Posted on 03/09/2004 6:24:27 PM PST by microgood
WENATCHEE — A pedestrian who found a backpack filled with nearly $500,000 near Ellisforde, Okanogan County, likely helped disrupt a drug deal, officials said.
The pedestrian found the pack hidden along Highway 97 on Friday and called authorities, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said. He would not name the pedestrian.
Deputies took the cash, replaced it with police magazines, then returned the pack and waited, Rogers said.
At about 7:30 p.m. Friday, David L. Taber Jr., 35, of Oroville, Okanogan County, picked up the backpack and drove away, Rogers said. Deputies arrested him.
He appeared in Okanogan County Superior Court yesterday on money-laundering charges and was being held on $50,000 bail, Rogers said.
Rogers told The Wenatchee World other unidentified evidence in the pack led deputies to conclude it was part of a drug deal.
"I don't know too many other transactions like this," he said. "When I bought my house, I didn't leave the money behind a tree so the bank guy could come and get it."
And the money? It was seized by the North Central Washington Narcotics Task Force for its use.
miserable failure miserable failure miserable failure miserable failure war criminal
Beers on me!!
That's what I would have done. This is drug money, which is going into the officer's pockets anyway.
Considering that it's drug money, I would have too.
But I would have been cool about it. I would have locked it in a secure storage facility for about a month and then went on a spending spree.
We have zero evidence that drugs are involved. The government has now taken the money with no drug charges pressed. How big an amount of money is too big to possess, and therefore automatically forfeit to the police upon discovery?
Apparently they did. Score one for common sense.
I'm afraid I am much more law abiding than that. I would have bought one of those fancy pens and made sure is was real money before I started spending it :')
Can't say any of the day-dreams about this end with me turning the money in.
I've imagined I'd just rent a safety deposit box and supplement my work-income when I wanted to buy something a little extra.
Really.....I don't think I would have turned that money in.....although I'd turn it in if I saw an article in the paper about it being some Alzheimer patient's lost nest-egg or something.
But if I thought it was drug money.....finders fricken keepers!
You hire an attorney and tell him/her to hold the money for you in a safe deposit box.
You have your attorney place an advertisement that a sum of money was found recently (giving only an approximate location) and inviting people to write to your attorney to make a claim on the money -- within the next 30 days.
Run the ad every day for two weeks.
If someone comes forward with a credible tale and innocent intentions, they get it back.
If no one surfaces as the authentic/good purposes owner, pocket the money (and be sure to declare it on your taxes).
If you are going to keep the money, you have to keep all of the money. If you are going to turn in the money you have to turn it all in.
There is no such thing as a little bit pregnant.
In the first place, what if the bag were being watched by the police? Are you sure you were not filmed by a security or traffic cam?
Then think about how you are going to spend that money. You can't very well deposit it in a bank. If you spend more than a thousand in cash at one time, eyebrows will be raised. If you spend more than $10,000 at once, you'll likely attract official attention.
And don't forget, some unsavory characters may be wanting their money back.
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