Williams]

I totally agree. The brother said many things that made me believe this is a very greedy and manipulative family.

[elpadre]

Why do I get the feeling that this looks more and more like a money laundering situation???

[PGalt]

Interesting information about Pat Paddock. Thanks for posting. Genetic psychopathy? (Look at me dad, I’m on top of the world

Lifson’s angle

[Jolla]

Sadly, we’ll never see those days again.

I am amazed people put so much out there about themselves, absolutely no sense of privacy at all.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

“What we know is Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring selling illegal weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood,” the sheriff said.

[x]

When I hear the words "accountant," "South Florida," "Las Vegas," and "casino" I think "mob connection."

That's probably not it, but you have to wonder how somebody who's father was a bank robber and in prison became a millionaire.

BLM would attribute it to "White privilege," but maybe the father stashed the money some place.

One thing about the father: he wasn't a desperate 1930s-style bank robber. He had a job selling garbage disposals.

APaddock Sr. was something of an entrepreneur himself: at various times, he ran a gas station and a bingo game, and sold used cars.

It wasn't need that made him steal, it was his pathology IMHO, so he probably had other funds hidden somewhere.

[Albion Wilde]

“Mr. Paddock was such a nice man,” the neighbor across the street told The Daily Citizen in 1960. “He was so attentive to his wife. He was so kind to the children, and he was always doing helpful things around the house.”

I used to live amongst the mafia. Neighbors said the same things about them when they were inevitably arrested—or died in a hail of bullets.

[Revolutionary]

Money laundering using gambling is quite common by drug lords; especially South of the border.

[imardmd1]

Would not be surprised if he was a professional money launderer . . .

You mean, by "losing" bundles of cash to the right takers? and "investing" in poor real estate deals?

[Chauncey Gardiner]

No. He takes “dirty” money from a bad guy, goes to casino and cashes it in on chips.

Gambles a little, loses a little, takes remaining chips to cashier who classifies the cash disbursement as winnings, and presto, he walks out with clean money.

[NetAddicted]

Actually, how do they know the father is a psychopath? He’s a criminal, but....