It's been said so often: "Careful what you wish for - you just may get it." Most people dream of scoring a large sum of money. Here are five winners whose luck ran out, gleaned from listverse.com, heavily edited by yours truly: Abraham Shakespeare took a lump sum lottery payment of $17 million. He'd always been kindhearted and helped those in need. Whenever a person approached him on the street with a hard-luck story, he felt compelled to help. Dorice Moore offered to manage his money and opened a bank account for him. She spent a million on expensive cars and lavish vacations. It wasn't enough. She shot the poor soul twice in the chest and buried his body in a field. She told his friends and family he'd left town to escape those who kept asking for money. Moore sent Shakespeare’s son gifts, and messages from his cellphone. She staged sightings of him and even hired someone to pose as Shakespeare to call his mom. The family was not fooled. Police found his body and immediately suspected Moore. She was eventually sentenced to life without parole... Urooj Khan was delighted with his $425,000 lump sum. He planned to put the money toward his business and also wanted to make a donation to a children’s hospital. After a meal, he was not feeling well and went to bed. He awoke in agony, was rushed to the hospital, and died the next day. At first it was determined Khan succumbed to natural causes, a type of cardiovascular disease. His brother was suspicious and asked the medical examiner to re-investigate. A lethal amount of cyanide was found in his system. The case remains open... Andrew Whittaker received $113.4 million and immediately began making charitable contributions. He soon began facing lawsuits from the disgruntled and spent more than $3 million on legal fees. He was especially fond of his sole grandchild, Brandi, whom he'd helped raise. He gave the 15-year-old whatever she wanted, including large sums of cash, which attracted drug dealers. Soon she was hooked and eventually went missing. Her body was discovered wrapped in a plastic tarp. Whittaker and his wife divorced after 42 years of marriage... Jeffrey Dampier and his wife won $20 million and soon divorced, each taking a half share. Jeffrey dated Crystal Jackson and moved to Florida, bringing her two sisters along. He supported the three completely. One sister and her boyfriend kidnapped him, forcing him into a van, where he was shot to death. The murderers are serving life sentences... In 2005 Renne Senna’s life changed when he hit a $16.8 million jackpot. A double amputee, his wife had left him, taking his children. He dated Adriana Almeida, 25 years his junior, and soon married. She became the administrator of his estate. She convinced him to remove his eleven siblings from his will. He wrote a new one that left half his money to her. She took $580,000 from their joint account and placed it into her own. Senna was furious when she bought a penthouse. He confronted her about a suspected affair and threatened to remove her from his will. Days later he was at his favorite bar when two armed men on motorcycles rode up and ordered him to hand over his money. They shot him four times in the head. Police discovered that Almeida was behind the murder, and she was arrested, found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison. (This is only half the list. Visit the site for more sad stories.)
Here's something from
Yahoo's Odd News that says a lot: A 74-year-old man living in public housing for the elderly faces drug-trafficking charges after cocaine valued at about $150,000, and roughly 450 grams of marijuana - more than a pound, was found in his unit.
My thanks to the two ladies who bought three books in Russian between them, and to my Tuesday benefactress, who re-emerged after a month's absence with a cache that included two beautiful pictorials and a mix of fiction and non.
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