When Leona Helmsley died, she left $12 million to her yappy little dog, Trouble.
Recently, Trouble had to flee her home in Manhattan and go into isolation in a secure compound in Florida after receiving death and kidnapping threats.
Trouble, dubbed the "rich bitch" by some of her detractors, has apparently been laying low for several weeks...There is perhaps a limit to the amount of sympathy one can feel for the dog, due partly to the knowledge that she travels on a private jet, has her own winter home as well as a dedicated team of servants and security guards.
What, exactly, are the criminal penalties for the theft of a dog? I'm guessing not a lot. And how many of those presumably low-paid servants do you think are secretly resentful of the wealthy dog's soft life? I'm guessing most of them.
If you were a criminal, how hard do you think it would be to recruit an insider to help out on a kidnapping plot?
The penalty for stealing the cur would be minimal. However, making a ransom demand elevates the offense to extortion, which would result in serious trouble for the trouble of taking Trouble. So, unless the muttnapper plans on keeping the bitch, or selling her to a Korean restaurant, it's best to let this particular sleeping dog lie.
Posted by: Conrad | 12/04/2007 at 10:22 AM