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- 31 Mar 2002
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How's this for DUMB. 
Gas tank gold to burn off debts
Krugerrands worth $28,259 will go toward child support
and alimony after the man who hid them draws police
scrutiny.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 12, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST. PETERSBURG -- In times of uncertainty, some folks
stuff cash inside a mattress. James P. Steiner chose
the gas tank of his 1990 Dodge van.
That's where his 77 Krugerrands -- 1-ounce gold coins
worth $28,259 -- remained until Steiner decided it was
time to make a withdrawal.
Because banks don't handle this type of transaction,
he pulled in to the Tire Plus store on Tyrone
Boulevard. Mechanics removed the tank, and Steiner
began to withdraw his coins, each about the size of a
silver dollar.
That's when things started going bad for Steiner.
A bit suspicious, workers called police.
Steiner, 35, owed his ex-wife child support and did
not want her to know about the money, according to
police. He also had concerns about what the IRS would
do upon discovery of the Krugerrands, a gold coin of
South Africa, often used for investment.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Steiner refused to comment,
except to dispute the police report.
His ex-wife, though, had plenty to say.
Cathy Young said she was shocked that her former
husband "was driving around with $25,000, $26,000 in
his tank . . . and he hasn't even helped with the
kids."
Young, 34, said she married Steiner a month after she
turned 19, and the couple had two sons, now both
teenagers. She also has two daughters, one 3 and other
4 months old, with her second husband, Jim Young, 38,
a construction worker.
She recalled the day in early December when police
showed up at her door.
"He was arrested on Dec. 6, which I believe was a
Friday, and the police came to me that Sunday," she
said.
"The first officer that came out wouldn't tell me a
whole lot," she said. "He just said that my ex-husband
had been arrested with some gold coins and a large
amount of cash, and that the two officers handling the
case would contact me later that evening.
"The others came out and they had Polaroid pictures of
the coins in the evidence room," she said. "They had
them all laid out in a row . . . and they told me the
story."
According to St. Petersburg police, officers went to
Tire Plus at 2800 Tyrone Blvd. The mechanic had
removed the tank, and Steiner had retrieved the coins
and dropped them into a milk carton.
The store manager called the police to report the
incident and to say that Steiner was causing a
disturbance. Tire Plus employees declined to comment
Tuesday, but court records indicate Steiner was
annoyed because his car would not start.
When police arrived, they searched Steiner and his
vehicle. In addition to the Krugerrands, they found
$831 in his wallet and a shirt pocket.
Police said Steiner gave several versions of how he
acquired the coins, including that he had purchased
them and that they were a gift from his father. It was
unclear how long the coins had been in the gas tank.
According to the police report, Steiner "placed the
coins into the gas tank . . . because he was paranoid
about his ex-wife or someone else finding out."
Steiner, whom police reports say was unemployed at the
time, was arrested on outstanding warrants over unpaid
parking tickets and an altered temporary auto tag.
A few days later, during a child support hearing, the
court ordered the appointment of a special master to
sell the coins. The court said the sale should be
applied to the $19,640.14 in child support, $5.761.40
in alimony and more than $8,000 in interest.
None the worse for being stored in a gas tank, police
said, the coins were picked up by the special master a
few days ago.
Police say that Steiner currently faces no charges.
-- Times researcher Caryn Baird provided information
for this report.
OOPS...
Gas tank gold to burn off debts
Krugerrands worth $28,259 will go toward child support
and alimony after the man who hid them draws police
scrutiny.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 12, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST. PETERSBURG -- In times of uncertainty, some folks
stuff cash inside a mattress. James P. Steiner chose
the gas tank of his 1990 Dodge van.
That's where his 77 Krugerrands -- 1-ounce gold coins
worth $28,259 -- remained until Steiner decided it was
time to make a withdrawal.
Because banks don't handle this type of transaction,
he pulled in to the Tire Plus store on Tyrone
Boulevard. Mechanics removed the tank, and Steiner
began to withdraw his coins, each about the size of a
silver dollar.
That's when things started going bad for Steiner.
A bit suspicious, workers called police.
Steiner, 35, owed his ex-wife child support and did
not want her to know about the money, according to
police. He also had concerns about what the IRS would
do upon discovery of the Krugerrands, a gold coin of
South Africa, often used for investment.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Steiner refused to comment,
except to dispute the police report.
His ex-wife, though, had plenty to say.
Cathy Young said she was shocked that her former
husband "was driving around with $25,000, $26,000 in
his tank . . . and he hasn't even helped with the
kids."
Young, 34, said she married Steiner a month after she
turned 19, and the couple had two sons, now both
teenagers. She also has two daughters, one 3 and other
4 months old, with her second husband, Jim Young, 38,
a construction worker.
She recalled the day in early December when police
showed up at her door.
"He was arrested on Dec. 6, which I believe was a
Friday, and the police came to me that Sunday," she
said.
"The first officer that came out wouldn't tell me a
whole lot," she said. "He just said that my ex-husband
had been arrested with some gold coins and a large
amount of cash, and that the two officers handling the
case would contact me later that evening.
"The others came out and they had Polaroid pictures of
the coins in the evidence room," she said. "They had
them all laid out in a row . . . and they told me the
story."
According to St. Petersburg police, officers went to
Tire Plus at 2800 Tyrone Blvd. The mechanic had
removed the tank, and Steiner had retrieved the coins
and dropped them into a milk carton.
The store manager called the police to report the
incident and to say that Steiner was causing a
disturbance. Tire Plus employees declined to comment
Tuesday, but court records indicate Steiner was
annoyed because his car would not start.
When police arrived, they searched Steiner and his
vehicle. In addition to the Krugerrands, they found
$831 in his wallet and a shirt pocket.
Police said Steiner gave several versions of how he
acquired the coins, including that he had purchased
them and that they were a gift from his father. It was
unclear how long the coins had been in the gas tank.
According to the police report, Steiner "placed the
coins into the gas tank . . . because he was paranoid
about his ex-wife or someone else finding out."
Steiner, whom police reports say was unemployed at the
time, was arrested on outstanding warrants over unpaid
parking tickets and an altered temporary auto tag.
A few days later, during a child support hearing, the
court ordered the appointment of a special master to
sell the coins. The court said the sale should be
applied to the $19,640.14 in child support, $5.761.40
in alimony and more than $8,000 in interest.
None the worse for being stored in a gas tank, police
said, the coins were picked up by the special master a
few days ago.
Police say that Steiner currently faces no charges.
-- Times researcher Caryn Baird provided information
for this report.
OOPS...
