Defendant Says He Robbed a Bank to Get Prison Health Care
A North Carolina man who robbed a bank proved to be a cooperative criminal.
James Verone passed a note to the teller that asked for a dollar. Then he sat down and waited for police to arrive, WCNC.com reports. Verone wanted to get arrested to get prison health care.
Verone says he doesn’t have a job and doesn’t have any money. He has two ruptured disks, a growth on his chest, and a problem with his left foot. He told WCNC in a jailhouse interview that he’s getting good heath care now, although the prison doctor accused him of manipulating the system.
“[This is the] first time I’ve ever been in trouble with the law,” Verone said in the interview from the Gaston County Jail posted on WCNC’s website. “I’m sort of a logical person and that was my logic. [That was] what I came up with.”
Verone, 59, had hoped to spend three years in jail until he is released and begins collecting Social Security. He hopes to move to Myrtle Beach and buy a condominium at that time. Because he only asked for $1, though, he may not get as much jail time as he is seeking.
