UPDATE: $500,000 Truckers now have a THIRD version of events...

[file83]

This bizarre story broke yesterday and was discussed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2236825

UPDATE

So these truckers from Texas (via Chicago) get caught trying to enter the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station in Shippingport, PA, with over $500,000 in cash in their big rig truck.

First they tell the Security Guards at the plant that it's their boss's money and they are supposed to buy a truck with it:

"When security guards at the Beaver Valley Power Station discovered a bag containing thousands of dollars in a tractor-trailer cab, one of the vehicle's occupants told them his boss planned to use the cash to buy a truck."

source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06110/683609-57.stm

But a little later, when asked by Police whose money it is, they say they don't know:

"The truckers said the money wasn't theirs and they didn't know how it got there, Trooper Bayer said."

soource: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06110/683609-57.stm

NOW, we get yet a third version of events from the truckers!:

"They just said they were coming from Chicago. A man there had put the bag in the sleeper compartment with instructions it was supposed to go back to Houston."

source: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=4099064

Yet, there is no mention of whether the truckers can identify the man or even if Police are pursuing that lead.

And they haven't been arrested at all:

"Bayer said state police didn't arrest the men because, so far, there's no evidence they broke the law."

source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_445487.html

Say WHAT? Isn't lying to the cops breaking the law?

So we are supposed to just believe that these truckers allowed some total stranger that they don't know to place a duffle bag with unknown contents into their vehicle that they know they will be driving into a Nuclear Power Station the very next day!!??!!

I have my theory as to what's going on, but the biggest question is: Now that these guys have told the cops two conflicting stories, isn't that "obstruction of justice" or something along those lines?

Why haven't they (or the one that lied) been arrested? Anyone else think these guys are getting a "get out of jail free" card?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. What a crock of crapola!

I cannot believe these guys were let go!

[file83]

6. What is even more obvious is that their boss is probably

lying.

The sequence of events goes like this:

Truckers tell Security Guard it's their boss's money -->
They call boss for instructions, he tells them to leave the plant. -->
Truckers get pulled over, tell Police they don't know whose money it is -->
One trucker says truck was broken into the night before, his ID was stolen -->
Police discover that the money has high traces of drugs on it -->
Truckers now say some mystery man placed the bag in their truck and said it's to go to Houston -->
Police say the men have done nothing illegal!!!

How are we supposed to believe that these guys would let a man place that bag in their truck unless they knew who the man was and why they would accept the bag as contents into their truck!!

It sounds like a child's lie to mommy for where he got the candy:

Kid: "It's Jimmy's candy."
Mom: "Jimmy said it wasn't his."
Kid: "I don't know whose candy it is."
Mom: "The candy has traces of cookies on it."
Kid: "Some man I don't know put it in my bag."
Mom: "???"

[aquart]

2. You make excellent points.

I see many naked asses running for cover.

[mod mom]

3. Um, no legitimate businessman/woman is going to pay cash for a large asset

Definitely fishy and the reluctance of the media to cover it (reminant of the election) leads to greater skepticism.

[stillcool]

4. ooh....oooh....I just posted a question about this...

my hubby said that Anderson Cooper did a story tonight about fraud in Iraq, and locked duffel bags were mentioned, as the preferred method of transport. Could there be something here?...

[file83]

7. Interesting point, I have no clue if there is a connection.

Do some sleuthing and tell me what you find!

[wordpix2]

11. maybe contractor money shipped out of Iraq. Bechtel has contracts there

with US gov. VERY possible

[file83]

18. Woa! What if Bechtel is taking money bags from Iraq to invest

in the drug trade back home here? That would be the scammiest scam-scam in the whole God scammed world. I wish I were the cop investigating this one - woo would this be interesting.

[Flabbergasted]

5. Lets hear your tinfoil theory man?

[file83]

8. It's not so interesting....

The "rational" non-tinfoilhat side of me says:

I think that maybe these guys are being let go so that they can be followed to see if they make anymore stupid mistakes (they seem pretty dumb). The cops know that these two guys are probably going to take some heat if they lost $500,000 of somebody's money.

Most likely, they want to catch the bigger fish here and they want the perps to think that they are going to get away scott free, after all, "they haven't done anything illegal".

On the other hand, my :tinfoilhat: side of me says:

If the money was to really go to Houston, why would the trucker goons be instructed to pick it up BEFORE they went to the plant? No, the money was destined for the Nuclear Power plant.

I think the boss is involved and that money was supposed to be bribe money for someone inside the power plant. The boss used these two goons risking their asses if the truck got closely inspected at the security checkpoint. It probably got inspected because the goons were nervous (because they knew they were about to do something very illegal) which alerted the security guards to do a close inspection (their call)

I think that the boss told the goons, at first, that if the security guard found the money to tell the guard that the money was for a truck they are supposed to buy. Maybe the guard would be stupid. But if he wasn't, they were supposed to then call their boss.

So then the goons called their boss (this part was in the article) and asked for instructions and their boss told them to leave the power plant.

I think it is then that the boss also told them that if they get pulled over by police to just tell them they have no idea how the money got into the truck (because the boss will deny it's his, so their story better match his).

After the Police announce that traces of drugs were found on the money, the truckers know that they must now come up with some story to disassociate themselves from the "drug" aspect by making it sound like some "mystery" man fooled them into transporting the duffle bag. Whether they came up with this story on their own or the boss told them to say that, I have no idea.

The boss is in the clear because the truckers haven't technically broken the law, and so won't be pressed to confess that this plan was all the boss's doing.

Plus, since the trucker claimed that someone "broke into the truck" and stole his ID (which he really did claim in the story), they can claim that maybe it was that guy that must have planted the bag. (Which is of course totally absurd because how did they then learn that they were supposed to take the bag to Houston?)

It's a theory, and not a very good one, because nothing about this story makes sense. :tinfoilhat:

[sam sarrha]

9. drug money being laundered for Tom DeLay, didnt a Rethug party appointment

of his just get busted in a DC9 in Guatemala for Cocaine transporting just last week..???

i think maybe all those senators and congressman's wives charities are nothing but money laundering sites for coke money...they only have to give 15% to the actual charity and can donate the rest to political campaigns, Duke Cunningham's wifes money was going to DeLay through a middle man that was a senator, she gave it to his campaign and he game it to Delay's legal fund.. to eliminate a direct paper trail.

even Abramoff's wife had a big charity.. she evidently got immunity but Tom DeLay's wife is go'n down for money laundering through her charity.

it will be raining indightments...

[catlawyer]

10. Freepers' Views on this Story

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1617649/posts

[DemonFighterLives]

12. Some guy just put it in the truck

Well, that explains everything.
:freak;

I was listening to Anderson Cooper last night when the duffle bags of cash caught my ear. Once I heard it was Iraq, I tuned out.
I guess it came from Iraq or Iran.
:argh:

[hexola]

13. You're assuming they knew about the cash...

Dont assume that...The first story was probably BS - just imagine being stopped with something you didnt know you had...so make up anything...it might have been a suprise to them also - so they just made up a story in an attempt to hang on to the cash...

Note they claim the money is for a truck - which indicates that they didnt know how much they were carrying.

Story two - claim ignorance...

Story three - assume more leads have develop...now they have to fess up about the bag.

Looks like a marijuana deal...canadian weed is about 2000 bucks a pound...

I dont think the nuke aspect has anything to do with it...just so happens that's where this crew is working.

If the cops havent arrested them - perhaps they are just trying to avoid a false arrest lawsuit...

Also - story 2 and 3 can work together...story 2 is about "money"...Story 3 is about a "bag" - clever liars go light on the details...

[QuettaKid]

14. someone made a good point in one of the other threads on this.

If this was a drug deal, why on earth do it at a nuclear power plant!?!?! Guards...cameras....searches....!?!?!? HELLO!?!? Why not just drive off to some deserted road in the woods, lots less prying eyes around.

[hexola]

16. drug guys are dummys...

Note - when I say drug deal - I dont mean to imply that there was going to be a "buy"...

Its fairly common for larger dealers to "front" large quantities...the cash is transported seperately...often months later.

All those "prying eyes" might be a great place to keep a lot of cash safe!!!

[Vidar]

15. With this degree of competence, * will make them ambassadors to something.

[sendero]

17. This story..

.... hasn't passed the smell test since day one.

There is no way the police can overlook that kind of cash, period. If it was a "delivery", the drivers should have been required to produce a manifest or at least an address. If it was "to buy a truck", they would still need to account for where it came from.

It never ceases to amaze me how absolutely arbitrary the decisions of "law enforcement" seem to be.

[Junkdrawer]

19. One thing load and clear is that ALL authorities are protecting the owner.

of the truck.

One call to him and the truckers are let go.

We know the names of the truckers: Donald R. Kingsby and William Lewis

We know who the truck owner is working for: Bechtel Corp.

But we don't have the name of the truck owner.

[Freedom_Aflaim]

20. Criminals are SO DUMB. All they had to was

say "its my money, give it back"

And refuse to answer any other questions.

Would they be suspicious? YOU BET!

Would they have broken any law? NOPE (that we are aware of)

The cops would have to release them eventually if there is no evidence of a crime.

As suspicious as it is, they didnt committ any crime by carrying around all that money.


As it is, they are out the money, and now they could be charged with obstruction of Justice (for lying). (and they have SOMEBODY seriously pissed that they lost their 500k)