Shoplifter Fesses Up ... 37 Years Later

Syxx_Killer · 01-15-07, 11:26 AM

Quote:

A German shoplifter has fessed up ... 37 years after snatching $15 worth of stuff from a souvenir shop in Norway.

In 1970, the man shoplifted several items from a store in the small mountain town of Lom while he was traveling in Scandinavia with his young brother and girlfriend, now his wife, according to the Associated Press.

Seeking to make amends, he recently sent a check for $375 to the town and asked them to find the shopkeeper, Mayor Simen Bjoergen said on the town's Internet site on Thursday.

"For many years, my conscience has bothered me. With the enclosed check, I hope to free myself from that and request your help," wrote the German, whose name was not released. "I would also like to ask for forgiveness for the wrong I did so long ago."

Lom, a town of about 2,300 people, is 155 miles north of Oslo.

The man said he shoplifted about $15 worth of items from the store, which he recalled only as "a souvenir shop with a big parking lot." He asked Bjoergen to find the shop owner and give him the check, and if that was not possible to use the money for a good cause.

Bjoergen finally found retired 78-year-old shop owner Gabriel Lund, who owned the Fjoset gift shop in 1970, and gave him the check.

In a letter to the German, the Mayor said Lund asked him to say "that he forgives you" and that he had given the money to the local retirement home to do something nice for its residents.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243651,00.html

Better late than never, I guess.

Konovalov · 01-15-07, 11:30 AM

That's something you don't read everyday. How refreshing.

The Avon Lady · 01-15-07, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syxx_Killer

Better late than never, I guess.

It is never too late to right a wrong.

Letum · 01-15-07, 01:09 PM

That's very nice, but he should seriously see a Doctor if he is maintaining such high levels of guilt about relatively trivial crimes for so long. It cant mean a stress free life.

baggygreen · 01-15-07, 10:34 PM

But Letum, you never know the whole story with a news article - who is to say that the shopkeeper hadnt been extremely kind to the german, giving him directions, or a friendly chat or something, after which the german stole. I personally would feel terrible, and No doubt it would play on my mind for a long long time.

Either that, or he's been watching 'my name is earl'!

bookworm_020 · 01-16-07, 12:06 AM

37 years to pay for shoplifted items...PAH!

Beat this!

Man returns library book after 47 years

Robert Nuranen handed a local librarian a book he'd checked out for a ninth-grade assignment - along with a cheque for 47 years' worth of late fees.
Nuranen said his mother misplaced the copy of Prince of Egypt while cleaning the house.
The family came across it every so often, only to set it aside again.
He found it last week while looking through a box in the attic.
"I figured I'd better get it in before we waited another 10 years," he said after turning it in on Friday with the $US171.32 ($A220) cheque.
"Fifty-seven years would be embarrassing."
The book, with its last due date stamped June 2, 1960, was part of the young Nuranen's fascination with Egypt.
He went on to visit that country and 54 others, and all 50 states, he said, but he never did finish the book.
Nuranen now lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches seventh-grade social studies and language arts.
The library had long ago lost any record of the book, librarian Sue Zubiena said.
"I'm going to use it as an example," she said.
"It's never too late to return your books."
© 2007 AP DIGITAL

The Avon Lady · 01-16-07, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

37 years to pay for shoplifted items...PAH!

Beat this!

Man returns library book after 47 years

Man's Wallet Returned After 62 Years.

Who's yo momma!

:p

baggygreen · 01-16-07, 08:53 AM

yo the uber momma!

Letum · 01-16-07, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Avon Lady

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookworm_020

37 years to pay for shoplifted items...PAH!

Beat this!

Man returns library book after 47 years

Man's Wallet Returned After 62 Years.

Who's yo momma!

:p

Theres a nice story. Thats something I would do. It's far less neurotic to return items then it is to make large cash donations for cheep items lifted from a shop!.

_Seth_ · 01-16-07, 12:58 PM

Oh dang...I just remembered that i have a DVD i have to return to the store...:rotfl:

We Norwegian are a forgiving people...

Respenus · 01-16-07, 05:12 PM

Uff. I never stole anything, but my sould would only burn for a short while. Afterwardsm it would cool down. But maybe so many years would set it on fire again, so I might do such a thing.

The Avon Lady · 02-09-07, 04:37 AM

I didn't want to start a new thread just for this but I think this story takes the cake:

Thai woman tells of 25-year detour after catching wrong bus.

She's defintely in the running for the Darwin Award of the Year - nay - the decade!

Letum · 02-09-07, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Avon Lady

I didn't want to start a new thread just for this but I think this story takes the cake:

Thai woman tells of 25-year detour after catching wrong bus.

She's definitely in the running for the Darwin Award of the Year - nay - the decade!

:rotfl:
Words escape me.

Nice find!

BTW, no Darwin award as she wasn't removed from the gene pool. [/pedant]

The Avon Lady · 02-09-07, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letum

BTW, no Darwin award as she wasn't removed from the gene pool. [/pedant]

Yes she was - for 25 critical years.

Dowly · 02-09-07, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Robert Nuranen

Hmmm... Nuranen sounds like an finnish last name...

WOHOO!! GO FINNS!!

:rotfl:

01-15-07, 11:30 AM	#2
Konovalov Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks, UK Posts: 2,811 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	That's something you don't read everyday. How refreshing. __________________ "In a Christian context, sexuality is traditionally seen as a consequence of the Fall, but for Muslims, it is an anticipation of paradise. So I can say, I think, that I was validly converted to Islam by a teenage French Jewish nudist." Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter)

01-15-07, 01:09 PM	#4
Letum Navy Seal Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: York - UK Posts: 6,079 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	That's very nice, but he should seriously see a Doctor if he is maintaining such high levels of guilt about relatively trivial crimes for so long. It cant mean a stress free life. __________________

01-16-07, 12:06 AM	#6
bookworm_020 Navy Seal Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sinking ships off the Australian coast Posts: 5,966 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	37 years to pay for shoplifted items...PAH! Beat this! Man returns library book after 47 years Robert Nuranen handed a local librarian a book he'd checked out for a ninth-grade assignment - along with a cheque for 47 years' worth of late fees. Nuranen said his mother misplaced the copy of Prince of Egypt while cleaning the house. The family came across it every so often, only to set it aside again. He found it last week while looking through a box in the attic. "I figured I'd better get it in before we waited another 10 years," he said after turning it in on Friday with the $US171.32 ($A220) cheque. "Fifty-seven years would be embarrassing." The book, with its last due date stamped June 2, 1960, was part of the young Nuranen's fascination with Egypt. He went on to visit that country and 54 others, and all 50 states, he said, but he never did finish the book. Nuranen now lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches seventh-grade social studies and language arts. The library had long ago lost any record of the book, librarian Sue Zubiena said. "I'm going to use it as an example," she said. "It's never too late to return your books." © 2007 AP DIGITAL __________________ "There is always one person in any organization who knows whats going on, That person must be fired"

01-16-07, 12:58 PM	#10
_Seth_ Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: In Tromsoe, @Tirpitz' final resting place.. Posts: 3,277 Downloads: 94 Uploads: 0	Oh dang...I just remembered that i have a DVD i have to return to the store...:rotfl: We Norwegian are a forgiving people... __________________

01-16-07, 05:12 PM	#11
Respenus Ace of the Deep Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,169 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Uff. I never stole anything, but my sould would only burn for a short while. Afterwardsm it would cool down. But maybe so many years would set it on fire again, so I might do such a thing. __________________

01-15-07, 10:34 PM	#5
baggygreen Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canberra, ACT, Down Under (really On Top) Posts: 1,880 Downloads: 7 Uploads: 0	But Letum, you never know the whole story with a news article - who is to say that the shopkeeper hadnt been extremely kind to the german, giving him directions, or a friendly chat or something, after which the german stole. I personally would feel terrible, and No doubt it would play on my mind for a long long time. Either that, or he's been watching 'my name is earl'!

01-16-07, 08:53 AM	#8
baggygreen Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canberra, ACT, Down Under (really On Top) Posts: 1,880 Downloads: 7 Uploads: 0	yo the uber momma!

02-09-07, 04:37 AM	#12
The Avon Lady Über Mom Join Date: May 2005 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 6,147 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	I didn't want to start a new thread just for this but I think this story takes the cake: Thai woman tells of 25-year detour after catching wrong bus. She's defintely in the running for the Darwin Award of the Year - nay - the decade! __________________ "Victory will come to us from the wombs of our women." - Houari Boumedienne, President of Algeria, Speech before the UN, 1974