Oh wow good point. I had not even considered that the court system and the news media are different things. I also had not considered the "Dexter" from Showtime defense to embezzlement. How long have you been practicing law?
Oh wow good point. I had not even considered that the court system and the news media are different things. I also had not considered the "Dexter" from Showtime defense to embezzlement. How long have you been practicing law?
Emaciated Hobby Jogger wrote:
Your job wrote:Hmm , another developing athlete lost to a lack of a development system to bring them along. USTAF would rather spend funds on shoe company contracted elites vs developing athletes.
bull$hit. He knew good and well what he was doing it was wrong. He deserves to face the music.
Yes he exactly knew what he doing if proven guilty , why , below minimum wage at the running store , zero support from USATF , steal to make ends meet if this is the case.
He could've gotten a job to make ends meet.
So if a McDonalds employee eats more hamburgers than he is allowed is that embezzlement?
Or does he have to take burgers and resell them?
Wejo - it is not considered embezzlement because he stole shoes from a place that sells shoes - that is simply theft. It is embezzlement because he stole funds in addition to the merchandise.
em·bez·zle·ment
emˈbezəlmənt
noun
theft or misappropriation of funds placed in one's trust or belonging to one's employer.
"charges of fraud and embezzlement"
Articles on the topic mentioned several instances of at least $200 missing from the store, in addition to the $5000 worth of merchandise sold on ebay.
So let's review - he embezzled money at least $1000 from the article, and also stole significant amounts of merchandise, enough to be considered grand larceny in many states (I do not know the exact statute in Virginia).
Now for some commentary - please do not go blaming USATF or society or the sport for this kid's dumb actions. I emphasize kid, because a Man would recognize that while he has a dream of making an Olympic team, he also has responsibilities to provide for himself and his future. He was fortunate enough to get free grad school (apparently an MBA as mentioned by another poster) while serving as a GA/Volunteer assistant coach. Why not use that degree and run at 5am, lunch time, and/or after work and use that degree, make a living, maybe make a team and oh yeah stay out of Jail. Sucks for him, but I do not feel any sympathy toward him and neither should you.
Ho Hum wrote:
jjjjjjjjj wrote:A real shame. 2:13 is no joke for a non-D1 guy. He was obviously wrong to do it, but this comes from the fact that you can't make any money at that level of running.
And yet most find a way to do it without stealing $5000 from their employers.
Quit maing excuses for him. Hundreds of runners like him have done without much more than food and rent money living that way. I was his level and the most I made in one year in prize money was 8,000. It wasn't that difficult for a short time.
Throw in a part time job, split the rent with some other runners and its not hard at all.
I suppose to compete today you need 10 pairs of shoes a year, lots of expensive nutritional supplements, and need to fly back and forth for altitude training.
MBA didn't get put to much good valid use, did it?
What he alledgedly did was wrong, but no reason for you hyper-conservative neo nazi law and order types to get all high and mighty.
And let the prosecutor and courts decide on whether it was embezzlement or stealing not some stupid hyper-conservative neo nazi law and order trolls on a running message board.
God I hate you guys.
Your job wrote:
Emaciated Hobby Jogger wrote:bull$hit. He knew good and well what he was doing it was wrong. He deserves to face the music.
Yes he exactly knew what he doing if proven guilty , why , below minimum wage at the running store , zero support from USATF , steal to make ends meet if this is the case.
I worked for minimum wage at a shoe store while training. I did not need to steal to make ends meet. Neither did Ricky.
Not surprised. I'm sure EPO (Boost) ain't cheap.
As long as his probation allows him to go to California for one weekend in February he's still ahead of you never-was chumps who think you deserve a medal for being broke while "chasing your dreams"
Restitution and probation for 5 years. No time behind bars.
He will however have a record that will follow him for the rest of his life. Long consequence for what, in the grand scheme of crimes committed today, is relatively mundane.
RealitycheckforLRC wrote:
As long as his probation allows him to go to California for one weekend in February he's still ahead of you never-was chumps who think you deserve a medal for being broke while "chasing your dreams"
I'd much rather have my daughter marry someone working at a running store and trying to break 2:20 then someone who ran fast but had a criminal record. Yeah, the adult making $10 an hour and slaving around 120 mile weeks, while refusing to give up is a little immature but at least I'd let him inside my house.
It's sad that when you look him up online, you'll not only see his 2:13 but his criminal record as well. It's something he will have to carry around forever and it has to be embarrassing for his current and future family.
So what if the guy was nice to you. It's what you do in the dark that shows your character, not the light. And $5,000 is a ton of merchandise and shows he did it again and again and again.
I am from Lynchburg and have associated with Ricky for a while. Wouldn't say he is a friend, but without a doubt we would speak to each other. There is no doubt he is guilty. Knowing the full story, this was no mistake, he knew exactly what he was doing. I doubt he will serve any jail time, but his running career (which was already developmental) is without a doubt over. He will never be able to run the track at Schellenberger Field or head down on the Blackwater Creek trail again without getting a few glaring looks.
Why is his running career over?
He could always move to another town to train.
What sponsor would ever want to sign him?
I was a college teammate of Ricky's and I can say that this story unfortunately sounds true and I wouldn't put it past him. If it was really in excess of $5,000 he knew exactly what he was doing, he knew it was wrong and still chose to do it. Ricky, I hope you can learn from this after you've paid your debt to society. You and your running career aren't nearly as big of a deal as you think they are. You aren't any better than anyone else (though you used to and probably still think you are) and the rules apply to you just like they do to all of us. Grow up. For the sake of you, your family, your alma mater, and anyone associated with you. Please.
Legal Eagle wrote:
Restitution and probation for 5 years. No time behind bars.
He will however have a record that will follow him for the rest of his life. Long consequence for what, in the grand scheme of crimes committed today, is relatively mundane.
Expungement could be possible depending on what he pleads to or is convicted of. Life's not over Ricky, but you're gonna pay and be hurting for a while.
Vowl wrote:
Tough decision by the employer because I have had employees steal from me, and have handled it quietly without pressing charges as they were chasing their dreams.
You probably think you're a super nice guy for doing this. By not pressing charges so that they could "chase their dreams," you just allowed them to go on to steal from other people. I'm sure your dream chasing friends' future employers would have appreciated the opportunity to avoid hiring a thief.
You sound like a great guy. I wish I could have had more college teammates like you. It's very rare to find someone who has never made a mistake in his life AND who is brave enough to anonymously blast his old teammates on a message board at the first sign of trouble. All you need to do now is find your old college teammates' wives and girlfriends and have sex with them, and you'll be the perfect shining example of what a teammate should be.