#9 From the local paper, when his arrest was announced:
In his comments, Warmbier said he was offered a used car worth $10,000 by a member of the church. He said the church member told him the slogan would be hung on its wall as a trophy. He also said he was told that if he was detained and not returned, $200,000 would be paid to his mother in a way of charitable donations.
Calls to the Friendship United Methodist Church went unanswered Monday.
Warmbier named that as the church his acquaintance belonged to and there is church of that name in Wyoming.
He said he was also encouraged in his act by the "Z Society" at the University of Virginia, which he said he was trying to join. The magazine of the university's alumni association describes the Z Society as a "semi-secret ring society" that was founded in 1892 and conducts philanthropy, puts on honorary dinners and grants academic awards.
Warmbier said he accepted the offer of money because his family is "suffering from very severe financial difficulties."
Wyoming is one of the more prosperous suburbs of Cincinnati. Fortune 500 CEOs and such live in the large Edwardian houses with impeccably maintained gardens. Department heads live in the smaller houses built in the 1920s, likewise impeccably maintained. No way would the kid break the law for a $10.000 beater -- Mom and Dad bought him a new Toyota or Kia when he got his driver's license, and he'll get something appropriate when he graduates from Virginia. If the family really were struggling, selling the house and moving to something smaller in West Chester would free up considerable funds.
Nor can I imagine a lady from the church would put him up to stealing, though a college society certainly might. |