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He was getting paid well as a professor with an endowed chair at a major research university. He has no motive to smuggle drugs. He was the victim here.
by javert 14y ago
He was getting paid well as a professor with an endowed chair at a major research university. He has no motive to smuggle drugs. He was the victim here.
- tomkarlo 14y agoThere's some aspect of his personal finances that's been glossed over here... it's pretty clear that despite decades of income he didn't have much in the way of assets to use to pay for his defense. (One would think you'd sell anything you own if it means avoiding a prolonged stay in a South American jail.) Maybe it was the divorce, or something else, but he doesn't seem to have a great financial situation.
- arvinjoar 14y agoAnother possibility is that he was looking for some FU money? He felt very highly of himself, perhaps he felt he was being held back and wanted a bit more freedom. Pure speculation of course.
- tomkarlo 14y agoDefinitely possible. I was just replying to the suggestion that he had "no motive" to smuggle drugs. $400K (and tax-free) is a lot of motive, even if you have substantial savings. Martha Stewart was worth millions and ended up in jail over what, $250K?
- smsm42 14y agoThat's like saying millionaire could not possibly commit fraud - he already has a million! Madoff's case provides ample proof to the contrary, to say nothing of other people operating the finance industry.
- jwoah12 14y agoHe was obsessed with marrying this woman, and if he thought smuggling drugs for her would win her over, that seems like motive to me.
- bdunbar 14y ago> He has no motive to smuggle drugs. Because .. he already had a job? A whole lot of crime is committed for reasons other than financial.