8 ms·

Citation on the rats?

jdavis703 5y ago
Eaten by rats sounds like an excuse thieves would tell their narco-terrorist boss. It’s like kids having their homework eaten by a dog right before the deadline. That’s to say, it’s likely a euphemism turned urban legend.
- nefitty 5y ago
  In Narcos, something similar happens. Some money that was buried was found by a farmer, some was lost, some rotted... Escobar preceded to violently murder the people that brought him the excuse.
- Enginerrrd 5y ago
  I dont want to disclose my background exactly here, suffice to say I was not involved in any illegal activity, but others I knew were, and rats and just rotting cash really are genuine concerns affecting large sums of stored or buried money.
  - lifeformed 5y ago
    Why not store then in weatherproof boxes?
    - QuercusMax 5y ago
      Pay $20 for a Rubbermaid tub to protect hundreds of thousands of $$ seems like a reasonable tradeoff, except maybe it's hard to come by that many where they're hiding the money?
      - Enginerrrd 5y ago
        Rubbermaid tub will NOT cut it for that purpose. You really need a pelican case or similar. But... you'd be surprised, people are lazy.
        QuercusMax 5y ago
        I confess I'm extremely ignorant in terms of what it takes to actually store money in bulk. But it seems like literally anything would be better than just letting it rot.
        selimthegrim 5y ago
        I guess Enginnerd has a point.. see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29827582 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29827582 and remarks at the end
    - wbl 5y ago
      Rats can chew through a lot of materials. Cash management is hard.
      - kingcharles 5y ago
        They just chewed through a Rubbermaid tote to eat all my dog's treats. I had to break the bad news to her...
    - Enginerrrd 5y ago
      They often do actually! The pelican cases are quite popular for that purpose. But, like all things, they aren't totally fool-proof. Leaks happen. Even a small air-leak means moisture has an opportunity to condense and penetrate into the container and accumulate. Cracks happen, debris along the gasket, etc. etc. Actually, a more common failure mode than rotting or rats is... simply forgetting where you buried it!
gonzo 5y ago
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pablo-escobar-and-rubber-bands-2015-9/amp https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pablo-escobar-and-rubber-...
BrianHenryIE 5y ago
"The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel", Roberto Escobar. > I know that Pablo was earning so much cash that each year we would simply write off approximately 10 percent of our money because the rats would eat it or it would be damaged beyond use by water and dampness. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Accountant_s_Story/pxzspAzTkKcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=rats https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Accountant_s_Story/...
s5300 5y ago
I really just can’t believe they didn’t invest in some… cats… Like, if there’s ever a description of zero fucks given, I think it would have something to do with letting that much money get ruined by rats. I see multiple other replies of the citations so I won’t repost @jdavis703 I’m doubtful. I don’t think you’re aware of the sheer ruthlessness of high level narcos… they will brutally kill a lot of people over the smallest grievances, theft of petty cash included. Nobody is stealing %’s of billions of stored money & getting away with it.
ransom1538 5y ago
Oh Ill one up that. Escobar in a rough spot literally burned millions of dollars to stay warm. "In addition, while his family was on the run in 1992–93, Escobar reportedly burned $2 million in order to keep his daughter warm." https://www.britannica.com/list/pablo-escobar-8-interesting-facts-about-the-king-of-cocaine https://www.britannica.com/list/pablo-escobar-8-interesting-...
- kingcharles 5y ago
  Some people do it for the lulz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Quid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Qu...
short12 5y ago
Pablo had to bury money in farmers fields. One farmer years later found 600 million dollar For some reason he turned over all 500 million
- csdvrx 5y ago
  The local police department asked the 400 million found to go towards their budget.

Eaten by rats sounds like an excuse thieves would tell their narco-terrorist boss. It’s like kids having their homework eaten by a dog right before the deadline. That’s to say, it’s likely a euphemism turned urban legend.

nefitty 5y ago
In Narcos, something similar happens. Some money that was buried was found by a farmer, some was lost, some rotted... Escobar preceded to violently murder the people that brought him the excuse.
Enginerrrd 5y ago
I dont want to disclose my background exactly here, suffice to say I was not involved in any illegal activity, but others I knew were, and rats and just rotting cash really are genuine concerns affecting large sums of stored or buried money.
- lifeformed 5y ago
  Why not store then in weatherproof boxes?
  - QuercusMax 5y ago
    Pay $20 for a Rubbermaid tub to protect hundreds of thousands of $$ seems like a reasonable tradeoff, except maybe it's hard to come by that many where they're hiding the money?
    - Enginerrrd 5y ago
      Rubbermaid tub will NOT cut it for that purpose. You really need a pelican case or similar. But... you'd be surprised, people are lazy.
      - QuercusMax 5y ago
        I confess I'm extremely ignorant in terms of what it takes to actually store money in bulk. But it seems like literally anything would be better than just letting it rot.
        selimthegrim 5y ago
        I guess Enginnerd has a point.. see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29827582 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29827582 and remarks at the end
  - wbl 5y ago
    Rats can chew through a lot of materials. Cash management is hard.
    - kingcharles 5y ago
      They just chewed through a Rubbermaid tote to eat all my dog's treats. I had to break the bad news to her...
  - Enginerrrd 5y ago
    They often do actually! The pelican cases are quite popular for that purpose. But, like all things, they aren't totally fool-proof. Leaks happen. Even a small air-leak means moisture has an opportunity to condense and penetrate into the container and accumulate. Cracks happen, debris along the gasket, etc. etc. Actually, a more common failure mode than rotting or rats is... simply forgetting where you buried it!

gonzo 5y ago

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pablo-escobar-and-rubber-bands-2015-9/amp https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pablo-escobar-and-rubber-...

BrianHenryIE 5y ago

"The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel", Roberto Escobar. > I know that Pablo was earning so much cash that each year we would simply write off approximately 10 percent of our money because the rats would eat it or it would be damaged beyond use by water and dampness. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Accountant_s_Story/pxzspAzTkKcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=rats https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Accountant_s_Story/...

s5300 5y ago

I really just can’t believe they didn’t invest in some… cats… Like, if there’s ever a description of zero fucks given, I think it would have something to do with letting that much money get ruined by rats. I see multiple other replies of the citations so I won’t repost @jdavis703 I’m doubtful. I don’t think you’re aware of the sheer ruthlessness of high level narcos… they will brutally kill a lot of people over the smallest grievances, theft of petty cash included. Nobody is stealing %’s of billions of stored money & getting away with it.

ransom1538 5y ago

Oh Ill one up that. Escobar in a rough spot literally burned millions of dollars to stay warm. "In addition, while his family was on the run in 1992–93, Escobar reportedly burned $2 million in order to keep his daughter warm." https://www.britannica.com/list/pablo-escobar-8-interesting-facts-about-the-king-of-cocaine https://www.britannica.com/list/pablo-escobar-8-interesting-...

kingcharles 5y ago
Some people do it for the lulz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Quid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Foundation_Burn_a_Million_Qu...

short12 5y ago

Pablo had to bury money in farmers fields. One farmer years later found 600 million dollar For some reason he turned over all 500 million

csdvrx 5y ago
The local police department asked the 400 million found to go towards their budget.