Nathaniel Firethorn
Member
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,145513,00.html
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Bank Robber Itemizes Cost of Gun
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Crime may not pay in the Netherlands, but it is deductible.
A bank robber in the southern Dutch town of Chaam (search) was able to subtract the cost of his gun from his fine, the Daily Telegraph of London reported.
The unnamed stickup man, 46, managed to convince a criminal court in Breda, near the Belgian border, that the $2,600 he spent on his pistol was a legitimate business expense.
The judge accordingly reduced the amount of restitution from $8,750, the amount stolen from the bank, to $6,150, before sentencing the robber to four years in prison earlier this week.
"You can compare criminal acts to normal business activities, where you must invest to make profits, and thus you have costs," explained Leendert de Lange, a spokesman for the national prosecutor's office.
De Lange went further to state that drug dealers could also deduct the cost of vehicles used to make deliveries of illicit substances — within reason.
Asked whether a very successful drug kingpin could cite the cost of a Ferrari (search), de Lange replied: "No, he would have to prove that he needed the car to transport the drugs around, and I hardly think he would transport them in a Ferrari."
Furthermore, Dutch criminals had better be prepared to present receipts.
"You can't just tell the judge you spent 10,000 euro without any proof," de Lange said.
Day-to-day expenses don't count either, only costs directly related to the crime, said Gerard Sta, director of the Office of Criminal Assets, told De Standaard newspaper of Amsterdam.
"A second condition is that the criminal offense must be carried out," Sta added.
"The idea is that crime does not pay," summed up de Lange, "but you are allowed to claim your expenses."
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