ROCKLAND, Maine — A Warren man has been ordered to turn over half of a $165,400 stash of cash found in his pickup truck as part of divorce proceedings.
Judge Patricia Worth issued the order, attaching half of the cash because of the “clear danger” that the man would remove the money.
The money was found May 23 in his truck that was parked at the Knox County Courthouse where he was attending a case management hearing in the divorce proceedings brought last year by his wife. The Bangor Daily News is not naming the individuals since there are no criminal charges involved.
The husband had reported to the court that he only had $10,000 in the bank but the wife reported that she recalls seeing large sums of money in his truck when they were together, according to court records. The husband works both as an elver fisherman and as a self-employed house painter. The judge inquired about the contents of his truck and he said there were only personal items and personal papers in the truck, according to the court records.
The woman’s attorney Eric Morse of Rockland requested and the judge agreed May 23 to order the man to cooperate in an inspection of the contents of the truck. He did not cooperate and a locksmith was called. The truck was unlocked and in the glove compartment was $26,000 in cash. A safe was found bolted to the bed of the pickup truck and upon opening the box by the locksmith another $139,400 in cash was discovered.
The woman’s attorney informed the court in his motion for attachment of half the cash that the man had deliberately attempted to mislead the court.
The wife is seeking spousal support and payment of her attorney fees as well as division of marital assets.
The $84,700 in cash that was attached by the court order will be put into an escrow account until the case is settled.
I would have loved to have seen the expression on that guy’s face as the stacks of money were taken from his truck … priceless.
He must of thought that money was “personal papers”. Wish they had it on video!
Dude. You are so busted lol.
If the IRS finds out he can kiss the other 1/2 goodbye too.
You got that right!
000111 00011 000
This is very typical behavior for folks in the fishing industry. Totally cash oriented and the state and federal gov’ts have absolutely no clue as to how much is floating around unreported. I’ve been involved as a buyer and watched for years as the state of Maine tried to get a grip on it. The urchin market is a prickly topic and elver markets are slippery…..puns intended! Glad one fisherman has been busted.
You are painting with a pretty broad brush when you say “very typical behavior for folks in the fishing industry.” I suspect it is true for some folks who fish for a living, but certainly not all.
“Glad one fisherman has been busted.”
Yeah, because we all know that this money really belongs to the state and our benevolent dictators are so kind to let any of us keep a little of what WE’VE earned. And, or course this money had to be earned illegally because it’s cash. Judging by the comments on this story, we have a bunch of budding brown shirts.
and drug dealers…
And you can bet that much hidden cash is not fishing income either.
Considering glass eels were being bought for more than $2000 a pound this year, it IS possible that all that was from fishing. That would be about 83 pounds. VERY POSSIBLE
Should have buried it!
His safe bolted to the pickup bed is probably safer then most banks. Evidently not from his ex though.
Nothing except a little walking around cash…
Self employment seems to be quite lucrative (especially when the chances are you might be flying under the IRS radar and possibly using an EBT as well). That’s a lot of money!
No kidding. I’ve been stiffed on child support for years by an ex-husband who has a camp in Canada and land in Brewer…puts it in someone else’s name to keep it hidden. Self-employed.
Never heard of it! You mean some guys report no/little income to get out of child support? :)
Heck, he and his wife are both lucky the state didn’t declare it to be ‘drug money’ and scarf the whole lot! Stand by while they get the drug dog tuned up….
it’s cheaper to keep her.
I hope she doesn’t spend it too quickly. I’m afraid the IRS will be knocking on his door shortly for their share, plus penalties.
Their share on the full amount too, not just the half he gets to keep (temporarily).
He’s lucky his truck wasn’t broken into or stolen.
Marriage: gambling half of your money and property that you will love her forever.
It is never a good idea to lie. That is doubly true when the person you lie to happens to have “Judge” as part of their name. Something tells me that life as this gentleman used to know it is about to change. He is about to become one of the more popular Citizens of Warren. In fact I bet that people with badges will be lining up outside his house to become his new best friend. I’m sure they will all be very understanding. After all doesn’t every one in Warren have $165,000. in cash in their pick-up for walking around money?
A lot of fishermen do, Warren and elsewhere………..
So many directions to go with this story. Men watch out who you go out with,
With credit checks, back ground checks, there should be divorce checks, that could be done before dating anyone.
There are so many gold digging women out there!! The other twist…….a man loves his money FIRST and then his wife…………………….
Definately would have liked to watch this as it was happening!!:) Horray for the lawyer for persistancee! The truth always come out……
This is pretty shady work by the court and the Bangor Daily News. You don’t have to name the individuals as long as you say ‘elver fisherman and as a self employed house painter’. There was a time when family court matters were confidential, for whatever reason. Not so much anymore, I guess.
I told my ex that I wanted a divorce, she said that she did not. I told her that she could have everything. She said where do I sign?
Take child support out of the equation for minute….Husband and wife both work FT and the husband has to pay the wife. Husband is a college graduate, wife is not. These were decisions that were made long before they ever met. Why should the husband be responsible for giving up half of his retirement and other personal savings? Doesnt seem right!
Hmmm, I worked, my spouse did not….I contributed to my 401k…I supported the children from my spouses previous marriage….after 15 years my spouse ran off with someone else to reside in Chino Valley Arizona..leaving me with empty oil tank, furnace out ( middle of January) $0….plus a $1,500. outstanding check on the checking account that was totally wiped clean…I had to split my 401 K with my ex spouse. PLUS I was stuck with the bills….Oh, by the way…did I mention my ex spouse was a male ( won’t give him the benefit of calling him a man) I get so SICK AND TIRED of people talking through their rears about how the woman always comes out ahead!
I am female & I am opposed to spousal support! It is a form of involuntary servitude that is against the law. I guess the courts & some women don’t feel that way. He likely earned this money, she should keep her hands off it, unless of course he cheated, then all bets are off. Maybe then would take “a little” alimony, yeah & half of the money too :)
Never keep $139,400 in a $200 safe! $10K in a glove compartment isn’t very smart either. What the hell was he thinking!
she got the gold mine and he got the shaft…drive shaft that is….by the way who gets to pay the locksmith????