Tommy Thompson: Fugitive treasure hunter arrested by U.S. Marshals in West Boca Raton

[Jason in Enid]

costa rica would be a good option, lots of USA expats down there. Jamaica is a cess pit and he would have stuck have stuck out like a sore thumb. Lots of people willing to sell a person out for a few bucks.

 

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[ropesfish]

Pretty good article on the NUMA site:SS Central America: Ship of Gold Resurfaces | National Underwater and Marine Agency'

 

[maipenrai]

I doubt if a treasure hunter, would be stupid enough to bury a treasure, especially in Florida.

 

[Bum Luck]

................. He met that woman and became a changed man.

Sounds like an epitaph.................

 

[LM]

In the parts of Florida I am familiar with, for $100K in cash, dope or negotiable metals you can buy enough ocean going boat to carry all your stuff and a couple of tons of cash, dope or negotiable metals just about anyplace you want to go and for $500 cash/mo rent a dock for said vessel on any one of scores of private docks with an extra slip. Live on it, use it for a storage unit, sail off to Tortuga to become a swashbuckling modern day pirate...all were available options for a guy with tons o' cash.

You have to know 'those kinds of people' which I am guessing TT did not know.
He was an idealist, a treasure hunter, when the rubber hit the road and gold started coming up his integrity may have failed but that does not mean he's going to be 'well connected' in the South Florida 'black market environments' which I'd imagine are full of some pretty scary people.

Still, Florida is a state that if you want to leave and you know how to operate a boat, you can leave and there is very little they can do to stop you barring an all-out air recon effort. Consider that the new thing is particularly adventurous types taking high end Jet Ski trips from Ft Laud to the Bahamas across the open blue... From there, you travel someplace else and disappear.

I have a feeling TT made a calculated decision. Live on the lam but if you get caught, shut up and do your time. The rest of the stash will be waiting when you get back out. Yes, there are ways that the Feds can coerce him into handing funds over (civil contempt can keep him in prison indefinitely) but my guess is his plan is to do whatever time he gets for fleeing and possible fraud and hopefully have enough 'good life living' on the other end of his sentence to make the caper worth it.

I really, really hate he may have screwed investors but there is a part of me that admires his total pluck and pirate soul.

 

[hobbit]

You have to know 'those kinds of people' which I am guessing TT did not know.
He was an idealist, a treasure hunter, when the rubber hit the road and gold started coming up his integrity may have failed but that does not mean he's going to be 'well connected' in the South Florida 'black market environments' which I'd imagine are full of some pretty scary people.

Still, Florida is a state that if you want to leave and you know how to operate a boat, you can leave and there is very little they can do to stop you barring an all-out air recon effort. Consider that the new thing is particularly adventurous types taking high end Jet Ski trips from Ft Laud to the Bahamas across the open blue... From there, you travel someplace else and disappear.

I have a feeling TT made a calculated decision. Live on the lam but if you get caught, shut up and do your time. The rest of the stash will be waiting when you get back out. Yes, there are ways that the Feds can coerce him into handing funds over (civil contempt can keep him in prison indefinitely) but my guess is his plan is to do whatever time he gets for fleeing and possible fraud and hopefully have enough 'good life living' on the other end of his sentence to make the caper worth it.

I really, really hate he may have screwed investors but there is a part of me that admires his total pluck and pirate soul.

Thompson probably had a contingency plan for getting caught, but don't discount what appears to be a substantial strain of megalomania is his character. Tommy Thompson thinks he is smarter than everyone else. Read Ship of Gold in the Deep, Blue Sea. Many anecdotes in that book point to a man constantly screaming: "LOOK AT ME. LOOK AT HOW SMART I AM"...Well, now Tommy is locked firmly in jail and I hope the Feds find every bit of the money he stole---and there is no doubt he stole millions. He has been living the high life for 20+ years and the chickens are coming home to roost.

I can't get over people who keep harping about how Thompson was an "idealist", a "mad scientist" who just was unable to cope with all the crooked, money hungry types around him. Poor, Tommy, the victim.

Thompson's biggest contribution to the Central America project was as its fund-raiser in chief. He was really, really good at telling investors exactly what they wanted to hear in order to come up with millions of dollars for the project. If it weren't for all the technicians Thompson hired---the guys who really did all the work, Central America would never have been found by Columbus America Discovery Group and the world would never have heard of Tommy Thompson. Meanwhile, those same technicians, men without whom the project could never have succeeded, were among those ripped off by Tommy Thompson. He sure was an idealist alright.

 

[LM]

There is a certain type of man in this world who, by virtue of his nature and abilities, will be chastised by others as being a "know it all" or accused of being otherwise preoccupied with "showing everyone how smart he is".

While such people certainly do exist, usually, more times than not, those charges are nothing more than reflections of the insecurities of the people making the accusations; the burden of human exceptionalism, where talented people have to deal with squealing about their being 'arrogant. If they also happen to be ambitious, they will be called 'megomaniacal'. A common one these days is to call talented people 'sociopathic', too.

There is no doubt he dashed with the loot. There will be a hefty price to pay.
There is also no doubt his success 'down in the brine' will cause lots of envy and butthurt among the weekenders and long term failures who keep leasing, keep diving but never amounting to much in the TH world.

 

[old man]

There is a certain type of man in this world who, by virtue of his nature and abilities, will be chastised by others as being a "know it all" or accused of being otherwise preoccupied with "showing everyone how smart he is".

While such people certainly do exist, usually, more times than not, those charges are nothing more than reflections of the insecurities of the people making the accusations; the burden of human exceptionalism, where talented people have to deal with squealing about their being 'arrogant. If they also happen to be ambitious, they will be called 'megomaniacal'. A common one these days is to call talented people 'sociopathic', too.

There is no doubt he dashed with the loot. There will be a hefty price to pay.
There is also no doubt his success 'down in the brine' will cause lots of envy and butthurt among the weekenders and long term failures who keep leasing, keep diving but never amounting to much in the TH world.

LM, Personally. I don't care Why Thompson ran off with the money. Thompson screwed everyone that financed and recovered that gold. Not only that, but he also made it Harder for others to find investors for treasure salvage. As far as I am concerned I was happy for Thompson when he found treasure. Now I don't think he is any better then the Key West group that scammed their investors in a fraudulent emerald find.

I would also not call anyone a failure who follows their dreams looking for treasure a Failure or butthurt weekender. I would applaud them for following their dreams and WISH THEM LUCK in their endeavors.

 

[Mackaydon]

It's a lot easier for me to define my many TH 'failures' as "choices that didn't work"; and my few 'successes' as "choices that worked". That relieves me of the negative connotation of 'failure'--and allows me to have a full night's sleep.
Don.....

 

[Jason in Enid]

It's a lot easier for me to define my many TH 'failures' as "choices that didn't work"; and my few 'successes' as "choices that worked". That relieves me of the negative connotation of 'failure'--and allows me to have a full night's sleep.
Don.....

of course! You didn't fail, you found a place where there wasn't treasure. After you find all the places without treasure, the only place left is the one with treasure!

 

[hobbit]

There is a certain type of man in this world who, by virtue of his nature and abilities, will be chastised by others as being a "know it all" or accused of being otherwise preoccupied with "showing everyone how smart he is".

While such people certainly do exist, usually, more times than not, those charges are nothing more than reflections of the insecurities of the people making the accusations; the burden of human exceptionalism, where talented people have to deal with squealing about their being 'arrogant. If they also happen to be ambitious, they will be called 'megomaniacal'. A common one these days is to call talented people 'sociopathic', too.

There is no doubt he dashed with the loot. There will be a hefty price to pay.
There is also no doubt his success 'down in the brine' will cause lots of envy and butthurt among the weekenders and long term failures who keep leasing, keep diving but never amounting to much in the TH world.

I am not sure which phrase is more funny: "the burden of human exceptionalism" or "never amounting to much in the TH world".
Being an Average Joe, I have never had to worry about the former. Not suffering from low self esteem, I have never had to fear the latter.

Poor Tommy must have failed the "Burden of Human Exceptionalism" test, though.

He could have paid his investors and his crew the money he owed them, at least insofar as was possible.

He could have kept his integrity and let the economic consequences fall where they may.

But he didn't.

He decided HE was more important than them. And so he stole the money.

And now he is a known liar and thief, is in jail without bond, will soon be a convicted felon, after having lived the last 15 years of his life running from the police and the judicial system, living in a virtual prison of his own creation, unable to show his face in public, hiding from the world while shacked-up alongside a fat chick with herpes.

 

[Jolly Mon]

I am not sure which phrase is more funny: "the burden of human exceptionalism" or "never amounting to much in the TH world".
Being an Average Joe, I have never had to worry about the former. Not suffering from low self esteem, I have never had to fear the latter.

Poor Tommy must have failed the "Burden of Human Exceptionalism" test, though.

He could have paid his investors and his crew the money he owed them, at least insofar as was possible.

He could have kept his integrity and let the economic consequences fall where they may.

But he didn't.

He decided HE was more important than them. And so he stole the money.

And now he is a known liar and thief, is in jail without bond, will soon be a convicted felon, after having lived the last 15 years of his life running from the police and the judicial system, living in a virtual prison of his own creation, unable to show his face in public, hiding from the world while shacked-up alongside a fat chick with herpes.

Harsh opinion !!!

Great video !!!

Man does that bring back memories...those were the early days of MTV...hard to believe that song came out 32 years ago. Jeeze I am getting old.

You'll have to admit Tommy does cut a dashing figure in his prison garb (the green goes nicely with the pallor of his skin. I don't think he spent much time lounging by the Hilton Pool):

 

[Mackaydon]

His garb goes well with today's St. Patrick's Day colors.
Don.....

 

[Jolly Mon]

Tommy Thompson, poster boy for Coppertone's new SPF 500 sunblock...

Tommy Thompson Albino Cave Frog

"Hello. My name is Tommy Thompson. I am a tortured, misunderstood genius and am also allergic to everything in the State of Ohio. For the last two years I have been expressing my swashbuckling, piratical nature by hiding in a West Boca hotel room and sending my girlfriend out for supplies. Arrrgh."

"On Sept. 12, 2008, he was arrested at a Jacksonville, Florida, gas station, carrying nine identification cards - eight of which police said were fake, according to an incident report. He was charged with possession of drugs without a prescription with the intent to sell, holding a fake ID, false impersonation and resisting an officer without violence. Court records show prosecutors later dropped all the counts, but it's not immediately clear why." Feds reveal how fugitive treasure hunter Tommy Thompson eluded police for 2 years - CBS News

 

[Gold Maven]

Even with all these issues coming to light, I still admire him....somehow.

 

[ARC]

Man he looks ragged... jail will do it to ya.
Prolly coming down from long partying in hotel room...
I mean what else would he be doing there ?
just hanging out watching T.V. ?
Bunch of cash...
Resort with booze...
Assumed identity...
On the run anyway... nerves shot ... if ANY guilt at all...
He either sat in a corner drooling like a babbling idiot counting cash like a madman...
Or he and his girl stayed wasted... and waiting for the inevitable.

 

[Dug]

Man he looks ragged... jail will do it to ya.
Prolly coming down from long partying in hotel room...
I mean what else would he be doing there ?
just hanging out watching T.V. ?
Bunch of cash...
Resort with booze...
Assumed identity...
On the run anyway... nerves shot ... if ANY guilt at all...
He either sat in a corner drooling like a babbling idiot counting cash like a madman...
Or he and his girl stayed wasted... and waiting for the inevitable.

Talk about a thermonuclear case of cabin fever. He was already in jail and did not know it.

 

[Vox veritas]

Treasure Hunter Thompson To Plead Guilty | WCBE 90.5 FM

 

[LM]

I am not sure which phrase is more funny: "the burden of human exceptionalism" or "never amounting to much in the TH world".
Being an Average Joe, I have never had to worry about the former. Not suffering from low self esteem, I have never had to fear the latter.

Do you want to know how I know your position is rooted in jealous butthurt?

And now he is a known liar and thief, is in jail without bond, will soon be a convicted felon, after having lived the last 15 years of his life running from the police and the judicial system, living in a virtual prison of his own creation, unable to show his face in public, hiding from the world while shacked-up alongside a fat chick with herpes.

That kind of narrative only comes from one place... and its greener than his jail shirt.
He's about to pay a heavy price for whatever misdeeds he may have done, but bitterly criticizing accomplished people who have fallen is a rather obnoxious pastime of the unaccomplished who've never done anything.

 

[LM]

I would also not call anyone a failure who follows their dreams looking for treasure a Failure or butthurt weekender. I would applaud them for following their dreams and WISH THEM LUCK in their endeavors.

Nobody is criticizing people for not accomplishing anything or for being weekend warriors- because that's precisely what I am on both counts- but its easy to recognize lame jealousy by sideliners, when it pops up in the context of a do-er who somehow screwed up.

It seems he royally screwed up here and will pay the price, but I wonder if there isn't another side to this story... since grumblings on this forum have it that when the jackpot was hit, lawyers and investors got greedy, dishonest and may have inspired him to raise the black flag and middle-finger them all. I'll await the details of his trial. I have a feeling its going to be incredibly interesting.