‘There are about 600,000 people living in the city. You have stolen from every citizen, man, woman and child approximately $4 each.’ Associate Chief Justice, A.H. Wachowich commented ahead of passing down the sentence.
Having worked for the city of Edmonton I can tell you the fact that no one realized what was happening and wrote it off as an accounting error is just so…expected. That someone might be stealing from the city is even more expected.
Kara was effectively stealing 20% of LRT fares over the 13-year period; one in five coins that were fed into the machines by the paying public ended up in his shaving bag, amounting to around 2 million customer journeys. It seems inconceivable that he wasn’t caught sooner.
That 20% seems off. Wouldn’t that mean the expected income from that thirteen years would only be 10-15 million?
Maybe 20% of fares from machines? Or machines in one station? Or maybe most people didn’t use machines?
Kara was effectively stealing 20% of LRT fares over the 13-year period; one in five coins that were fed into the machines by the paying public ended up in his shaving bag, amounting to around 2 million customer journeys. It seems inconceivable that he wasn’t caught sooner.
This really does seem inconceivable. I’m an industry accountant and worked in the safe room counting drawers for a supermarket and a cafeteria. I lose it when I’m not balanced, even $10 on a 200k deposit. How… How was someone not noticing 20%?? Hell he deserves it with the lack of controls in place. Maybe things were different then…
I think it’s sort of implied by the article that there was not sophistication in the 80s to audit the money. And then the couple times the money was audited, it was chalked up to a software glitch. If this happened today, yes, it would be counted and corroborated basically daily, but in the 80s?
It’s written that they did notice it but were unable to pinpoint the problem and thought it is a software bug. Reminds of a recent story where an actual software bug got post workers in the UK jail time and huge fines because they were accused of stealing that money
There is a pretty good tv series that just came out today about it as well. Mr Bates vs. the Post Office. I just started watching it today. Crazy story. Those poor people. They got fucked royally.
This is the City of Edmonton. Having worked there the least surprising part of this story is that even when they noticed, instead of investigating further, they wrote it off as an error.
let's get this guy working on the climate problem down at NASA.. give him a set of titanium tools and a couple of supercomputers and just see what he comes up with.. outside the box thinking, that's what we need in here..
According to the article, he did. What got attention was when he bought a million dollar house for himself.
His biggest problem was not stopping. He had already banked $2million but kept going. That’s like making away with a $2m bank heist and showing back up at the same bank the next day to do it again.
If he had stopped but kept working for several years, he would have never been caught because audits would have lined up while he was still there.
You see, I was picturing something far more mundane with the headline of “stole” coins. I figured it’d be a story about somebody picking up loose change and some jackass claiming that was stealing. After reading through it I still feel for the guy but yeah, that’s definitely a crime.
Could be. I meant euro as in the currency. Wishing well pools and ponds—wherever people throw coins—end up a rusty mass. It’s hard to tell where it’s coming from
I’d forgotten that actually but you’re right… I’m always on the lookout for the quarters… Maybe now I’ll remember to keep an eye out for the dimes, too.
The first year Australia made 50 cent coins they were made of some? Silver. The next year they changed the metal used and shape. Roughly speaking a 1966 50c coin is worth $15 in silver.
Steel is cheap. Copper, zinc, nickel, brass and especially silver are rather expensive.
Many world coins up to about 10-50c are steel plated copper or similar.
Most of the world considers it unacceptable to have a coin that costs more to manufacture than it is worth, let alone have just the raw materials cost that much. Smaller coins have often been simply removed.
In the US, on the other hand, apparently the zinc industry is able to force the continued expensive existence of the penny.
The issue with the penny is that they have a powerful lobby. Not many people care enough about them to write their representatives about the issue. Let alone even email them.
Not sure what’s keeping the $1 bill around though.
First of all our strippers get naked on stage so that thong comes off pretty quick into the show. Just kinda putting/tossing the money on stage is typical for the stage show, with private dances being paid in tips hand to hand and brought to a back room.
Now I believe this next bit is specific to Alberta so don’t try it elsewhere.
It’s a common game for the stripper to hold a shot glass or something similar in her buttcheeks, in front of her pussy etc while guests try to toss Toonies (2$ coin, lower amounts will get you various amounts of kicked out) into the glass. With patrons who get their coins into the glass being rewarded with posters or fridge magnets or something of the sort. Then when she’s done either her or some poor janitor lad will grab a magnet on a stick thing and sweep up the coins for her take home. Usually good fun.
So in Alberta its a common game for the stripper to hold a shot glass or similar in her buttcheeks or in front of her pussy and have people try to get Toonies in the glass (2$ coin, lower values will get you kicked out eventually) winners are rewarded with a fridge magnet or poster with her image.
Back in her college days, which would have been in like… idk the 70s? She and her catholic college girlfriends would donate blood and go drinking, because the smaller volume of blood made them get drunk faster.
They would then go to the male dancer strip club, and put quarters in the dancers g-strings to see if they could make it fall down.
She never said whether they succeeded or not…
But coins as tips for dancers are banned in clubs now because they are a major falling hazard. Especially for dancers in nosebleed heals with little ground-contacting surface area. You’ll definitely get tossed out of you try it
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