Here are a few of the dumbest ways to bribe people!
10 - The Rapper Crayshaun Bates,
known as hip hop artist "Lil Cray," tried to bribe two police deputies with
$35,000 cash for them not to arrest him. In January 2017, Lil Cray called the police saying
that he had a flat tire and was going to miss his court-ordered curfew. He was slurring his speech,
so police went to his home, where they found Lil Cray drunk and gambling with eight others
while free on bond. He challenged the police officer's ability to give him a
breathalyzer test, but when he finally agreed, they discovered a blood alcohol content of .119.
Lil Cray was brought back to jail on a $10,000 bond. He was
so drunk that they had to take his mugshot while he slept on a bench.
Lil Cray's rap sheet was already long. He was out on bond for trying to "take some
out" in Cleveland, and this was his third arrest while out on bail. Prosecutors claim
he was gang-affiliated, making them extra diligent when handling his case.
Some of the irony in this is that a judge allowed Lil Cray to shoot a music video in his courtroom,
even though the judge was aware of the rapper's pending charges and criminal record. Judge Ryan
stood by his decision, saying "everyone is innocent until proven guilty," but
admitted that allowing Lil Cray to film in a courtroom wasn’t one of his wisest decisions.
Lil Cray has opened for T.I, and was asked to perform at SXSW. He’s quickly making a
name for himself in hip-hop but not making the best impression on law enforcement.
9 - La Mexicana Lorena Aguirre proved there
are many ways to become internet famous after crashing into several parked cars in Guanajuato,
Mexico. Still tipsy from her drunk-driving spree, officers had to hold her up while
walking her away from the scene of the accident. Her arrest, however, gave her 200,000 followers
on social media, a new internet identity, and even a mobile game. And it cost her about $5.
Lorena collided with a series of parked cars while driving heavily intoxicated.
Luckily, no one was injured by her actions. When the police arrived,
Lorena was still sitting in her car, dazed and confused by what was happening around her.
As the police began questioning Lorena after her initial crash, Lorena tried bribing her way out
of trouble. She flashed a 100 peso note to the cops. Even though 100 pesos sounds like a lot,
it's only worth a little over $5. Apparently, the cops weren’t enticed by this hefty sum. She then
tried flirting a bit with the arresting officers, but the cops still forced her to exit her vehicle.
The strangeness of her arrest led to Lorena becoming an Internet
star, gaining 200,000 followers, and trending on Twitter with the hashtag
#Lady100Pesos. Someone even made a mobile app where the objective was to avoid being
arrested by throwing peso notes at oncoming cops. Maybe Lorena should
try more than the cost of a deli sandwich the next time she wants to bribe some officers.
8 - The Health Inspector Brothers John and Jack DiSanto,
alongside their cousin Robert Cuba, own three restaurants on the same city street in Brooklyn,
NY. These three men thought they could try to get a tip-off on when their next surprise inspections
would be and hatched a scheme that required a Department of Health employee to play along.
The plan was to bribe the DOH employee with $1000 worth of entries into their
Super Bowl betting pool, which could pay up to $50,000 to the winner. All the employee
had to do was to give the trio a weeks' notice before any surprise inspection.
However, the flaw in their plan was the integrity of the employee they got in contact with. He
immediately reported the bribe to his superiors, and an investigation began on the trio. One of
the owners kept a text conversation going with an undercover investigator, even meeting them
in person twice. Between the two meetings, the investigator collected $16,000 in bribe money!
According to Brooklyn police, surprise inspections can be grueling for restaurant owners. Failing
health inspections can lead to hefty fines or even restaurant closures, but they ultimately
help keep restaurants clean and safe for families to dine. All three restaurants
owned by the DiSantos brothers and Robert had "A" health ratings, with minimal violations.
With the evidence collected and the investigation complete,
Brooklyn police arrested the three owners and took them to court. They were released
without bail and were due back in court in January 2022. The story fizzled out
after they were caught. Perhaps they bribed the papers not to cover their court case?
7 - The Maître D Restaurant owners and staff
members discovered last summer that bribes can come in many different shapes and sizes,
especially in Southampton, NY. As COVID restrictions began to lift,
there was a surge in restaurant attendance, and reservation lists were flooded.
Mitch Modell, former CEO of Modell's Sporting Goods, tried to get a table at 75 Main,
a high-end restaurant in Southampton. The bar was full to the brim, and wait times for a
table stood at two hours. Mitch began to hand out tips to the hosts and servers, hoping to
boost his spot on the waitlist. He ended up handing out hundreds of dollars, to no avail,
until offering to cover the bill of two women landed him a spot at their table. He joined their
party along with five of his friends, leaving a sea of angry diners in the line behind them.
Reservation lists have become a battlefield as guests are giving high-end bribes to staff
members to guarantee their spots or move up their reservation dates. These bribes include
NASCAR tickets, helicopter rides, flights in private planes, boat trips,
and concert tickets. Some guests even bring envelopes full of cash to bribe the staff.
According to a regular at Le Bilboquet in Sag Harbor, a manager for the restaurant took a small
voyage on a guest's yacht and spent the afternoon in the golf clubhouse the guest attended.
Ian Duke, the owner of Southampton Social Club,
was offered $3000 from a guest who only wanted a table for the after-dinner drink service.
So if you're trying to get a reservation at any high-end New York restaurants anytime soon,
be prepared to shell out your life savings worth in tips.
6 - The Landlord In December 2015,
tenants of an apartment building in Bushwick, New York, awoke to an aggressive banging on
their doors. A man was marching up and down the four-story building, screaming
that everyone had 72 hours to evacuate. If they didn't comply, the man threatened the tenants
would be taken away in handcuffs. Many of the elderly residents were scared for their lives.
But it turned out to be a ruse devised by the landlord and two inspectors from
New York City's Department of Housing and Urban Development.
It was all part of a bribery scandal involving dozens of city employees.
Court documents revealed that landlords
paid inspectors to fabricate building code violations and other complaints.
Some of the payoffs were only for a few hundred bucks, which doesn't seem worth it.
The city website showed more than 50 unsolved violations for the building, including leaks,
lead paint hazards, cold water, bedbugs, and much more. With enough violations,
the tenants could be served with an order to vacate, thus freeing up the space for new tenants.
The landlord of the Bushwick building wanted his tenants out. It's unclear why,
but perhaps it's because Bushwick is becoming a
gentrified, valuable neighborhood whose buildings can be revamped and rented or sold
at much higher prices. When tenants didn't pay their rent on time, he was eager to kick them out.
Investigators conducted a wiretap into the landlord's
phone and discovered that he paid inspectors $700 to pretend there was a vacate order.
The landlord and both inspectors pleaded not guilty.
5 - The Fan When police in New Mexico
spotted a Texas truck swerving in and out of lanes, they pulled the driver over and
discovered he had been drinking and driving. The driver, Tyler Handley, openly admitted to
driving drunk after coming from a sports bar where he was watching the Dallas Cowboys game.
Handley was decked out in Cowboys gear and refused to take a sobriety test.
While the officer checked Handley's belongings, Handley made him an offer.
He asked if the officer's body camera was on and then offered him $10,000 cash if he let him go.
What would've been a misdemeanor DWI then turned into a felony bribery charge.
Handley was taken to the police station, where his behavior shocked police.
He tried to pee on the floor, break the handcuffs and insulted officers. This was Handley's third
DWI charge. We bet it coincides with how the Cowboys play on any given Sunday.
4 - The Sharer In another shocking police bribery case,
one man tried to get out of a DUI by offering the police officer a beer. Lazaro Hernandez was pulled
over at around 3 AM for trying to pass an officer who was directing traffic near a car accident.
Hernandez said he thought the traffic officer was waving him through when
he passed. When he was pulled over at a traffic stop, a police officer smelled
alcohol on his breath and administered a field sobriety test. Hernandez defended himself,
saying that he had a drink 13 hours before. He got increasingly more upset
as he performed poorly in the sobriety test and eventually refused to do the walking portion.
The officer placed him under arrest for a DUI. While sitting in the back of the patrol car,
he tried to hand the officer a beer and, when that didn't work, $400
cash. He was trying to negotiate the impending DUI charge to "super speeding."
The officer refused the bribe and took Hernandez to the county jail,
where he was charged with driving under the influence, bribery,
open container, reckless driving, and failure to obey authorized persons directing traffic.
3 - The Vaccine Lovers Sometimes, bribery and public health
lines get blurry, especially during Covid-19. In January 2022, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot
tweeted a picture of stacks of cash spelling out the words, "Get vax'd," to encourage citizens to
get vaccinated. Lightfoot has been serious about the Covid-19 public health crisis, but this was
seen as a pathetic attempt to convince people to do something in exchange for precisely $826.
She previously mandated vaccines for all Chicago city workers unless they were willing
to get tested twice per week. She also issued a vaccine mandate for numerous business patrons,
especially for gyms, restaurants, and entertainment venues. She threatened to
shut down businesses that didn't enforce the vaccine mandate for their customers.
But this recent tweet was met with laughter rather than respect. But Lightfoot isn't
the only one to incentivize people to get vaccinated. Many states offered
jackpots and grand prizes in the millions of dollars for people who got the Covid vaccine.
Private companies got on the bandwagon as well, with Krispy Kreme offering free donuts
to vaccinated patrons and Uber and Lyft offering free rides to people on their way to get the shot.
But for some people, it will take a lot more than $826 to get the jab.
2 - The Philosopher Florida police charged Arielle
Engert, a philosophy student at the University of Florida, with driving under the influence of drug
charges after she was pulled over for weaving her car around Clearwater, FL, early in the morning.
Arielle failed several field sobriety tests, and the police found that her blood alcohol
content was over double the legal amount for being behind the wheel. The police arrested
her when they discovered a small amount of drugs in her purse, adding possession to the charge.
Once at the county jail, Arielle was determined to
bribe her way out of the misdemeanors. She offered Deputy Brian Sudbrink certain adult
favors if he'd dismiss the charges and let her go. The offer gave Arielle her first bribery charge.
While in County Jail, the police discovered another small bag of narcotics tucked into
Arielle's bra, giving her two more felony charges for possession and bringing illegal substances
into a detention facility. She then made two more attempts to bribe the police to let her go,
making the same offer to Munoz and Biddle's deputies. Two bribery charges later,
Arielle was freed from custody after posting a $5000 bond.
In the end, Arielle racked up a DUI charge, marijuana possession, narcotics possession,
narcotics transport into the county jail, and three different bribery charges to add to her
criminal record. This wasn't her first charge for drunk driving and possession, according
to police records, so it's probably safe to say it won't be her last time being charged either.
1 - The Restaurateur Apparently, Ann Pizitz
missed all those roadside billboards warning about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Police caught up with Ann on August 3, 2019.
But what should've been a misdemeanor turned into a felony and a much higher penalty to pay.
Starting as a food truck and growing to a franchise, Ann co-founded Melt,
a grilled-cheese restaurant with several locations in Alabama.
A concerned citizen called the police complaining about a reckless driver. When
the police arrived to investigate, they found Ann in her black Mercedes driving rather erratically.
They pulled her over to find her texting and reeking of alcohol.
She failed several field sobriety tests and refused to take a breathalyzer.
Now, this would be a pretty run-of-the-mill DUI charge. However, once Ann arrived at
the Madison County jail, she made one last attempt to get out of trouble.
She offered one of the officers $1000 to forget this happened and let her walk,
even threatening the stability of the officer's position as a public
servant. The grilled cheese queen of Alabama thought she had some pull in local government.
The bribe upped the ante, although she was heavily intoxicated when she made the offer.
Unfortunately for Ann, the officer she bribed had his body cam rolling, capturing the whole
thing on camera. According to jail records, the attempted bribe raised her bail to $6000.
Unable to pay up, she spent the night in jail. Moral of the story?
When billboards tell you not to drink and drive, listen!
Click to watch one of these next videos!
And let us know in the comment section how much you think is appropriate to
“tip” when it comes to getting in clubs and restaurants!