Crime Is 5 years in jail and counting for contempt of court unjust

[Lord Coke]

This seems excessive. This guy has been in jail for over 5 years for either refusing or being unable to say where he hid some gold coins. It appears like the judges order can just keep going until he dies or speaks. Anyone think that is excessive. Let's say he never speaks. Is 30 years okay?

https://www.ksat.com/news/weird-new...or-ex-deep-sea-treasure-hunter-stuck-in-jail/
A former deep-sea treasure hunter is about to mark his fifth year in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing coins made from gold found in an historic shipwreck.

Research scientist Tommy Thompson isn't incarcerated for breaking the law. Instead, he's being held in contempt of court for an unusually long stretch - well past the normal maximum limit of an 18-month internment in cases of witnesses refusing to cooperate.

But nothing is usual about Thompson's case, which dates to his discovery of the S.S. Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, in 1988. The gold rush-era ship sank in a hurricane off South Carolina in 1857 with thousands of pounds of gold aboard, contributing to an economic panic.

 

[deadshot138]

This seems excessive. This guy has been in jail for over 5 years for either refusing or being unable to say where he hid some gold coins. It appears like the judges order can just keep going until he dies or speaks. Anyone think that is excessive. Let's say he never speaks. Is 30 years okay?

https://www.ksat.com/news/weird-new...or-ex-deep-sea-treasure-hunter-stuck-in-jail/
A former deep-sea treasure hunter is about to mark his fifth year in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing coins made from gold found in an historic shipwreck.

Research scientist Tommy Thompson isn't incarcerated for breaking the law. Instead, he's being held in contempt of court for an unusually long stretch - well past the normal maximum limit of an 18-month internment in cases of witnesses refusing to cooperate.

But nothing is usual about Thompson's case, which dates to his discovery of the S.S. Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, in 1988. The gold rush-era ship sank in a hurricane off South Carolina in 1857 with thousands of pounds of gold aboard, contributing to an economic panic.

It's explained in the article that him not disclosing the location of the gold violates a plea agreement and precludes him from the laws limiting imprisonment for contempt of court

 

[LangfordBarrow]

It's explained in the article that him not disclosing the location of the gold violates a plea agreement and precludes him from the laws limiting imprisonment for contempt of court

I wonder how much the gold is worth for him to be willing to spend this much time in jail.

 

[deadshot138]

I wonder how much the gold is worth for him to be willing to spend this much time in jail.

He's already 70 years old, maybe it's enough that his family will be set for generations to come. Or he's just a nut job.

 

[tenniswhiz]

He's already 70 years old, maybe it's enough that his family will be set for generations to come. Or he's just a nut job.

It’s damn near impossible to unload significant quantities of gold without attracting attention from both law enforcement and criminals.
Even if you did, it’s damn near impossible to do anything life changing with extremely large quantities of cash.
Don’t be fooled by the happy endings you see in the movies where the hero ends up in a beach house in a secluded setting.

Selling a kilo of gold (after melting away any identifiable markings) is already extremely difficult.
And if anyone claims to have cash to pay for 10 kilos that person is a federal agent and you’re in big trouble. Or they’re a person involved in organized crime that’s going to seize what you got and tell you to piss off. And that’s just the half million dollar range. Imagine trying to sell a hundred kilos.

It’s an interesting challenge though.
What would a Sherdogger do if they somehow came upon $10 million in US dollars in cash?

 

[HereticBD]

Have they searched his peg leg or interrogated his parrot, yet?

 

[Fugazy]

It’s damn near impossible to unload significant quantities of gold without attracting attention from both law enforcement and criminals.
Even if you did, it’s damn near impossible to do anything life changing with extremely large quantities of cash.
Don’t be fooled by the happy endings you see in the movies where the hero ends up in a beach house in a secluded setting.

Selling a kilo of gold (after melting away any identifiable markings) is already extremely difficult.
And if anyone claims to have cash to pay for 10 kilos that person is a federal agent and you’re in big trouble. Or they’re a person involved in organized crime that’s going to seize what you got and tell you to piss off. And that’s just the half million dollar range. Imagine trying to sell a hundred kilos.

It’s an interesting challenge though.
What would a Sherdogger do if they somehow came upon $10 million in US dollars in cash?

Get height enhancement surgery to become 6’10 instead of 6’8.

 

[plataoplombo]

Turn it into jewelry then open a store. If memory serves me right, 18K is about 75% gold and 14K is about 60% gold. So between the value add of turning it into jewelry plus diluting the metal, you sure make a 500-700% increase.

 

[MichiganMMA1978]

Let him go and keep surveillance on him....

 

[Lord Coke]

It's explained in the article that him not disclosing the location of the gold violates a plea agreement and precludes him from the laws limiting imprisonment for contempt of court

Sure I read the article but the question I am asking is it just for the government to lock him away indefinitely whether or not it’s legal

 

[oldshadow]

I imagine he is looking for a reward not to sell it. They want the gold and he wants a reward they will not give.

At his age he can force them or die with the secret of where it's at. They have a limited time as he could go any time and they will never find it.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

I'm of the opinion that his family knows where that gold is.

Melting it down and casting it into fractional pieces is the smartest way to go about it. You can very easily off-load fractional gold over time at just about any pawn shop, coin shop, "we buy gold" place, private sale via Craigslist, etc.

Hopefully they stay quiet and only take a little out here or there so as to not raise suspicions.

 

[Snowblindlove]

It’s damn near impossible to unload significant quantities of gold without attracting attention from both law enforcement and criminals.
Even if you did, it’s damn near impossible to do anything life changing with extremely large quantities of cash.
Don’t be fooled by the happy endings you see in the movies where the hero ends up in a beach house in a secluded setting.

Selling a kilo of gold (after melting away any identifiable markings) is already extremely difficult.
And if anyone claims to have cash to pay for 10 kilos that person is a federal agent and you’re in big trouble. Or they’re a person involved in organized crime that’s going to seize what you got and tell you to piss off. And that’s just the half million dollar range. Imagine trying to sell a hundred kilos.

It’s an interesting challenge though.
What would a Sherdogger do if they somehow came upon $10 million in US dollars in cash?

Search the money for a tracker destroy it. Leave the US

 

[shankmcgank]

Sure I read the article but the question I am asking is it just for the government to lock him away indefinitely whether or not it’s legal

Did he have a lawyer?

Did the lawyer explain to him the consequences for not following through?

If so, then this is self-inflicted and I have 0 pity for the guy.

You can't agree to something in the court system and then decide to do whatever you want, that's not how it works.

 

[shinkyoku]

Apparently the value of the 500 coins are somewhere between $2m to $4m
A lot of money, sure, but not really enough to spend the rest of your life in jail for.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/14/tommy-thompson-treasure-jail-ship-of-gold

 

[Rob Battisti]

So my dude found lost gold and the government wants to seize it? Fuck the government.

 

[Poon Goon]

I've been considering fucking around in a courtroom, but seeing this type of punishment has deterred me from acting on that thought.

 

[shinkyoku]

So my dude found lost gold and the government wants to seize it? Fuck the government.

No. He found the ship with the help of money from 161 investors. Then he skipped with the gold and they sued.

 

[Ornife]

So my dude found lost gold and the government wants to seize it? Fuck the government.

That was my first thought. But then:


"Thompson’s legal troubles stem from the 161 investors who paid him $12.7m to find the ship, never saw any proceeds and finally sued."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/14/tommy-thompson-treasure-jail-ship-of-gold

 

[shinkyoku]

"Treasure hunter and Ohio native Tommy Thompson found the ship in 1988 after convincing 161 local investors to fund the voyage for nearly $13 million.

A lengthy battle ensued over who owned the gold, with Thompson and his investors eventually emerging as the victors over a group of insurance companies. Thompson's company sold 532 gold bars and thousands of coins to the California Gold Marketing Group for about $50 million in 2000.

Investors never saw any of those proceeds. In 2005, they sued Thompson, who then went into seclusion in Florida and later became a fugitive after an Ohio judge issued a warrant for his arrest in 2012."

snip

"Recovered in 2014, the gold going on display in California next month is only the second round of treasure brought up from the Central America.

Manley, of the California Gold Marketing Group, bought the gold from investors this month. It was the first time investors saw returns since their initial investment in the 1980s, though some of them died waiting to see such a day."

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/29/gol...-1857-shipwreck-is-set-to-make-its-debut.html