Man Holds Up Bank For $1 In Attempt To Get Medical Treatment In Prison

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  1. #1

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    Man Holds Up Bank For $1 In Attempt To Get Medical Treatment In Prison

    My goodness. What a country, when you need to be arrested to get medical care:

    Richard James Verone, 59, unemployed, who apparently has a chest growth, two ruptured disks and a problem with his left foot, tried to rob a bank of $1 so he could be treated free as a prisoner. Verone, of North Carolina, USA, walked into an RBC Bank branch and handed over a note to a female worker demanding one dollar.

    In the note he had written that he was armed.

    Verone said he is hoping for a three-year sentence, the time he estimates his medical needs will take.

    After handing over the note he is said to have sat down on a chair.

    The bank teller dialed 911 and said on the phone "He's sitting on the sofa as you walk in the front door."

    The police were called and arrested him; he had no weapon.

    In a telephone interview from prison in Gaston County, North Carolina, Verone said that he is a logical person, and holding up a bank for one dollar was the only logic he could come up with.

    Verone added:
    "If it is called manipulation, then out of necessity because I need medical care, then I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care."
    As he was unarmed he will not be jailed for armed robbery. Larceny, which means theft, would probably only result in a one-year jail term.

  2. #2

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    What's that Michael Moore documentary called? "Sicko" I think. Pretty revealing stuff.

    I guess the moral of the story is bring a gun next time.


  3. #3

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    More from, 'The Land of the Free', what a joke the USA has become..


  4. #4

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    Just the phrase "manipulating the courts to get medical care" has a sinister tone to it.

    There are also people whose job is purely to find errors in people's medical insurance applications to make their claims void... with horrific consequences.

    As much as I criticise high taxes in the UK, I'd never support a tax system which doesn't provide free medical care for those in need. Ok, increase taxes on things like cigarettes, McDonald's even alcohol *sob* etc if need be... these are the things sending people to hospital in greater numbers.

    Last edited by justjoe86; 21-06-2011 at 08:22 PM.

  5. #5

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    I always find it difficult to understand why the richest country in the world can not provide adequate medical care for all its people yet poorer countries such as the UK (and HK) can. Watching CNN, CNBC and dear old Fox you would think it is totally beyond the imagination of people to come up with a health scheme.

    I'm with justjoe, I think it is a basic provision of an advanced economy.

    Last edited by hullexile; 21-06-2011 at 08:03 PM.