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GASTONIA, N.C. -- Do you really have to rob a bank to get affordable health care these days? A North Carolina man apparently thinks so.
James Verone certainly wasn't trying to break the bank with his crime. He could have asked for all the cash in the safe. Instead he simply asked for a $1 bill.
TV station WCNC reports Verone walked into an RBC Bank in Gastonia, N.C., on June 9, unarmed, and passed a note to the teller.
"The note said, ‘This is a bank robbery. Please only give me one dollar,'" Verone told the TV station from the Gaston County Jail.
After the teller complied, Verone said he would be sitting on a chair in the lobby, waiting for police.
His motivation? Going to jail means free health care.
Verone, 59, says he has no criminal history. He also has no job, little money, a growth on his chest, two ruptured discs in his back and a foot problem. He said he thought the robbery was the only logical way to get medical attention.
The jail doctor says Verone is manipulating the system. But Verone said, "If it's called manipulation, then out of necessity because I need medical care, I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care."
Verone is charged with larceny. He hopes for a sentence of about three years. After that, he plans to collect social security and then live on the beach.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
