[ Monday ]
No Profit for Criminals
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The mayor of the Georgia city which spearheaded the hunt for runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is recommending that the state legislature ban profiteering by criminals...specifically, Wilbanks.
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Wilbanks hopped a Greyhound to Las Vegas after feeling stressed out over her impending wedding, while multiple state and local authorities conducted a bizarre search for her and her alledged kidnappers. She wound up in New Mexico, having run out of money and unable to find a cheap room in Las Vegas. In the end, Wilbanks admitted fabricating the whole story and was charged with a felony. Wilbanks negotiated a settlement with the city of Duluth, Georgia, paying it $13,000 (USD) of the $40,000-$60,000 supposedly spend on overtime pay to police and EMS personnel.
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After the deal was cut, Wilbanks subsequently announced that she had signed a book and multi-media deal worth $500,000 for the rights to her story. That incensed the local mayor, city and county officials, and citizens, some of whom had volunteered in the search for Wilbanks.
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The solution might be a civil suit against Wilbanks and others like her by the local taxpayers, in addition to legislation preventing profiteering by criminals. However, even in those instances some creative type will publish or produce an 'unauthorized' version of the story, and be sued by the principal or his/her family for a share of the profits.
MM [06:00]
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