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Guy Robs Bank ... to Get Prison Health Care

NC man aimed for 3-year sentence with $1 heist

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 21, 2011 6:29 AM CDT

(Newser) – A North Carolina man with a bad back, a growth on his chest, and no job or money decided to swap his freedom for prison health care by robbing a bank. Richard James Verone, 59, walked into a bank, handed the teller a note demanding just $1—then sat down on a sofa and waited for the police to arrive, ABC reports.

Verone says he hopes to get a 3-year sentence and buy a beach house after he gets out and qualifies for social security. "If it is called manipulation, then out of necessity, because I need medical care, then I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care," he told reporters. But because he only demanded a dollar and didn't have a weapon, police charged him with larceny instead of bank robbery and he's likely to be a free man within a year.

Verone is going to jail, but not for as long as he'd like. (Gaston County Jail)

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Guy Robs Bank ... to Get Prison Health Care

NC man aimed for 3-year sentence with $1 heist

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