Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $46,950
Friday, June 24th, 2005 • Filed under Uncategorized
Like I’ve said before, simply carrying a large amount of cash is considered a crime. And the definition of large is relative. In this case, a woman was caught with cash in her bra. Is that suspicious? You betcha. Should it be a crime? No.
A woman who apparently stuffed $46,950 in cash in her bra before trying to board a plane to Texas for plastic surgery has sued a federal agency, demanding the return of her money.The money was seized from Ileana Valdez, 26, after a security check at a metal detector at Logan International Airport on Feb. 3. Valdez told authorities she was heading to Texas for plastic surgery on her buttocks and breasts.
“I don’t know why she was carrying it (the cash) in her bra,” said Boston lawyer Tony V. Blaize, who filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston on behalf of Valdez.
In her suit, Valdez said a male Drug Enforcement Administration agent told her she had a nice body and didn’t need surgery – and then seized the cash, claiming it was drug money.
Actually, I think that stuffing it in your bra is perfectly reasonable. How else would you feel safe flying with nearly $50,000 in cash? I certainly wouldn’t check it at the gate. Any number of people could open your suitcase and take it. Especially considering the TSA doesn’t want you to lock your checked luggage any more. I also wouldn’t put it in my carry-on and let some $10 an hour X-ray babysitter have access to it. The way they are pilfering lighters, charm bracelets, and even the Congressional Medal of Honor (and then selling them for profit), I certainly wouldn’t trust them around any large amounts of cash.
So, why did she have the cash stuffed in her bra? Just maybe she was afraid that some over-zealous government agent would confiscate it and refuse to give it back.
linda says: February 1st, 2007 at 6:19 pm
i do the same thing when i travel go to shopping malls and nightclubs. its something millions if women have done for the last 1000 years. its not illegal but what the t.s.a. did was illegal
ralph says: January 11th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I WOULD THINK WITH THAT MUCH MONEY INSIDE A WOMANS BRA IT WOULD MAKE A HUGE BULGE IN ONE OF HER BREASTS AND BE QUITE NOTICABLE.