Buried treasure guys arrested
jbsteven
Posts: 6,178 ✭
DOH!
LAWRENCE, Mass. - Two men who claimed in numerous national television interviews that they found buried treasure in the back yard of a home were arrested early Friday after being questioned by police, who said the money was stolen.
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Investigators believe Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., found the old bank notes and bills while doing roofing work.
Both men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Lt. Kevin Martin said. They were to be arraigned Friday morning.
Crebase told investigators the men found the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair, police said.
"We got an anonymous tip two days ago," Capt. Kris McCarthy told the Eagle-Tribune newspaper of Lawrence. "These guys are roofers. They found the money on the job site. They story after that was all made up."
The men said they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928 while digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents.
The materials had a face value of about $7,000. Domenic Mangano, owner of the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H., examined the find and estimated its value between $50,000 and $75,000.
The men's stories, though, attracted suspicion because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.
The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in Crebase's yard. They told one reporter they were preparing to plant a tree. In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.
The men made several appearances on national television this week, but police noticed details of the story changed with each appearance.
Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon told ABC's "Good Morning America" that authorities might never have suspected anything had the men not sought publicity.
"Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people," Solomon said.
Billcliff insisted the discrepancies could be explained.
"It's like watching a car accident," he told the newspaper. "Sometimes someone will say something and someone else will say something slightly different, but mostly it's the same."
look at these idiots.
from left to right:
Manuel Hermosa, Joe Trailertrash and Vinne "the idiot" Carbone
LAWRENCE, Mass. - Two men who claimed in numerous national television interviews that they found buried treasure in the back yard of a home were arrested early Friday after being questioned by police, who said the money was stolen.
ADVERTISEMENT
Investigators believe Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., found the old bank notes and bills while doing roofing work.
Both men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Lt. Kevin Martin said. They were to be arraigned Friday morning.
Crebase told investigators the men found the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair, police said.
"We got an anonymous tip two days ago," Capt. Kris McCarthy told the Eagle-Tribune newspaper of Lawrence. "These guys are roofers. They found the money on the job site. They story after that was all made up."
The men said they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928 while digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents.
The materials had a face value of about $7,000. Domenic Mangano, owner of the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H., examined the find and estimated its value between $50,000 and $75,000.
The men's stories, though, attracted suspicion because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.
The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in Crebase's yard. They told one reporter they were preparing to plant a tree. In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.
The men made several appearances on national television this week, but police noticed details of the story changed with each appearance.
Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon told ABC's "Good Morning America" that authorities might never have suspected anything had the men not sought publicity.
"Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people," Solomon said.
Billcliff insisted the discrepancies could be explained.
"It's like watching a car accident," he told the newspaper. "Sometimes someone will say something and someone else will say something slightly different, but mostly it's the same."
look at these idiots.
from left to right:
Manuel Hermosa, Joe Trailertrash and Vinne "the idiot" Carbone
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Comments
Now this truely proves the fact that they are morons.
Yes indeed, criminals are idiots.
Total Copper Nutcase - African, British Ships, Channel Islands!!!
'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup'
Roofers are above it all!
Who hides money in a gutter? How is that these guys could'nt keep a story straight? I love it, comic releif for the rest of us...
I live up in Souther NH (next town over to Manchester) so this was pretty big news up here.
Moral of the story -- things aren't always as they appear and don't believe everything you hear...like the big fish that got away stories
Linkage
from left to right:
Manuel Hermosa, Joe Trailertrash and Vinne "the idiot" Carbone
A couple of things that I just don't comprehend:
1) none of the many news stories indicate the TRUE OWNER OF THE CURRENCY. The police seem certain that the money was stolen, but from whom? Just because 2 kids tell different accounts of how they found the money does not mean that they stole the money. I want to know where the money came from. Was it reported as stolen previously?
2) the estimate of $50,000 to $100,000 for the notes seems a bit low to me. Looks like some nice notes, imho. Just a guess, but I would say that it is worth double that, if the condition of the notes is as nice as the pictures indicate. Wood Choppers, Bisons, Gold Certs, etc.
Our eBay auctions - TRUE auctions: start at $0.01, no reserve, 30 day unconditional return privilege & free shipping!
Making sure you don't drop the soap the next......
is from an 80 year bank robbery how would they know?
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<< <i>So, besides lie about how they found the money...what did they do wrong? Why be charged with receiving stolen property? If this money
is from an 80 year bank robbery how would they know? >>
I think there is more to the story than what has be written so far.
Russ, NCNE
have a claim to it.
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What they did wrong is that you cannot "find" something on someone else's property.
Joe.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Edited to add: that picture of them, with the benefit of today's news, is absolutely classic.
Apropos of the coin posse/aka caca: "The longer he spoke of his honor, the tighter I held to my purse."
<< <i>Roofing one day.......
Making sure you don't drop the soap the next...... >>
collections: Maryland related coins & exonumia, 7070 Type set, and Video Arcade Tokens.
The Low Budget Y2K Registry Set
They claimed that the owner of their rental said they could keep their "find".
Joe.
<< <i>As I understand it, they found the bills in the attic of a house where they were working on the roof. >>
That would account for the great condition that the notes were in.
Connor Numismatics Website
Tyler
The attic would be visible from the roof if you have to replace one or more of the roof boards. They didn't have to be "in" the home.
Joe.
<< <i>2) the estimate of $50,000 to $100,000 for the notes seems a bit low to me. Looks like some nice notes, imho. Just a guess, but I would say that it is worth double that, if the condition of the notes is as nice as the pictures indicate. Wood Choppers, Bisons, Gold Certs, etc. >>
The dealer might have given a lowball offer. Shocking isn't it??
The best way to look for damage caused by leaks I imagine.
W.C. Fields
Al
Looks like one of own has a little problem with it too.
<< <i>Maybe they can still rush to NGC and get these bills holdered as "Housewreck Effect" specimens. With the right marketing campaign should up the take to at least $500,000.00. >>
Joe
those bills.I think he may be S O L,on getting hes money back?
Al
<< <i>Maybe they can still rush to NGC and get these bills holdered as "Housewreck Effect" specimens. With the right marketing campaign should up the take to at least $500,000.00. >>
<< <i>This just goes to show that there is no such thing as a smart crook. >>
I don't know, there are some 'genius's' on ebay...
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
Agreed. If your going to be dumb...you'd better be tough.
Greg Hansen, Melbourne, FL Click here for any current EBAY auctions Multiple "Circle of Trust" transactions over 14 years on forum
In the movie all they got for the roof work was a beer,where is Tim Robbins when you need him?
GTS
<< <i>A collector of currency on the Currency forum..Bigbucks... had posted that he bought some of
those bills.I think he may be S O L,on getting hes money back?
Al >>
From what i've read over there it's poetic justice
BigBucks reminds me of one of our favorite Platinum Collectors
<< <i>Since these guys are still alive, they do not qualify for the Darwin competition. But they're pretty close.
Joe >>
They could still get an honorable mention.