Weird News

[Carruthers]

Who amongst us has never hidden £260k in the airing cupboard and forgotten about it for four months? I know I have.

It's a bit on the long side, but if you have a couple of minutes to spare, read on...

Soldier hid £260k of MoD money in his airing cupboard and forgot about it for four months, court martial hears

An Army Warrant Officer hid €300,000 of Ministry of Defence money in his airing cupboard after he failed to get it couriered back to base, a court martial has heard.

The soldier was demoted and fined after he 'forgot’ that he had not returned the money for four months.

Kevin Hodgkinson, 43, who was serving in the British Army training unit in Gibraltar at the time, claimed he'd stashed the money at home to spare senior officers embarrassment after he failed to get it couriered back to the UK.

On remembering the money - which had originally been part of the ready cash float on board HMS Ocean - was still in the cupboard, the court martial was told he called his boss, Major Wilson, and said: ‘Ma’am, I f***** up’.

A panicked WO2 Hodgkinson had then run from home, arriving in Major Wilson’s office puffing and panting, carrying the €300,000 shrink-wrapped in a rucksack. He claimed he had forgotten it was in his airing cupboard.

WO2 Hodgkinson had been working as a financial systems administrator with the responsibility of transporting the cash, via a courier, back to Britain. It was put into a safe overnight until it could be carried back.

The money had been on board the amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean, which docked in Gibraltar in September 2017, and was swapped for $300,000 as the ship was heading to the Caribbean to offer disaster support during Hurricane Irma. The unused stack of Euros should have been sent swiftly back to the UK.

Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard WO2 Hodgkinson twice tried and failed to get a courier to take the vacuum-packed cash, instead returning it to a safe in his base. He also tried on one occasion to take it to a bank, but found it closed when he got there as it was a Friday.

However, he removed the money from his office in November 2017 because he feared it would cause an embarrassing incident if a forthcoming inspection found such a large amount of money in the safe.

Instead, prosecutor Rupert Gregory told the court, he carried the money back to his flat and hid it in his airing cupboard.

“It [had] remained in the safe rather longer than one or two nights,” Mr Gregory said.

“There was to be an inspection in October or November 2017, and Hodgkinson took the money from the safe and went home with it.

“He says he removed the money because he didn’t want the chain of command being embarrassed by such a large sum of money being in the safe when it shouldn’t be.

“He fully accepts he failed properly to safeguard the funds.”

A court martial board fined WO2 Hodgkinson £2,500 and demoted him to Staff Sergeant.

Judge Alistair McGregor said: “It was your duty to ensure the money’s safety and you should have secured its onward passage.

“In our view your actions fall far below that of a competent financial systems administrator of your rank, position and experience.

“Your actions put a very large sum of her majesty’s money at significant risk.”

WO2 Hodgkinson, who is now based at the British Army Training Unit Suffield in Alberta, Canada, admitted one count of failure to perform a duty.

Link

[Griff]

I'm forgetful myself...

[Diaphone Jim]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Juzmly1yes

[xoxoxoBruce]

I guess in the Gibraltar autumn the airing cupboard isn't used much.

[Gravdigr]

€300,000 wasn't missed, at all, for four months?!

I'd say Hodgkinson wasn't the only one who failed in his duty.

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

€300,000 wasn't missed, at all, for four months?!

I'd say Hodgkinson wasn't the only one who failed in his duty.

A fair point, Gravdigr!

I wonder if the blame trickled down to a point where it could trickle no further?

A sort of reverse 'buck stops here'.

[xoxoxoBruce]

It probably wasn't missed because so much cash is moving around and a lot of people involved, until the auditors try to balance the books. Really, why would an amphibious assault ship, HMS Ocean, be routinely carrying €300,000 in cash? Mad money?

[Gravdigr]

Um...Payday?

I read where ac carriers carry millions, just for paydays.

[BigV]

The aspect of that story I find weirdest is, wtff is an airing cupboard?

do not bother with lmgtfy.com, I ask more for the weirdness of the name, not "What is this?" If I'm airing it out, I would think the cupboard is where I take it *from*. I suppose after four months the battle between the "airing" and the "shrink wrap" should be decided once and for all in favor of the shrink wrap.

Unless there's been an unfortunate homophonic mistake... Perhaps it's meant to be spelled "erring cupboard".

[sexobon]

At least no one was embarrassed by all that money being found in a safe.

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by BigV

The aspect of that story I find weirdest is, wtff is an airing cupboard?

In British houses, an airing cupboard is a warm cupboard where you put clothes and other things that have been washed and partly dried, to make sure they are completely dry.

Link

Usual arrangement is to have two or three slatted shelves above the domestic hot water tank.
The original concept dates from a time long before tumble driers became widespread.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by BigV

"erring cupboard".

Hah!

Originally Posted by sexobon

At least no one was embarrassed by all that money being found in a safe.

Really.

I also they could stand to audit those books a little more often.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

So, that's where one would put money only after doing one's money laundering.

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by sexobon

So, that's where one would put money only after doing one's money laundering.

Whereas WO2 Hodgkinson was hung out to dry.

[sexobon]

From the Too Stupid To Live category:

St. Louis officer charged after deadly game with revolver

ST. LOUIS — A male St. Louis police officer was charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a female officer during what was described as a deadly game with a revolver.

Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced the charge against Nathaniel Hendren, 29, in the death of 24-year-old Katlyn Alix, as they alleged played a game in which a revolver's cylinder was emptied, one bullet put back and the two colleagues taking turns pointing at each other and pulling the trigger.

Alix was with two male officers at an apartment when she was killed just before 1 a.m. Thursday. ...

… "The defendant emptied the cylinder of the revolver and then put one cartridge back into the cylinder," the statement said. He allegedly spun the cylinder, pointed the gun away and pulled the trigger.

The gun did not fire. The statement said Alix took the gun, pointed it at Hendren and pulled the trigger. Again, it didn't fire.

Hendren "took the gun back and pointed it at the victim (and) pulled the trigger causing the gun to discharge," the statement said. "The victim was struck in the chest." ...

… The two men were on-duty at the time of the shooting. Police Chief John Hayden has declined to answer questions about why the officers had gathered at the apartment, which was home to one of the men. ...

… Alix, a military veteran who was married, was not working but met the men at the apartment. ...

… Alix was a patrol officer who had graduated from the St. Louis Police Academy in January 2017.