# Posts implying an intent to commit a crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 14, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124 "2013-01-14T02:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/21 "2013-01-16T13:40:04Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > And the ‘sufficiently’ is an extremely low bar to cross. I also doubt it, but it’s such a low bar to cross that it probably _is_ useless. **Marley** has said, several times, that they passed it on. And it’s unlikely to be fruitful. Even, IF he has the savvy to hide his identity, which I doubt, that’s not a dead end. “Dear weather1, I am top hitman for mafia. Willing take to jobs for independent. Where shall we meet?” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/22 "2013-01-16T13:45:23Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Even, IF he has the savvy to hide his identity, which I doubt, that’s not a dead end. > > “Dear weather1, I am top hitman for mafia. Willing take to jobs for independent. Where shall we meet?” I’m pretty sure the police would rather you let them handle things, rather than go out and play “Junior G-Man” on your own. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/23 "2013-01-16T14:03:07Z")
Sigh. What part of my post made you think I was intending to investigate on my own? Since you didn’t understand let me spell it out clearly. I am describing what the police can do to trap this guy. Many people have tried to hire hitmen, and been caught that way. I completely trust the police to find this guy. Every point I’ve raised is something they have already though of, and used in a hundred previous cases. I totally trust them to do it again, and have no intention of offering my help. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/24 "2013-01-16T14:06:01Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Sigh. What part of my post made you think I was intending to investigate on my own? > > Since you didn’t understand let me spell it out clearly. I am describing what the police can do to trap this guy. Many people have tried to hire hitmen, and been caught that way. I completely trust the police to find this guy. Every point I’ve raised is something they have already though of, and used in a hundred previous cases. I totally trust them to do it again, and have no intention of offering my help. Sorry for the misunderstanding on my part. I thought you were including it as something the _Board_ could do to find him. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/25 "2013-01-17T09:41:13Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Sorry for the misunderstanding on my part. I thought you were including it as something the _Board_ could do to find him. I tried! I asked him who he wanted killed. If he had given a name, that would have been a clue! But noooooo, y’all had to go ban him before he could answer. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/26 "2013-01-17T09:43:51Z")
On a slightly more serious note, the Mods should look to see if there was any PM activity to or from that guy, on the wildly improbable chance that somebody responded privately before the banning. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/27 "2013-01-17T14:02:58Z")
There was no PM activity, not that we could read the actual PMs if there had been any. And having asked around- the police have lots of real, already-happened murders to solve, and it’s doubtful they would have the time to spare on an online request that included no details and no indications that it’s a serious threat as opposed to someone being a troll or an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/28 "2013-01-17T15:40:42Z")
Going back to the OP if not the specific posts that inspired it -------- lets say through a series of posts it becomes clear **Doper X** is doing some serious amounts of pot and maybe cooking a little meth on the side to defray the costs. Does that buy him/her a ban, a little note from a mod to the Dade County PD, or instant elevation in status and an application for Doper of the Year? (I think this came up in regards one of the possible pedo posters but I forget what was stated as policy) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/29 "2013-01-17T15:56:13Z")
If they were talking about ongoing illegal activity on a regular basis they would be banned quickly. We discourage people from posting while impaired (or talking about how drunk and stoned they are, at least), and while we allow some discussions of illegal activity, a poster who kept talking about a meth business would be told to stop- and that poster didn’t listen he or she would get banned quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/30 "2013-01-17T16:41:45Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And having asked around- the police have lots of real, already-happened murders to solve, and it’s doubtful they would have the time to spare on an online request that included no details and no indications that it’s a serious threat as opposed to someone being a troll or an idiot. Who told you that? I’ve heard of hundreds of cases where someone has started making discreet enquiries, how can they hire a hitman They come to the attention of the police who treat the matter very seriously indeed. By doing so, they prevent it from ever becoming a “real, already-happened murder.” Just Google “tried to hire a hitman” and you’ll find hundreds of examples. [http://calhouncounty.myfoxal.com/news/news/123974-deputies-man-tried-hire-hit-man-pay-monthly-installments](http://calhouncounty.myfoxal.com/news/news/123974-deputies-man-tried-hire-hit-man-pay-monthly-installments) > **[Florida Teacher Accused of Hiring Hit Man To Kill Another Teacher](https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/09/florida-teacher-allegedly-tried-hire-hit-man-kill-another-teacher-video/)** > > By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter > In a startling chain of events that takes the phrase "bad teacher" to deadly extremes, a Florida high school teacher has been > **[Wife 'hired hit man to kill her husband and demanded proof before final payment'](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2232905/Wife-hired-hit-man-kill-husband-demanded-proof-final-payment.html)** > > Mirtha Marchena-Chavez, 36, from Passaic, New Jersey, provided specific instructions to the hit man on how and where the murder could take place, according to police. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/31 "2013-01-17T16:57:30Z")
**Peter Morris** , all of those articles are about people who were in touch with another human being about killing a specific person. They made offers to undercover cops or acquaintances who went to the police. They were not anonymous message board posters who made comments that are at least as likely to be trolling as real threats. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/32 "2013-01-17T17:07:41Z")
I just remembered why this thread is unnecessary. The government monitors all Internetty things already. I’m sure that even now a squad of FBI agents are swooping down to bust him, and if that fails then entrap him into participating in an inept plot to blow shit up. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/33 "2013-01-18T18:59:28Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > Note to self: Don’t ask around this board about weaknesses in the security surrounding the Hope diamond. Next Thursday ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/34 "2013-01-18T20:51:01Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > Note to self: Don’t ask around this board about weaknesses in the security surrounding the Hope diamond. Swear to Og this is true: I was once disciplined at work for violating security procedures around the Hope diamond. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/35 "2013-01-18T20:55:40Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Swear to Og this is true: I was once disciplined at work for violating security procedures around the Hope diamond. Please start a MPSIMS thread. (ETA: This was a request so I could hear your and similar stories, not junior modding of any kind.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/36 "2013-01-18T20:57:31Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Can’t we form a SDMB crime-fighting unit and run a sting operation? That would be so cool. Shhhh. We already have. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/37 "2013-01-18T21:00:30Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Shhhh. We already have. Dammit- **TroutMan** was on the “_don’t_ tell” list! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/38 "2013-01-18T21:16:42Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Please start a MPSIMS thread. > > (ETA: This was a request so I could hear your and similar stories, not junior modding of any kind.) It’ really not worth its own thread but I’ll tell it here. Back in the 80s I worked at the Smithsonian as an AV technician. I was assigned to set up a podium and PA system for a press event/conference about the Hope. Can’t remember what, exactly, they were moving it or moving the whole gem collection or something like it. But the “hook” was that they were going to take the Hope out of its case and put it on some noted Washington trophy wife of the time (it’s set into a necklace), so it would be a rare photo op. Anyway, after the whole thing was over (btw, the trophy wife looked like she’d been awardws 50 years ago and been tarnished and dropped a couple of times since), the necklace was sitting on a table, waiting for some curator type to come along and return it to its case, and I needed to pack up the PA system and get to my next gig. But there were 4 or 5 armed guards (who were also Smithsonian employees like me) who told me I couldn’t approach the diamond, and my gear was all around it. I said something like, “Sorry, I’m on a clock here, and I can’t wait around indefinitely for someone to show up and move the thing”, and I started packing my gear anyway. The fearless guards continued to tell me I shouldn’t be doing this but didn’t stop me. A couple of days later I got called into the office and mildly reprimanded by my boss, who got a complaint from Security and said that a note about the incident would be added to my employee file. But she wasn’t very upset, she knew I had to run all over the Mall all day from one museum to another to work at special events. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/39 "2013-01-18T21:26:06Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > …they were going to take the Hope out of its case and put it on some noted Washington trophy wife of the time… (btw, the trophy wife looked like she’d been awardws 50 years ago and been tarnished and dropped a couple of times since)… “I knew a guy who had a trophy wife. I guess he didn’t win first prize.” - Steven Wright ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124/40 "2013-01-20T03:57:59Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It’ really not worth its own thread but I’ll tell it here. Back in the 80s I worked at the Smithsonian as an AV technician. I was assigned to set up a podium and PA system for a press event/conference about the Hope. Can’t remember what, exactly, they were moving it or moving the whole gem collection or something like it. But the “hook” was that they were going to take the Hope out of its case and put it on some noted Washington trophy wife of the time (it’s set into a necklace), so it would be a rare photo op. Anyway, after the whole thing was over (btw, the trophy wife looked like she’d been awardws 50 years ago and been tarnished and dropped a couple of times since), the necklace was sitting on a table, waiting for some curator type to come along and return it to its case, and I needed to pack up the PA system and get to my next gig. But there were 4 or 5 armed guards (who were also Smithsonian employees like me) who told me I couldn’t approach the diamond, and my gear was all around it. I said something like, “Sorry, I’m on a clock here, and I can’t wait around indefinitely for someone to show up and move the thing”, and I started packing my gear anyway. The fearless guards continued to tell me I shouldn’t be doing this but didn’t stop me. A couple of days later I got called into the office and mildly reprimanded by my boss, who got a complaint from Security and said that a note about the incident would be added to my employee file. But she wasn’t very upset, she knew I had to run all over the Mall all day from one museum to another to work at special events. Notes: 1. Hang around the Hope diamond. 2. Ignore feckless security guards. 3. Profit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posts-implying-an-intent-to-commit-a-crime/647124.md?page=3)