Refurb Vacuum with $280K Worth of Illegal Extras

January 19th, 2011. By LucyC

What’s inside your vacuum? A woman in Green Bay, WI found 2 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 2.2 pounds of cocaine. Shrink wrapped mind you—not loose. That was considerate, considering what a mess it could have caused.

The woman said she had been given the refurbished vacuum as a Christmas present from her children— where do they shop?

The local department store, as it turns out. In fact, the vacuum was refurbished in that well-known region of Mexico—Juarez—purported home to career mass murders and drug traffickers—then packed and shipped without triggering any kind of alarms. Lt. David Poteat told the Green Bay Press-Gazette that no one noticed anything untoward, including the department store where the vacuum had been purchased. It wasn’t until the woman opened the box the vacuum came in that the ‘bonus items’ were discovered.

Officials estimate the street value of the booty at $280,000. Good thing the stuff wasn’t stored in a blender instead. That would certainly have made an interesting ‘power drink.’

Valet parking at the hospital—really? While some hospitals do offer valet service, they typically have a sign or two up—and even a little valet booth. So I’m thinking this one’s a case of ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.’ A pregnant woman in Massachusetts who was experiencing labor pains and decided, questionably, to driver herself to Lowell General Hospital, arrived outside the emergency room to find a man in a valet’s uniform waiting to park her car for her.

Lowell police Captain Kelly Richardson told the Boston Herald that the woman parked outside the emergency room doors and was met by a man wearing a uniform-style shirt who introduced himself as the valet. The man said she couldn’t park there but volunteered to take her keys and move the car. Being in no condition to entertain doubt, the woman handed her keys over and the fellow took her car away—literally.

It wasn’t until the woman was being admitted that she was told the hospital didn’t offer a valet service. Ambulance service yes—valet service—no.

Her car was found Saturday morning, but the ‘valet’ is still at large. Better watch out—he could be coming to a hospital near you…

What a dog-gone bad business this is. A man in Florida had his pet Chihuahua stolen from outside a bar in Ft. Lauderdale. Somehow this ended up in front of a judge who ordered the man who allegedly stole the little doggy, Channing Reynolds, to pay $1200. And the alleged pooch poacher was extradited from his home in Pennsylvania to appear in front of the judge—he pleaded no contest to a charge of grand theft.

However, as any pet lover would understand, 50-year old Brian Dort said he would rather have his dog back than the $1200. He told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he doesn’t believe Channing has $1200 to cough up. “I’m very dissatisfied,” said Dortort.

For his part, Reynolds claimed a Fort Lauderdale man named Jason had the dog, but neither the man named Jason or the wee doggy have been located.

And in the interests of pursuing justice, a hearing will be held to determine if Reynolds should pay the state the $350 it cost to transport him to Florida.

Tags: Tortelicious

This was posted on Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 at 10:58 am and is filed under Totally Tortelicious . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.