Well, “hellhole jails” is a matter of perspective. Ask a Norwegian about American prisons.
Also, everyone, avoid breaking the law in foreign countries. Come to think of it, avoid it at home too.
It is the difference between a good citizen doing his duty to bring perps to justice AND getting reimbursed for damages versus a shakedown.
Imagine if you visited my business and I accused you of damaging some property. Then I “offered” you a choice at gunpoint: Pay an inflated price or spend the next few hours answering police questions and possibly getting an arrest record.
And that is in the United States. In Brazil add: and spend a couple of days in a shithole jail while we forget your paperwork.
Dumped by both Speedo and Ralph Lauren.
Speedo has this ALLL wrong!
Imagine the ad campaign.
Are you a dick? In some furin country? Need a cover up?!
Buy a Speedo!
They should bring back No Excuses Jeans just for Ryan Lochte.
There’s so much there that’s not supported by evidence that I am assuming you are posing a hypothetical question.
What I WOULDN’T do in your imaginary situation would be lying to the police and the press. I am old-fashioned like that.
…sounds like a fair choice. And they chose the “do not go to jail” option and are now free as a bird back in the good old USA. I don’t understand the sympathy for these vandals at all. They should be counting themselves lucky this happened in Brazil. If it had happened in Singapore they would have been subject to "a fine not exceeding S$2,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years, and also corporal punishment of not less than three strokes and not more than eight strokes of the cane."
If you only want to be subject to US law and if you only want to be treated as a US citizen then stay in the US. But if you travel to another country then you better expect to be treated under the laws of the land you are visiting.
We don’t know how the subject of money came up in the confrontation between the security guard and the swimmers. The guard could have demanded restitution in exchange for letting the swimmers go, or it could have been the other way around: the swimmers could have offered restitution in exchange for being let go. One way is a lot worse than the other.
Nm
Dumped by Speedo, Ralph Lauren, skin-care firm Syneron-Candela, and, as of a few hours ago, his fourth and final sponsor, Japanese mattress maker Airweave. Not sure if he has any major sponsors left. There may be further sanctions by the US Olympic Committee and USA Swimming.
So, he paid $50 to the gas station owner (per link above). That doesn’t sound like much of a shakedown to me.
Oh, and the good samaritan that translated for them to help them out of a pickle says there was no gun pointing. I am more inclined to believe the guy who is not proven to make shit up.
Catastrophe has hit!!! He has been dumped by all four of his sponsors:
PS. Anyone have a guess how much money this is?
So a couple of rich, entitled jocks do a typical drunken fratboy stunt and then brag about it.
Now he be honest if his life depended on it.
Dumped by Speedo for an inadequate cover-up. 
So…I guess you could say… Lochte has proven to be a bigger dick than Speedo is willing to support.
That’s okay, I’ll show myself out.
Big surprise,Brazilian police are exaggerating their side of the incident. At worst they pissed on the exterior wall and tore down a poster. No evidence of damage to the bathroom, or even that the swimmers went into the bathroom, can be found.
Comedy gold.