Workman theft is something most householders have considered whenever they have had workmen in .... which is why if its indoor work, we mostly arrange to be in ourselves .. 'just to keep an eye on things'. However when its gardening or outdoor work being performed we rarely consider there to be much risk.
After all its not likely that workmen will steal your shrubs or garden gnomes etc.
However, it turns out we are perhaps risking more than we realise .... the owners of a house in a department in north-western (Normandy), France, hired three local workers to level some land. The lady of the house even remarked in a jocular manner "If you find any treasure, be sure to tell me!" ..... before they set to work.
After several days the three men hit upon a veritable treasure trove worth 900,000 Euros ($1.2m; £720,000).
It included 16 gold bars and 600 US $20-gold coins which was found in glass jars, may have been hidden on the property during World War Two. Each gold bar weighed a kilogramme (2.2lb), while the 600 gold coins, dating from 1924 to 1927, weighed around 33g (1.2oz) each, and ignoring the ladies remarks about reporting treasure, the three workers decided to steal the gold and sell it to a local coin collector.
They would likely have got away with this (after all, who was to know?), but as you might expect from sh*t shovellers they were not really up on money laundering, and one of them deposited two high-value cheque's in to his bank account. Tax officials were alerted, and an investigation undertaken. In the meantime the three men were buying cars or motorcycles, investing in life insurance (pensions), or in their homes.
When challenged they instantly admitted what had happened and they confessed to their crime .... they are scheduled to appear at court in Evreux, north-west of Paris. The collector will also appear in court, charged with handling stolen goods, a charge which he denies.
Its possible that not all the money will be returned and of course the original owners (or someone claiming to be the original owners), may challenge the landowners over the remainder of the money .... so perhaps understandably, the house owner wanted the crime and its details kept from the press.
She says she has had trouble sleeping since this all came to light .... I suspect a few more sleepless nights before she gets what's left of the money back.
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| Garden Gnome Hostage Taking Is Rare ... |
After all its not likely that workmen will steal your shrubs or garden gnomes etc.
However, it turns out we are perhaps risking more than we realise .... the owners of a house in a department in north-western (Normandy), France, hired three local workers to level some land. The lady of the house even remarked in a jocular manner "If you find any treasure, be sure to tell me!" ..... before they set to work.
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| Buried Treasure Turns Up In The Most Unexpected Places ...... |
After several days the three men hit upon a veritable treasure trove worth 900,000 Euros ($1.2m; £720,000).
It included 16 gold bars and 600 US $20-gold coins which was found in glass jars, may have been hidden on the property during World War Two. Each gold bar weighed a kilogramme (2.2lb), while the 600 gold coins, dating from 1924 to 1927, weighed around 33g (1.2oz) each, and ignoring the ladies remarks about reporting treasure, the three workers decided to steal the gold and sell it to a local coin collector.
They would likely have got away with this (after all, who was to know?), but as you might expect from sh*t shovellers they were not really up on money laundering, and one of them deposited two high-value cheque's in to his bank account. Tax officials were alerted, and an investigation undertaken. In the meantime the three men were buying cars or motorcycles, investing in life insurance (pensions), or in their homes.
When challenged they instantly admitted what had happened and they confessed to their crime .... they are scheduled to appear at court in Evreux, north-west of Paris. The collector will also appear in court, charged with handling stolen goods, a charge which he denies.
Its possible that not all the money will be returned and of course the original owners (or someone claiming to be the original owners), may challenge the landowners over the remainder of the money .... so perhaps understandably, the house owner wanted the crime and its details kept from the press.
She says she has had trouble sleeping since this all came to light .... I suspect a few more sleepless nights before she gets what's left of the money back.
The temptation was just too great! Perhaps the thing to do in this situation, to get away with it, is to "dig it up" in your own garden some weeks after finding it in hers. It goes to show how otherwise honest these guys were that they couldn't cover up their crime.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, but they should have thought it through as you said. However stupidity not honesty may be the more likely reason they couldn't cover up the theft ... they were just sh*t shovellers after all.
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