More Bad Luck for Record-Breaking Lottery Winner Home Burglarized, Body Found Inside WINFIELD, W.Va. (Sept. 21) - Three men burglarized the home of Jack Whittaker, winner of the biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, as an acquaintance of Whittaker's lay dead inside, police said Tuesday. Whittaker was not home at the time, and Chief Deputy John Dailey said the death of Jesse Joe Tribble, 18, was not related to the burglary and was not a homicide. It may have been drug-related, Dailey said. Whittaker's Woes: AP ....· August 2003: $545,000 in cash and cashier's checks are stolen from Whittaker's SUV outside a strip club · Jan. 4, 2004: Whittaker is charged with hitting and threatening to kill the manager of a bar · Jan. 17, 2004: $100,000 is stolen from his car · Jan. 25, 2004: Whittaker is arrested on suspicion of drunken driving · September 2004: His home is burglarized and a dead body is found inside Sources: AP, CBS, USA Today "We're pretty sure they knew he was dead. That's why they went inside and took the stuff," Dailey said. The break-in took place Thursday night or Friday morning. One of those arrested reported Tribble's death late Friday morning, Dailey said. Tribble was a friend of Whittaker's granddaughter, and all three suspects were acquainted with Tribble. Dailey would not say how the three knew about Tribble's death. J.C. Shaver, 20, James Travis Willis, 25, and Jeffrey Dustin Campbell, 20, were charged with larceny and other offenses after being captured on a security camera that Whittaker recently had installed, authorities said. Police recovered $15,000 worth of items taken from the home, Daily said. He did not give a total for everything stolen. Whittaker won the largest single jackpot in the nation's history when he hit a $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas Day 2002. He chose to accept a lump sum of about $113 million after taxes. Since then, Whittaker's vehicle, business and home have been broken into repeatedly. Last year, a strip club manager and his girlfriend were charged with drugging Whittaker and stealing a briefcase containing more than $500,000 in cash and cashier's checks. The money was recovered. 09/21/04 17:41 EDT
I wouldnt tell many people. I would move. Id take the payments, not the lump sum. Id spend ALOT on security, and buy at least 6 watch dogs (German Shepherd, Pinchers). Id take a million or so out and start some sort of company in a field that truelly interested me and not be concerned if I lost money or if it went under.
Not that i want to use your comments to hijack this thread and turn it into a "what would you do if you won the lottery" thread, but i would take the lump sum; what happens if you die a month later...? That money, i think, goes back to the government - um, i mean, "state lottery"... & i wouldn't start a business; i'd buy 134282 and i'd drive around for the rest of my life...
Jack Whittaker has been a damn fool with his 170.5M since day 1. Christmas, 2002, winning numbers were announced. Forget the fact someone with zero money management skills or self-discipline took a lump-sum payment, rather than wait a week until the new year began to hold on to tax hit for a year, he took dough the next day. Image Unavailable, Please Login
This guy is a complete moron. How can you leave hundreds of thousands of dollars just sitting in your car???
I'm curious if he is now wishing that he never won the $$. Doubt it. This guy will probably just blow through it. Stay tuned.
You just gave me an idea for the next "reality show"- follow five lottery winners around as they frivolously blow through millions and end up more broke than when they started!
How would you make it a reality? Speaking of reality shows. Apparently there's one on a LA Hispanic TV station where illegals are promised a green card if they get through the "Fear Factor" type obstacles. They get shot at with paint guns by guys that coincidently look like border patrol and at the end they get to shoot back at them. All this fun reality brought to you by a company called Leiberman Productions if I recall correctly. As you can imagine they have no shortage of willing contestants and the show is a hit in the ethnic markets.
All that money should have gone into the bank, and stayed there! What's the point of carrying around hundreds of thousands in cash? Rediculous. Also, as others mentioned, he should have moved. He'd blend in anonymously with the $100million+ crowd in the largest cities. From day one I'd be investing a percentage of that money to make it grow, not blow it all away like most of the idiot lottery winners do. Just shows you why they never got wealthy on the their own; even when given a huge sum, it doesn't last long due to horrendous management.
Of course, most folks who have the savvy to do as you suggest are pretty far out on the bell curve of the lotto-playing demographic. Cheers Kevin
he was also a millionaire or close to being one when he won. People who are thrown into huge ammounts of money so fast like rappers, some of the dot.com guys, and lottery winners spend their money friviously. People who attain their own wealth are much more financially stable because they know how to handle their funds and learn to not have cash but to have investments. I agree there is no point to be carting around breifcases of money unless a) ur a politcian or b) the mob or drug dealer dealing with the politician. Flashin all that money, especially in the back woods, is an inviatation to get jumped.
He doesan't need to spend millions on security electronics. He just needs a couple of friends like this: Image Unavailable, Please Login
$545,000 in cash outside a strip club? Those were some happy dancers This is one of the sadest news stories I've seen all week. $113 million and no security. Imagine where he'd be with $50 million.....
Just read this thread. Hey no offence taken dude. When i was in the Royal Marines Comandos in the UK, i was based at Pool where the Special Boat Squadron SFs are based. We had alot of US seals comeover to train with us (or do i mean learn from us ha!ha!), and i must say we English like to "walk softley with a big stick", with out the cigars and the Oaklys, LOL! No seriously if ya man is on active hes the best man for the job, as for my self i am to busy makeing big money in the commercial EX/CP K.N.R sector.By the way is that Frogman in the pic?
What a shame. BUT, he IS from West Virginia so he sticks out. Mo' Money, mo problems. In some of the nicer parts of our great nation he'd be considered "middle class" . He should have moved to one of those areas.
