mcs328
06-14-2005, 12:56 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&e=1&u=/nm/20050614/od_nm/germany_thief_dc
Lottery winner turns thief after blowing cash
Tue Jun 14,11:23 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German lottery winner who blew all his winnings decided he was better off supplementing his income as a thief than claiming welfare benefits, a court in the central town of Meiningen said on Tuesday.
The court said shortly after the man had frittered away the last of his prize worth around 760,000 euros ($921,000) by autumn 2003, he turned to robbery, looting cars and houses for sums as small as one euro.
"He's confessed to about 60 offences," said a spokesman for the court. "He would break in to see how much money they had -- I guess you could say it was a kind of lottery too."
The spokesman added the 49-year-old, who stopped working after his cash bonanza in 1997, had said he was too ashamed to go to the welfare office after the money ran out.
"He didn't want it known he'd spent it all."
The court said he faces a jail sentence of several years.
Lottery winner turns thief after blowing cash
Tue Jun 14,11:23 AM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German lottery winner who blew all his winnings decided he was better off supplementing his income as a thief than claiming welfare benefits, a court in the central town of Meiningen said on Tuesday.
The court said shortly after the man had frittered away the last of his prize worth around 760,000 euros ($921,000) by autumn 2003, he turned to robbery, looting cars and houses for sums as small as one euro.
"He's confessed to about 60 offences," said a spokesman for the court. "He would break in to see how much money they had -- I guess you could say it was a kind of lottery too."
The spokesman added the 49-year-old, who stopped working after his cash bonanza in 1997, had said he was too ashamed to go to the welfare office after the money ran out.
"He didn't want it known he'd spent it all."
The court said he faces a jail sentence of several years.