Thief's Elvis collection

[brownie]

From AP:

RARE ELVIS COLLECTION COMPILED BY THIEF TO BE AUCTIONED

Associated Press

LONDON — A court ruled Friday that hundreds of rare Elvis Presley records and pieces of memorabilia collected by a woman who stole almost $1 million from her employer must be auctioned to repay her debt.

Lincoln Crown Court in eastern England said money raised at the auction should be used to repay Julie Wall's employer, North Kesteven District Council.

Prosecutors said Wall, of Sleaford, eastern England, stole the money over a 10-year period while she worked as a cashier for the council, and spent the money at collectors' fairs and specialty stores across Britain.

"There is a vast quantity of Elvis Presley memorabilia currently being held by the police," prosecutor James Dennison told the court.

He said the total value of the collection, which includes rare recordings, will not be known until it is sold by a High Court official.

Dennison told the court that Wall's job at the council, where she had worked for more than 30 years, was to deposit takings from the parking meters into the council's bank account. Instead, she pocketed the money, making up to $18,000 a month.

Dennison said Wall's crime was only discovered in July last year when an internal audit revealed that a large sum of money was missing.

Since being found guilty of theft, Wall has declared herself bankrupt following her conviction, and the Elvis collection is her only asset.

Luke Blackburn, Wall's lawyer, said his client had complied fully with the investigation into her crime and had arranged for the memorabilia to be valued.

Judge William Harbage told Wall she would face three years in jail if her debt was not repaid.

[AllenLowe]

the adventures of white-collar crime - I've always wondered if I robbed a bank and got caught and I agreed to pay the money back whether they would forgo jail time form me - something tells me no -

[blake]

the adventures of white-collar crime - I've always wondered if I robbed a bank and got caught and I agreed to pay the money back whether they would forgo jail time form me - something tells me no -

That was exactly my thought... Commit the crime and if you happen to get caught simply give the money back and it's resolved. Not much of a deterent.

Is this an agreement between the two parties - they won't press charges if the debt is repaid? Or is this actually English law?

[JSngry]

Something neatly, uh.... symetrical about a thief profiting from Elvis....

(I know, I know...)

[AllenLowe]

uh...well, let's not start THAT thread -

[ejp626]

Is this an agreement between the two parties - they won't press charges if the debt is repaid? Or is this actually English law?

I'm certainly not an expert, but English law simply does not appear to take property crime very seriously.

[JSngry]

Is this an agreement between the two parties - they won't press charges if the debt is repaid? Or is this actually English law?

I'm certainly not an expert, but English law simply does not appear to take property crime very seriously.

Once again, there's a certain...

Never mind.

[Randy Twizzle]

In other Elvis auction news, this just in:

Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Hundreds of pieces of Elvis Presley memorabilia were auctioned off over the weekend by a longtime collector trying to win back his girlfriend after she warned him, "You leave the Elvis clothes or I'll leave you."

Items auctioned in Beverly Hills included three Elvis concert suits, two of which sold for $125,000 and $50,000, said Alan Lipkin, senior vice president of Regency-Superior, which organized the online auction. The third was still on the auction block.

Also sold were necklaces Elvis gave to girlfriends and friends, cufflinks he received from President Nixon and belt buckles he wore, Lipkin said. About 90 percent of the keepsakes were sold by early Sunday evening, with the auction continuing into the night.

The seller, Jim Curtin, collected Elvis memorabilia for more than 30 years and met the star numerous times.

So why give up the lifetime collection?

"He's doing this to try to win back his girlfriend," said Lipkin. "She left him, saying 'You leave the Elvis clothes or I'll leave you.'"

Attempts to reach Curtin, who lives in Philadelphia and has an unlisted number, were unsuccessful.

Curtin has been a die-hard fan since he was 8 years old, when he began collecting Elvis mementos, according to the Regency Web site.

"We picked up 600 cartons of memorabilia from his house," Lipkin said.

Curtin also has written books on the music legend and done impersonations across the country, according to the site.

His unrelenting adoration eventually got the attention of Elvis, who personally presented Curtin with a white jumpsuit he wore in a Houston concert in 1974, the site says.

Curtin's collection also included signed records, thousands of photos and two original ticket stubs to a 1956 episode of "The Ed Sullivan Show" on which Elvis appeared. The stubs sold for $19,000, Lipkin said.

Total auction sales wouldn't be tabulated until Tuesday, but organizers estimate the take could reach $2 million.

[ejp626]

Yeah, I saw this other story, and I thought what a chump. So anyway, he sells all his treasures, and she'll probably leave him in a year anyway. I don't care how wonderful your boyfriend/girlfriend is, if they make you give up your main passion in life, they aren't worth it. I'm not saying there can't be a little compromise, but if someone gave me that kind of ultimatuum, they would/should be out the door.

Actually, that was kind of relevant in my own life. My wife never liked my cats much, but she didn't make a big deal about them, since it was quite clear in the first year we were dating, that the cats were a major part of my life ...

[Kalo]

As long as he wasn't taking the Elvis clothes to bed, I think she was off-base...

If he was, well...

[AllenLowe]

for the record, I like Elvis and I don't think he was stealing any more than 1000 black and white trumpeters have stolen from Louis Armstrong, or a thousand saxophonists from Bird - part of the process, and he brought something new to the party, especially rhythmically -

[Alexander Hawkins]

Is this an agreement between the two parties - they won't press charges if the debt is repaid? Or is this actually English law?

I'm certainly not an expert, but English law simply does not appear to take property crime very seriously.

Once again, there's a certain...

Never mind.

I have a fair amount of expertise (before I binned it to start playing music, but ) - suffice it to say that English law does take property VERY seriously indeed. Far too seriously. 'An Englishman's Home is His Castle' is a workable, and generalisable, precept, in many ways!

[Kalo]

for the record, I like Elvis and I don't think he was stealing any more than 1000 black and white trumpeters have stolen from Louis Armstrong, or a thousand saxophonists from Bird - part of the process, and he brought something new to the party, especially rhythmically -

I like Elvis, too, especially early on, and I'd agree with what Allen wrote above, on the whole. The issue is definitely much more complicated than just one group stealing from another, that's for sure...

[JSngry]

It is indeed (but even at that, I don't really like all that much Elvis), but - I've never met a cheap joke I didn't like.

Unless you count the Yugo somebody once tried to sell me...

[AllenLowe]

Elvis was good, but I prefer Little Elvis - (speaking of cheap jokes) -

[Jazzmoose]

Actually, that was kind of relevant in my own life. My wife never liked my cats much, but she didn't make a big deal about them, since it was quite clear in the first year we were dating, that the cats were a major part of my life ...

I just can't imagine living with someone who doesn't like cats.