Cool Cash
Breaking News, Weird News January 12th, 2008
Welcome to Funny Stuff
Colleen and Jim Mesler moved into a rented apartment on July 1st 2007. But in early December, the fridge’s self-defrosting freezer wasn’t working right, so Colleen decided to clean the refrigerator and made one crazy discovery.
“I pulled this tray out. It was wrapped in tin foil and plastic, but it was moldy,” Colleen said of the package she found.
“I said, ‘Why don’t you throw it out?” Jim said. “I thought it was old meat, stale meat.”
“But it didn’t smell like bad meat,” Colleen said. “I pulled it apart and found $100 bills. I was more shocked. ‘I’m not throwing this away,’ I thought.”
They’ve spent the day trying to separate the bills apart with a pair of tweezers.
“About $2,000 of it was torn up, or we couldn’t get the mold off it,” said Jim.
They took it to the M&I Bank, hoping to exchange the moldy, broken-up bills for fresh ones. The M&I bank employee advised them to call the police.
Unfortunately, the previous renters of the apartment had been charged with drug trafficking. In a February raid, police uncovered crack cocaine, marijuana, a scale, and other piece of evidence that pointed to drug sales. About $1,100 was also found on purpotrators.
The Meslers are still waiting the official word on whether they would be allowed to keep the money.
“It would be a very big help,” said Colleen, who broke down in tears. “We’ve been waiting and waiting, and nobody’s called to claim it. Other people have found money and got to keep it.”
Janesville Deputy Police Chief David Moore said the city will likely keep the money: “If it is determined that the money is the proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs, then it would be contraband, and on behalf of Janesville taxpayers, we would seize that money.”
Police estimated the stash at $11,950. According to a court document they could not say how much money was in the stash because some of the bills were destroyed.
“I know they (police) want to keep it, but as long as we can keep $8,340, I’ll be happy,” Jim said.
Asked why $8,340, he replied: “Because that’s the number that stuck in my head. I’m not greedy. I just want my $8,340. It was the clean money. It was what we had in good bills.”
The couple said they would still turn in the cash if they had to do it over. But with an income below poverty level, they are hoping the money will eventually be returned to them.
What would they do with it?
“Pay our bills,” the couple said in unison.
Find more interesting News on Celebrity Oops
January 12th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Really weird
January 13th, 2008 at 4:47 am
why is it if you do the right thing you always end up getting the wrong end of the stick?
January 13th, 2008 at 4:53 am
THIS IS WHY PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH WHAT TO DO. FIRST OFF THEY COULD HAVE NEVER REPORTED IT. THEY WOULD HAVE IT ALL. THEY NEED IT AND DID REPORT IT AND WILL LOOSE IT. THIS IS THE GREAT DEBATE. IS HONESTY THE BEST POLICY? THIS IS LIKE PEOPLE WHO HEAR A CRIME OR WITNESS A CRIME WHY SHOULD THEY? THESE PEOPLE ARE HONEST REWARD THEM, USE THIS AS EVIDENCE, BUT LET THEM KEEP IT YOU ARE TELLING PEOPLE HONESTY IS NOT THE BEST. THE SAD PART IS PEOPLE LIKE THIS WOULD DO IT AGAIN THEY ARE GOOD .
January 13th, 2008 at 5:50 am
AND IF THEY DON’T GET IT BACK, WHO DO YOU THINK WILL GET IT, ( THE POLICE OF COURSE ) THE PEOPLE ARE MORE HONEST, THAN THE POLICE. THE BAD MONEY CAN BE SENT TO WASHINGTON AND GET EVER DIME BACK, I KNOW BECAUSE MY DAD,S HOUSE BURNED DOWN HE HAD LITTLER OVER 15.000 THAT BURNED TO ASH. HE HAD IT IN A TIN BOX THE KEY HOLE BURNT OUT THE MONEY WAS JUST ASH, I SENT THE BOX AND ALL TO WASHINGTON HE GOT EVER DIME BACK
January 13th, 2008 at 6:19 am
In this case I’d keep it and not tell anyone. Damaged money can be replaced if you have enough remnants. If the money was in a purse or some other way to identify the possible owner, perhaps return it. Money belongs to no one except the Treasury. You are simply a temporary holder of money. Only idiots carry or keep large sums of currency. Get pulled over for a traffic stop or get arrested, your money can be confiscated as “suspected drug money”. Even if no charges are filed, you may never get your money, or other possessions back. Even if you can prove a legal source of the money. That’s the new “war on drugs” policy in force for quite a number of years. Abused quite often by law enforcement to enrich their coffers. Not all law enforcement agencies–there are honest law enforcement agencies and officers but who wants to test their integrity with money.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:32 am
WHAT HAPPEN TO THE SAYING HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY? GIVE THE MONEY BACK. IF NO ONE HAS CLAIMED THE MONEY IT SHOULD BE GAVE BACK TO THE COUPLE THAT FOUND IT IN THERE HOME. ITS THEIRS IF NO ONE HAS CLAIMED IT.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:46 am
I am ex-cilvilan law enforcement officer as well as an retired military policeman. I must commend the individuals on making the decision to do the same thing again, even though they probably will not get the money back due to the circumstances of it possibly being drug related. Yet, I also would like to say that under the circumstances and with them being honest about the situation. They should be rewarded with being able to keep the money. This particular money, in my opinion, should not be causing such a problem. The money should be given to the individuals or at least some of it. I say give them a reward of all the clean money. Let the law enforcement agency keep the dirty money.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:49 am
I say the cops had their chance to find it…….they didn’t. So the finders should be allowed to keep it. Why should the cops be rewarded for their inabilities.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:39 am
The money is from the sale of illegal narcotics. Now that it has been made public that the money was found in the freezer. Do any of you think that residents would be safe from the drug dealer that lost his money, if the police announce they are giving it back to them? Confiscated drug money goes into a general fund that the police dept can use to implement new programs in the community
January 13th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
They should have said it was theirs.They had stashed it and it got moldy, then sent it to the treasury for new money and pay their bills off.So much for being honest which I always have been. But since reading this I might think twice.
January 13th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
by all means I would have kept the money, today you can not trust the police they are bigger crooks than any one else, I have always said that gun and badge makes them god so they think.
January 13th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Everyone knows that the cops will keep the money and use it to buy Christmas presents for their kids this year. American cops are all crooks. They will steal anything they can from the public and put it in their pockets.
You cannot trust police in the U.S. The mafia at least has honour. Show me one cop in the U.S. that has honour.
-Larry Tate
January 13th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I found some money on the side of the road 1800 and turned it in. The sherrifs department messed around and tried to keep it. I took them to JP court because it was under 5000. Only one word saved me allowing me to keep the money…MAY. The law in TX said that the judge ‘may give the money to the state’. It did not say it ‘had to’, it gave the decision to the judge. He did not think that it needed bad publicity and did not feel I should be punished for being honest. It took a year and lots of calls but I got my money.
January 13th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
The idea of keeping all the money as evidence is ridiculous. Even if they tested all of it for trace evidence of DNA, drugs, fingerprints…after the testing, it’s not useful as evidence and should be returned.
This stuff was in the freezer for six months (long enough to become unrecognizable), I’m sure any trace evidence was lost anyway. If not in freezing, then in thawing.
I also agree that the cops had their chance to find it in the raid. If my property was raided last year before I owned or rented it, how long can the police lay claim to anything in there?
If all cash used in crimes were confiscated and removed permanently from the system, we’d be on a strictly credit card economy by now.
What if the money was there before the raid? Maybe some little old lady tenant who was afraid of banks used it for her life savings.
While I’m all in favor of “doing the right thing,” I don’t think the police are generally doing the right thing themselves.
I think if they’d brought the bills to different banks over a long period they might have gotten away with it. Not that they should have had to “get away with it.”
January 13th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I say give them a $1,000 reward. Call it an incentive to future drug money finders. It’s not like the city deserves the money any MORE than the finders.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Yes, it is a shame. You’re honest,but you feel dishonest for not turning the money in.Remember Judge ye not saith the Lord.You needed it, you should have used it.I would not have thinked ill of you.Someone is stealing more than that everday.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I wouldn’t have said a word to anyone. Finders-Keepers.
Just use it a little bit at a time.
It was meant for these folks-that was destiny.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
great post. thanks for sharing. enjoyed it thoroughly. good luck
January 16th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Anybody should know better than to take money to the police, they are gonna try to find a way to keep it every time, they are gonna keep money EVERY TIME, NO MATTER WHAT, THEY KEEP MONEY EVERY TIME THEY GET THEIR HANDS ON ANY…. WAKE UP…..
January 16th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
LET’S ALL YELL AND SHOUT ABOUT HOW THIS IS A CRAPPY THING. hOlY crAP!!
THEY SHOULD HAVE JUST KEPT THE MONEY AND THEN CALLED THE POLICE AND REPORTED THEIR NEIGHBORS AS DRUG DEALERS!!!1!111!!!
bLAmE thE LaNDl0rd!! LOL!!11!!
January 28th, 2008 at 2:54 am
well it depends if the cops can prove it’s contraband. perhaps the money was there before the drugdealers ever lived there.
if the cops can’t prove without a doubt this money is from drugdeals. isn’t it just another unclaimed lost and found case??