$212,000 Hidden In Diapers

[timmyc]

A Quebec woman has been released on bail in New York State after border guards found $212,000 US stashed in adult diapers in her pickup truck.

Monique Storie, 61, was stopped by U.S. border guards on July 28 when she tried to cross the border near Montreal.

Officials discovered $212,485 US in stacks hidden in four bags of adult diapers stored in the back seat of her pickup truck, U.S. Customs spokesman Kevin Corsaro said.

She is to return to a Plattsburgh, N.Y., courthouse in the fall for a preliminary hearing.

[Darkfinn]

So... what law did she break? Is it illegal to move that much cash across the border or something?

[Nappycouple]

You must declare all sizable amounts of cash, I think $10,000.00 or more when crossing the border either way. The only reason that some one would smuggle this kind of cash is to avoid taxation, which is illegal.

[barnburner]

another reason why something like this could be illegal is possible terrorist funding

[Guest rosemonde10]

She didn't break a crime per se, but that a rather large mount of money. If it was not declared (which it couldn't be I think) then all the more reason to suspect criminal activity.

A big red flag here was that the money was found hiddenin packs of adult diapers. That's a pretty suspicious place to put money if you are just traveling with it with no criminal intent. This would be like travelling with pounds of marijana. unless your an extreme junkie, the pot isn't for you but the streets.

The real tragedy is that she probably lost ll those good diapers.

[square_duck]

Can we say drug money?? If the funds were legit, why not just do a wire bank transfer?? BECAUSE the funds weren't legit and they are transporting illegally gained funds for laundering through Canadian banks.

I hope they find the rest of the people she is working with and dump them all down in Mexico right in th emiddle of one of the drug cartels war zones....you play with fire...

[Dougie]

Maybe she sold her house and wanted out of the "soon-to-be" U.S.S.A.

[Bettypooh]

Can we say drug money?? If the funds were legit, why not just do a wire bank transfer?? BECAUSE the funds weren't legit and they are transporting illegally gained funds for laundering through Canadian banks.

I hope they find the rest of the people she is working with and dump them all down in Mexico right in th emiddle of one of the drug cartels war zones....you play with fire...

Shame on you and the others who presume to know why the woman had the cash and where it came from or what it was going to be used for I know of several people near her age that don't trust banks Maybe not smart but certainly not illegal I know a couple legit businessmen who paid a contractor $80K in cash It was all reported and taxed and I have no idea why they did that- their stores could have generated that in one week so maybe they just made bank deposits weekly instead of daily And shame on the US government who assumes that if you're holding $2K or more in cash it should be subject to seizure even without an arrest I've heard of a few used car dealers having their buying cash wrongfully confiscated just because they were outside of their home state If possession of large sums of cash is wrong then all the bankers and the governments needs to be jailed Perhaps that would be a good idea anyway

Bettypooh

[square_duck]

Shame on you and the others who presume to know why the woman had the cash and where it came from or what it was going to be used for I know of several people near her age that don't trust banks Maybe not smart but certainly not illegal I know a couple legit businessmen who paid a contractor $80K in cash It was all reported and taxed and I have no idea why they did that- their stores could have generated that in one week so maybe they just made bank deposits weekly instead of daily And shame on the US government who assumes that if you're holding $2K or more in cash it should be subject to seizure even without an arrest I've heard of a few used car dealers having their buying cash wrongfully confiscated just because they were outside of their home state If possession of large sums of cash is wrong then all the bankers and the governments needs to be jailed Perhaps that would be a good idea anyway

Bettypooh

OK,....so shameon me MEH

I just wonder if the cashs is legit, why is she 'smuggling' in HIDDEN in bags of adult diapers?? If it was ok, then why not have it in a suitcase on the front seat instead, and not hidden??

I know some people don't trust banks, and I don't blame them really...but wht the effort to conceal the cash?? It's kind of silly really.

IF she had a location she was going to in Canada, why not break the stuff down into smaller bundles and ship it in a box...sheesh. Lots of different ideas, yet she chose to try and smuggle (yes she did!! ) the whole sum into Canada instead...so something isn't right in the neighborhood.

Why hide if you are doing nothing wrong?? only criminals and cockroaches hide, to avoid being detected or eaten

sorry

qwack

[Bettypooh]

Why hide if you are doing nothing wrong?? only criminals and cockroaches hide, to avoid being detected or eaten

sorry

qwack

If you and I hide our wearing of diapers (which is doing nothing wrong) then which one are we? People hide things for many reasons It's likely that the money isn't legit but nobody has the right to judge that without knowledge- let's see where it goes before forming an opinion I expect better from you and I'm rarely disappointed but this time you've quacked up on your final approach

Bettypooh

[KrisNdiapers]

also some intentions can be taken out of context. Like maybe she didnt consider the money hidden, maybe it was in a suitcase in the back of the truck and there happened to be a bag of adult diapers on top of it. So when searched the money was hidden from the inspectors view. But what we read in the media is the story made to sound interesting, and no-one will know the real story.

[AutieAB]

So... what law did she break? Is it illegal to move that much cash across the border or something?

Nappycouple got it right. It's an anti-money-laundering & tax evasion control. When you enter the USA (regardless of citizenship), you're asked to complete a series of declarations for the CBP agent. On a flight, you're asked to fill in a paper form. I don't know if the same is true at land borders or if the agent in the booth just asks you the questions but one of them is:

"I am (we are) carrying currency or monetary instruments over $10,000 US or foreign equivalent"

I believe that lying on that form is perjury at least. There's nothing wrong with carrying more than $10K over the border but you have to declare it and/or expect trouble and some probing questions if you don't and they find it.

[Nappycouple]

The U.S Canadian Border is the longest non-defened border in the world. Billions, if not Trillions dollars of trade cross it each year. The border between our two countires is not fenced, or in some areas not even guarded. On British Colombia's lower mainland the only thing seperating our two countires, is a ditch. The border works on the honor system. People crossing are expected to honestly declare everything, cash, merchandize, alcohol, tabocco products and firearms. I cross frequently each year, and I'm asked about cash that I maybe carrying. I declare all and pay my the duty and taxes that are over my personal limit. The majority of people do. If they do not they are not supporting the countires they live in, in over words stealing from all of us. Only a criminal would not declare, and the border guards treat them as such.

[LILJIM]

NOW! NOW! Most here got this wrong. Yes you do!!! She wasn't hiding money; she was hiding diapers.

[Pootattoo]

Maybe she sold her house and wanted out of the "soon-to-be" U.S.S.A.

Ummm, She was coming FROM Canada, TO the (Now and forever WILL be) United States of America.

[Dougie]

Ummm, She was coming FROM Canada, TO the (Now and forever WILL be) United States of America.

She was crossing to Canada FROM the USA. If she was crossing from Canada she would be going to court in Canada, bot New York state.

If the country keeps going the way it currently is it will soon be as bad, if not worse, than living in the current USSR.

[Jabez]

Geeze, this woman has put a whole new meaning on "loaded diaper".

[ldatsea]

so i hope border agents and tsa dont go tearing thru my diapers looking for money...... when i travel

[freswith]

The problem is one of money-laundering, the conversion of the proceeds of crime into legitimate assets. Drug dealers accumulate vast stocks of cash which they have to spend or invest. In the finance industry there are all kinds of rules and regulations about accepting cash, and any investment has to be verified as to its source. Any suspicions have to be reported. Yup, it's Big Brother watching you.

[Guest rosemonde10]

Look at it from the border patrol's perspective: if you had that job, and some woman came through nd you fond out she had 212,00 dollars secretly stashed in a huge load of adult diapers, would YOU just let them go? Hopefully not, because that is a disturbing amount of money for one person to secretly be travelling the country with.

[freswith]

I wouldn't let the diapers go.

It's a worrying number of diapers to be travelling the country with. Presumably she thought the guard would be too embarrassed to look into them, but perhaps he was actually AB/DL.

As it was, he probably saw it as an anomaly, and investigated.

[Skywolf]

One package of diapers may have gotten overlooked. Four on the other hand screams "there is something else in here!" to the guards. By lying to the guards about not having the money, she broke the law. They ask for any declarations you may have before searching the vehicle, if they choose to do a search at all.

-Sky

[Darkfinn]

I just want to know what she did to arouse the guard's suspicions. If you were incontinent and taking a trip for a week or so you would need to take that many diapers. I'm thinking she was doing something else odd and we aren't getting the whole story.

[AutieAB]

I just want to know what she did to arouse the guard's suspicions.

It's the border guard's job to spot people who are acting strangely or indeed actively trying to avoid suspicion... I'm sure it was just intuition that something was odd. The person in the booth is just the 'first line' as it were. They don't make the final determination of entry (dunno if she is a USC or not) or whether to investigate for customs violations, etc, they just refer people to "secondary inspection" if they're even the slightest bit suspicious, who then put the person over the coals if necessary.

I've been through secondary once before - believe me, it's not a pleasant experience! (FWIW, I wasn't doing anything wrong and was allowed to go on my way after some questions and a search of my luggage. It remains to this day the only time my diapers, pacifier, bottle, etc have ever been exposed to a stranger )

[billydydy]

A squalling, possibly poopy baby in a baby buggy was very effective in Holland in WW2. The kids were trained to really cry at the sight of a uniformed soldier - probably poop too. In any event the last thing a red blooded German soldier in his late teens or early twenties wanted around was a squalling kid, possibly stinky too. Mother and child were quickly passed through the inspection lines and heaven only knew what was under the mattress. I suspect this would have worked with American soldiers as well.