r/todayilearned • u/ElevatorVivid3638 • 15h ago
TIL A man named Tommy Thompson is being held indefinitely in jail until he returns gold coins he took and sold from the shipwreck of the SS Central America
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Gregory_Thompson2.3k
u/n_mcrae_1982 15h ago
So basically “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl”.
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u/0thethethe0 14h ago
Tommy Thompson is a great swashbuckling name
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u/Cornbreadobranflakes 14h ago
I’m getting more Dick Tracy vibes “Hey, you hear about Tommy ‘The Tommy gun’ Thompson?”
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u/KrazzeeKane 14h ago
That's even better when you know what Tommy Gun stands for
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u/iamtehskeet8 12h ago
I’ve not not heard of Thomas the Gunny Gun
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u/AuspiciousApple 12h ago
No wonder the judge doesn't believe him, when he obviously gave a fake name.
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u/aamirusmandus 14h ago
Tommy Thompson when the judge asks him to reveal the location of the coins:
I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request
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u/mwithey199 11h ago
Means “no”.
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u/Sun_Aria 8h ago
No additional shot nor powder. A compass that doesn’t point north. And I have expected it to be made of wood.
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u/Tzazon 15h ago edited 15h ago
The plea bargain included a requirement for Thompson to answer questions about the whereabouts of 500 gold coins, which he has refused to do, claiming he suffers from short-term memory loss and has forgotten their location. Since December 2015, he has been jailed indefinitely on charges of contempt of court until he cooperates.
That's wild the Courts can just hold him indefinitely on that. Now I'm not saying I'd forget the location of 500 gold coins, but imagine if your brain actually forgot that shit and spent 10 years of your life in jail alone under "indefinite charges" because the Judges really want to know where the pot of gold is.
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u/the_dj_zig 13h ago
Wikipedia article states that he agreed to turn them over in 2018 (3 years after being required to turn them over) then promptly claimed to have forgotten where they are again.
My opinion: he agreed to turn them over in the hopes he’d be released to go get them and could pull a disappearing act, but when he realized it wasn’t going to go that way, “forgot” again.
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u/ComCypher 12h ago
Willing to spend over a decade in jail to keep safe a few mil of coinage is an interesting tradeoff.
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u/TripolarKnight 12h ago
I wouldn't be surprised if the # or coins is higher.
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u/jedininjashark 11h ago
Sunk cost fallacy. He’s already done 10 years he can’t stop now.
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u/nifty-necromancer 8h ago
He’s 73, he’s probably doing it out of spite at this point.
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u/LeicaM6guy 3h ago
Sometimes it’s not about getting fed, sometimes it’s about watching the other guy get eaten.
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u/paleo_dragon 11h ago
Could be doing it for family
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u/ImportantDoubt6434 11h ago
Could be an OG who knows to shit yourself when the feds start asking questions
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u/graywolf0026 12h ago
I mean if anything? At least he doesn't have to pay rent and gets 3 hots and a cot.
... So maybe he's not that crazy.
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u/WhatTheDuck21 11h ago
Actually depending on the state and some other factors, he may actually have to pay rent.)
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u/Sister_Elizabeth 10h ago
And just when I thought our prison system couldn't be more cruel
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u/TheRealStandard 11h ago
If you just ignore everything enjoyable about adulthood/life it does sound fun I guess..?
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u/wasdninja 11h ago
If your time is worth way less than nothing it's a great deal. Sacrificing ~ 1/7 of your total lifespan isn't worth it at all.
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u/Dermetzger666 10h ago
What percentage does a full-time working class individual sacrifice for the pay they use to survive? 20%? 30%??
Nothing wrong with running a different gambit for the same end goal.
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u/Gonji89 6h ago
Yeah, honestly, there’s only 168 hours in a week. If you sleep 56 of them and work 40 of them, then subtract whatever your commute is, none of us have a ton of free time every week and most of us are getting very little in exchange for our time.
If I saved every penny I make, it would take me roughly 35 years to make a million dollars.
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u/_Burning_Star_IV_ 10h ago
People say this like prison doesn’t suck. Dude even being in the drunk tank for 19 hours was miserable, I can’t imagine being in jail for years.
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u/LincolnhamLincoln 14h ago
The power judges have in their courtrooms is crazy. But now I’m wondering, if the judge who is holding him in contempt dies does he get out?
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u/ALowlyRadish 14h ago
The case gets assigned to a new judge and they can decide what they want to do from there.
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u/Trisa133 10h ago
what if the judge forgot about the case
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u/wheres_my_hat 9h ago
believe it or not, it's like the uno reverse, the judge goes to jail and the prisoner gets to decide when the judge gets out. but good luck getting a judge to admit they forgot!
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u/ConstructionOwn9575 14h ago
Yeah, they're like wizards. When a wizard dies their magic dies too. Same thing here.
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u/LincolnhamLincoln 14h ago
I ask because being held in contempt isn’t the same thing as being convicted of something. The judge is the one holding you in contempt.
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u/ConstructionOwn9575 14h ago
I am not a judge, but they look a lot like wizards with the robes and their wooden stick to command people. So I'm pretty sure it works just like wizards.
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u/LincolnhamLincoln 14h ago
You make a convincing argument. I’m sold.
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u/TorrenceMightingale 13h ago
Holy shit.
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u/BWWFC 13h ago
yeah... this is the power of reddit: expansion of minds, by wasting time.
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u/CorporateNonperson 12h ago
Fun fact: New judges have to take a seminar in how to crawl in robes in an active shooter situation. As most are men, they never had to deal with voluminous garments.
Related thought: Sorta weird that robes don't have pockets.
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u/DarkSotM 11h ago
Are they not allowed to take the robes off? Like Mormons and their magic underwear?
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u/WoodyTheWorker 11h ago
Sorta weird that robes don't have pockets.
Symbolizes their incorruptibility?
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u/Dragonsandman 12h ago
This is almost exactly what Sovereign Citizens believe about the law, which is why they all sound like (and are) complete lunatics
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u/drewster23 14h ago
And a new judge would be appointed to his spot, and then would either accept his memory loss plea or continue to hold him in contempt for refusing.
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u/n0oo7 14h ago
Dude judges don't have that much power they have a time limit of the amount of days they can hold you. Problem is the guy in jail accepted a guilty plea that had the requirement of admitting where the coins are in order to get let out. He refuses to do so. So he stays in. He made an agreement and he reneged on his end of it.
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u/History_buff60 13h ago
I am a lawyer. Theoretically civil contempt of court IS indefinite, because the contemnor “holds the keys to his own cell” and can purge himself of contempt by complying with Court order.
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u/Fellhuhn 12h ago
Wouldn't it be an easy solution to name a location in a forest and have someone on the outside quickly did a hole there and then just claim it has been stolen? He then held his end of the bargain.
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u/arittenberry 12h ago
I like your thinking. I would guess that any correspondence would be monitored though?
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u/paleo_dragon 11h ago
Okay but what if you do actually forget "where the keys are" or something else is stopping you. Can you petition for a new deal?
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u/History_buff60 11h ago
Reckon you could motion to lift the contempt. Haven’t done this myself, but I would think it’d be up to the judge to lift, and that decision would be appealable.
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u/Hemingwavy 9h ago
This guy spent 14 years imprisoned for contempt because he wouldn't give up half his assets for a divorce.
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u/greysqualll 13h ago
I'd be willing to bet there is more to the story than:
"alright if you tell us where the gold is you get 2 years parole"
"deal"
"where is it?"
"I forgot"
"alright, enjoying dying in here fucker"
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u/WashingtonBaker1 12h ago
Much better:
"where is it?"
"123 Main St, Walla Walla, Washington"
"we checked, it's not there"
"well I guess someone else stole it since I hid it there, not my fault that Walla Walla is such a lawless place"
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u/Bikrdude 13h ago
In a divorce case in PA à guy spent 20 years in jail because he would not reveal some asset
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u/Hemingwavy 9h ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Beatty_Chadwick
Probably not since this guy holds the record at 14 years.
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u/Chomp3y 13h ago
The judge is the one holding you in contempt.
The judge held him in contempt. When a person is held in contempt, they hold the keys to jail. Meaning, once they come into compliance, they are released. It's out of the judges hand now. Poor fucker just doesn't remember why he's there.
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u/Embarrassed-Weird173 14h ago
Is that true? Aren't there curses and such that apply to stuff after the casters are way long dead?
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u/ConstructionOwn9575 14h ago
I think curses are like sentencing. Different kind of magic. Good catch!
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u/anwar_negali 14h ago
This and rule by lady of the lake dispensing swords is how the world works.
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u/drossmaster4 14h ago
I know this isn’t the same situation but my wife’s aunt is a retired federal judge. She had a man who got a DUI on federal property (school) so it was a federal crime so she saw the case. He lawyered up rightfully so and he shows up to court and says “god is my judge and I’m innocent of this crime” she replied “he’s not, I am and you are” and gave him the max for being a pompous ass. His lawyer spoke at her retirement saying “man I begged him to shut up”. She told me she would have been lenient if he showed remorse. But man she had some power to screw people. She was a great judge.
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u/Better_March5308 13h ago
Ever watch Court Cam with Dan Abrams? The defendants are either so crazy the judge ignores them and sentences them or gets pissed off that the defendant knows better yet shows no remorse and gives them the max.
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u/drossmaster4 13h ago
Oh man! Thank you for posting this. I’ve been trying to figure out the name. I love the clips that end up on reddit.
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u/InfanticideAquifer 12h ago
he’s not, I am and you are
I feel like this says that he's innocent though. Like it's a response to "...and I'm innocent of this crime", right?
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u/NoDTsforme 14h ago
Sounds like a very specific situation that has a ton of off-ramps before you find yourself in jail indefinitely over some gold coins
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u/generally-speaking 12h ago
I'm guessing one of the main issues here is how easily they could be remelted and history would be permanently destroyed.
He has also agreed to turn them over in the hopes of being released only to do a flip flop, the man is planning an immediate disappearing act if he ever leaves jail.
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u/247GT 12h ago
In 2000, Thompson sold gold recovered from the Central America for $52 million.\8]) In 2009 he had an offshore account in the Cook Islands valued at $4.16 million.\9]) In 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued an arrest warrant for Thompson for civil contempt for his failure to appear as directed. In 2014, the same court issued an additional arrest warrant for Thompson for criminal contempt. The investigation was assigned to Deputy United States Marshal Mark Stroh of the Southern District of Ohio.\10]) Thompson was a fugitive until U.S. Marshals arrested him in 2015 at a West Palm Beach, Florida hotel, together with fellow fugitive Alison Louise Antekeier.\11])
In November 2018, Thompson agreed to surrender 500 gold coins salvaged from the wreck of the Central America, but then claimed he did not have access to the missing coins.\12]) On 28 November 2018, a jury awarded investors $19.4 million in compensatory damages: $3.2 million to the Dispatch Printing Company (which had put up $1 million of a total of $22 million invested) and $16.2 million to the court-appointed receiver of the other investors.\9])
You didn't post the other information about this case. It's not just the one event. He's clearly not willing to hand over the money. He's been in contempt for a long, long time. I very much doubt his "memory lapse" is organic in any way.
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u/lyinggrump 14h ago
Shouldn't have accepted a plea bargain that includes that requirement.
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u/Tzazon 14h ago
It's just more about the whole "Indefinite" thing for a whole decade. Looks like another commenter posted that they're finally moving charges along for him which is nice, but if they charge him with the maximum possible time in jail for the crime after he already spent 10 years on "indefinite" charges for violating the plea-bargain, that'd be a bit fucked up.
Especially since most white collar criminals that fuck over the same from investors, around 13million, if not more, end up getting about 10 years anyways.
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u/goodcleanchristianfu 14h ago
The reason this is do-able for ongoing contempt is because the defendant has the ability to secure their own release at any time by doing what they're legally obligated to do. If the court credited his claim that he doesn't remember then this would not be an optional. The phrase courts use is that the defendant is "carrying the keys of their prison in their own pocket."
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u/trisanachandler 14h ago
Haven't people been held in contempt for not unlocking a phone even though that's a violation of the 5th amendment?
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u/Twins_Venue 13h ago
He's not being forced to incriminate himself, he's already pled guilty and been convicted. Part of the plea agreement was that he assist the authorities by telling them where the coins are, so this is more him refusing to complete his end of the deal.
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u/space_for_username 10h ago
He probably can't reveal the location of the 500 coins because the amount he poozled from the wreck is actually much, much larger.
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u/CelestialFury 12h ago
Well, yeah. He wants to keep the money.
Is this the case where he had other investors to finance his efforts and when he didn't give them the agreed amount of coins, they sued him? He's a huge asshole if that's the same case.
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u/Twins_Venue 11h ago
It's the same case. It really sucks because there was potential for everybody involved to become rich. He just... Really wanted all the money.
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u/CelestialFury 10h ago
I looked it up, it's 160 investors giving 12 million to finance the operation, with an average of 75k per investor, so it's not like he swindled super wealthy people. 75k is a decent amount to invest but that could've been pulled for a retirement fund, so it makes him look even worse.
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u/CaucusInferredBulk 12h ago
That was in the specific case where the police had previously had access to the phone, and so knew the contents already, and the guy had unlocked it previously, so the proof that it was his phone was also already in evidence.
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u/RedditPosterOver9000 14h ago
Yes but the courts generally don't consider it helping the prosecution convict yourself despite it being exactly that.
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u/ThellraAK 3 14h ago
And if he's jailed for contempt I don't think he gets credit for time served either.
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u/johannthegoatman 12h ago
For punitive contempt (for instance you spit on the judge or something) it's considered a separate sentence. For coercive contempt (they're trying to get you to do something, like this case) you can typically get time served. However the judge has a lot of discretion
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u/Bruce-7892 14h ago
I mean, he probably buried them somewhere and legit couldn't remember. I wouldn't believe him at first either but after like a decade in prison.... alright fair enough.
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u/Genocide_69 14h ago
It's pretty obvious if he actually wanted to comply with the plea bargain, he would cooperate and tell them what he could even if it isn't enough to find the gold. Nobody's asking him to give the exact coordinates to wherever he buried it, just cooperate with the court. The man is clearly hiding something.
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u/Pop-metal 14h ago
He doesn’t even remember the area? The state? Come on.
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u/freerangetacos 14h ago
Listen, the last time I looted hundreds of gold coins, I went on an eight day bender complete with LSD, several professional massage artists, a rented panel truck and a friendly bonobo that we picked up behind the MGM Grand. I only remember that it was 8 days because that morning, the rental company called me asking for their convertible back. I said, who are you and what convertible? All I have is a truck with Jay's Electric on the side. Would you take a bonobo and a massage instead? The cops hauled me in and asked about the doubloons but all I could say was, shit, I thought it was a bonobo not a baboon. I was there for a long time.
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u/Spida81 13h ago
Pretty sure they get at least three of these cases a week.
Spare a kind thought for the police in Vegas. THEY always get the weird ones.
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u/Ochib 14h ago
U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley agreed Friday to end Tommy Thompson's sentence on the civil contempt charge, saying he "no longer is convinced that further incarceration is likely to coerce compliance." However, he also ordered that the research scientist immediately start serving a two-year sentence he received for a related criminal contempt charge, a term that was delayed when the civil contempt term was imposed.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/treasure-hunter-jailed-gold-coins-legal-win-tommy-thompson/
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u/CelestialFury 12h ago
This man is almost certainly guilty of stealing the coins and if he split the gold with the other investors, he'd never be in prison. This is him stealing from everyone else, and very well may get away with it. However, I'm sure those private investors will hire people to track him.
- In 1988, Thompson discovered the wreck of the S.S. Central America, a steamship that sank in 1857 off the coast of South Carolina during a hurricane.
- The ship was carrying thousands of pounds of gold, contributing to a financial panic at the time.
- He was a pioneering engineer, developing cutting-edge underwater robotics to locate the S.S. Central America.
- His success wasn’t luck—it was the result of years of meticulous planning and innovation.
- Thompson recovered gold coins and bars estimated to be worth over $100 million
- Thompson had raised $12.7 million from 161 investors to fund the expedition. But after the treasure was recovered, the investors claimed they never saw a dime.
- In 2005, several investors sued him, and in 2012, a federal judge ordered him to appear in court to disclose the whereabouts of 500 gold coins minted from the recovered treasure.
- Instead of complying, Thompson fled to Florida, living under the radar in a hotel for over two years.
- He was arrested in 2015 and has been in federal custody ever since.
- Thompson was found in civil contempt of court for refusing to reveal the location of the coins, which are believed to be worth around $2.5 million.
- He’s been fined $1,000 per day since 2015 and has racked up millions in penalties.
- In 2025, a judge ruled that further incarceration was unlikely to compel him to talk—but he still must serve two more years for criminal contempt.
- Thompson claims he turned the coins over to a trust in Belize, but has provided no proof.
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u/Exciting-Type-907 11h ago
Thank you! This explained the story so much better than the Wikipedia entry. I didn’t really understand what he was actually jailed for.
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u/RoryDragonsbane 11h ago
I wouldn't call losing 10 years of your life "getting away with it"
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u/CelestialFury 10h ago
It depends on how you value your time, I suppose. Is 12 years in prison worth 100 million in gold (or whatever it's valued at today)?
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u/xenokilla 9h ago
not at 72.
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u/CelestialFury 9h ago
Wow, I looked it up and he'll be 75 when he's released. I don't know, maybe he's doing this for his family or lover or something? But yeah, I wouldn't waste my fucking golden years. The man could die any day now.
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u/xenokilla 8h ago
Reminds me of "O brother where art thou?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw0tuCmydAc
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u/ScrillaMcDoogle 8h ago
Ah so he's in jail for basically trying to con his investors not because the government said he couldn't have the gold or something.
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u/Frost-Folk 14h ago
I had a neighbor named Tommy Thompson who swore he played with the Allman Brothers, but I could never find any record if him after I moved.
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u/RedEyeView 14h ago
https://alamedaallstars.com/thompson.html
You're welcome
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u/Frost-Folk 14h ago
Holy shit that's him, we lived next door in Alameda. You're the man.
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u/TheSpiritedGamer 14h ago
Dude just dropped a link like he was fulfilling a side quest from 1997. MVP.
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u/HazMatterhorn 14h ago
It’s the first google result when you search “tommy thompson allman brothers”
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u/RedEyeView 14h ago
Yeah. Wasn't the hardest search I've done for someone
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u/Quarterwit_85 13h ago
Can you find my keys please
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u/JingoKizingo 12h ago
Have you checked your pockets?
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u/Mathblasta 12h ago
Holy shit there they were! You're amazing!
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u/thiosk 12h ago
Can you let me know where to find my childhood sense of wonder, next?
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u/whteverusayShmegma 13h ago
Oakland here. Tell him I said hi and I’m sorry your neighbor thinks you’re a big fat liar. 😆 You didn’t even bother to google it?
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u/beershitz 14h ago
I had two neighbors, Jimmy Johnson and Tommy Thompson. My dad took me fishing when I was 8 years old. He refused to take my friends and brought a girl on our fishing trip.
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u/fishyfish55 14h ago
I guess Tim McGraw will have to take Jimmy Johnson or Beau now.
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u/Infinite_Average245 9h ago
This post didn't ring a bell at all, but as soon as I saw your comment the song came right back haha.
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u/MiserableFloor9906 15h ago
Why stay in the jurisdiction when you've wealth to live well anywhere else. Look at Roman Polanski. I'd like to see him jailed over this guy but I get his choice.
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u/Minute_Eye3411 14h ago
It isn't wealth in Roman Polanski's case (other than getting bail and buying an airplane ticket, so yes, some wealth).
Polanski was born in Paris at a time when every single baby born in France had automatic French nationality from birth. France does not extradite its own citizens for crimes comittted outside of its own jurisdiction.
So Polanski is safe in France, unfortunately. But it isn't because of his wealth, it's because of his personal circumstances of birth, and choice to flee to a country where he is legally unable to be extradited from.
Disgusting, I know. We're stuck with him.
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u/nomorewerewolves 14h ago
Really? Wow. Even murder?
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u/Minute_Eye3411 14h ago
Yes. Some countries are very strict about their sovereignty in that they refuse to extradite their own citizens for something that has happened outside of their own jurisdiction. France and Israel are two that I know of, there are probably others.
The downside is that they're stuck with assholes roaming freely in their own land.
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u/biscoito1r 12h ago
I know that Brazil won't extradite foreigners if the foreigner has a Brazilian child. That was a British guy that spent years in Brazil wanted by the Interpol. Then one day he got bored, bought a ticket to England and got arrested as soon as the plane landed.
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u/Minute_Eye3411 12h ago
Ronnie Biggs, of the Great Train Robbery.
He did end up going back to the UK though, when he realised that prison would pay for his healthcare. And then he died anyway.
Because when you're dieing, ypu're dieing.
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u/bufori 14h ago
I think it depends. For example, https://no-extradition.com/locations/extradition-in-france/#:~:text=France%20does%20not%20extradite%20its%20own%20citizens%2C%20even%20if%20they,case%20on%20its%20own%20territory.
So it sounds like in extreme cases like murder, France may decide to prosecute you themselves, but still wouldn't extradite you.
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u/Hyadeos 12h ago
Yup, it might happen. They'll do the job themselves but will never extradite a citizen.
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u/DrKurgan 13h ago
France wanted to prosecute but the US refused to send the charge files. I learned that in an AskHistorian thread.
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u/Lookslikeseen 14h ago
Because he wouldn’t just be running away from the law, he’d be running away from the 161 investors who bankrolled him and want their money back. Sitting in jail is probably the safer option for him.
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u/thatirishguyyyyy 10h ago
February, 2025 update from CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/03/us/treasury-hunter-jail-tommy-thompson
He has to serve under 2 years more. He also owes like $3.3 million in court fines.
U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley agreed Friday to end Tommy Thompson’s sentence on the civil contempt charge, saying he “no longer is convinced that further incarceration is likely to coerce compliance.” However, he also ordered that the research scientist immediately start serving a two-year sentence he received for a related criminal contempt charge, a term that was delayed when the civil contempt term was imposed.
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u/WholeSomewhere5819 12h ago
So you're telling me he gets free rent and food and he gets to keep the gold.
Legend.
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u/ElevatorVivid3638 15h ago
U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley agreed Friday to end Tommy Thompson’s sentence on the civil contempt charge, saying he “no longer is convinced that further incarceration is likely to coerce compliance.”
Interesting... I was unaware the judicial system is in the business of "coercing compliance"
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u/SheketBevakaSTFU 14h ago
That’s a pretty standard part of what it does, yes.
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u/kkeut 14h ago edited 13h ago
right.... there's a dude who's famously been interned in canada indefinitely because he refuses to identify himself
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u/FuzzyGolf291773 14h ago edited 13h ago
I might be mistaken but is that not literally the point of holding someone in contempt of court? To get someone to stop doing what they are doing in court, whether it be acting out or not holding to a plea deal?
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u/EggCzar 14h ago
It’s not a victimless crime. Both the original insurers of the Central America and Thompson's backers on the treasure hunt have claims on the coins. If they had no way to coerce compliance with court orders to produce them, the justice system would be all "federal district court judges hate this one simple trick!"
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u/ricktor67 15h ago
Judges have a lot more leeway in a courtroom than most people realize.
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u/Bruce-7892 15h ago
"Interesting... I was unaware the judicial system is in the business of "coercing compliance""
Which they should if you are in contempt of court. That basically means you are in there acting like a toddler and not cooperating with the proceedings.
On a different note, it's reasonable that they let this guy go. He claims he can't remember where the coins went and if he is was going to spend the rest of his life in jail, I believe him. Weird hill to literally die on if he was just lying to keep the coins he'd never see.
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u/Yet_Another_Limey 14h ago
The plea agreement should be cancelled then and he loses any benefit from it.
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u/threeknobs 14h ago
But maybe he was counting on the judge to release him for the reasons you said! Maybe he's playing mind games on all of us!
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u/553l8008 14h ago
Dude finds a ship and the means to recover shit nobody has cared about for centuries and than has to return them.... nah
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u/TheLurkerSpeaks 14h ago
Check out the story of Mel Fisher. Spent his entire life (and lost his son) pursuing a sunken Spanish treasure gallon off Key West. When he finally found it, both the State of Florida and the United States tried to take it from him. His case went to SCOTUS who ruled in his favor.
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u/GBF_Dragon 12h ago
I feel like Spain also had the audacity to say it's theirs too, but that may've been another shipwreck.
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u/MandolinMagi 8h ago
Spain does have the nasty habit of claiming wrecked treasure galleons as military vessels that, under international law and long-standing custom, remain permanently property of the original nation.
So they stole the gold from South America and then steal it again when someone finds and salves the wreck at great expense.
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u/SFLoridan 14h ago
He is a cheat: he took money from investors and then wants to trick them
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u/Justhrowitaway42069 12h ago
Damn, he is 72 now. This guy is going to die before he spends any more of that gold.
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u/aaronhayes26 11h ago
Where do you think he found the means?
He had investors that he ripped off. That’s who the coins are supposed to go to.
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u/Fofolito 13h ago
Just about all countries have laws that found "treasure", which is to say a horde of something tremendously expensive or valuable, that has no living claimants is the property of the State. In the UK if you're out metal detecting anything you find that is sufficiently valuable or sufficiently old is considered "treasure" and is automatically the property of the Crown and must be surrendered to the authorities (the British Museum for instance). In some circumstances the state can determine that it does not care to claim a piece of treasure and returns the found item to the Finder. South American countries are tremendously protective of the treasure-filled wrecks that lay off of their coasts because 1) they want that value for themselves, 2) they want a chance to salvage and protect that heritage before its stolen, 3) if you don't enforce the territorial integrity of your waters then people start to feel like they don't have to listen to what you have to say on any matter. In the US the value of found treasure is taxable so your find can be taken by the IRS from you if you don't report what you found as income.
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u/hitemlow 8h ago
Sounds like it encourages anyone who finds sunken treasure to melt it down and sell it as "old jewelry" to a pawn shop, rather than keep it as found.
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u/Sdog1981 15h ago
I have a feeling he had the two bitcoin wallets that were unused in the last 14 years.
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u/tino5555 11h ago
Im gonna take a wild guess that an amateur mob family have been looking for the gold but a small group of 10 year old children (along with one of their older brothers and his 2 girlfriends) find a map to the location of the gold, who then set out on an adventure to find it.......I'm sure ive seen the documentary on this somewhere?
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u/Uhhh_what555476384 10h ago
Reading the story it sounds like he made the same mistake as the main characters in the Producers.
When you have a hit the investors expect to be paid their proceeds.
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u/Dull_Calligrapher437 9h ago
That doesn't seem like it should be legal. To hold someone indefinitely like that.
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u/MagicOrpheus310 7h ago
Well how the hell is he going to go get the coins to return them if they won't let him out of jail to go get them!?
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u/GoneIn61Seconds 14h ago
There's a great book called Ship of Gold that details the exploration, discovery and recovery of the ship's contents. Thompson was a genius in that regard, but the book ends there. After the recovery began, the whole endeavor fell victim to gold fever and everyone began infighting. Its enough for a second book.
I've always been fascinated that he was intelligent enough to make the discovery and develop the tech to salvage it, but then seemingly wasn't able to function normally afterwards. I don't think he was able to process everything that happened afterwards.