Richard James Verone, 59, unemployed, who apparently has a chest growth, two ruptured disks and a problem with his left foot, tried to rob a bank of $1 so he could be treated free as a prisoner. Verone, of North Carolina, USA, walked into an RBC Bank branch and handed over a note to a female worker demanding one dollar.

In the note he had written that he was armed.

Verone said he is hoping for a three-year sentence, the time he estimates his medical needs will take.

After handing over the note he is said to have sat down on a chair.

The bank teller dialed 911 and said on the phone “He’s sitting on the sofa as you walk in the front door.”

The police were called and arrested him; he had no weapon.

In a telephone interview from prison in Gaston County, North Carolina, Verone said that he is a logical person, and holding up a bank for one dollar was the only logic he could come up with.

Verone added:

“If it is called manipulation, then out of necessity because I need medical care, then I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care.”

As he was unarmed he will not be jailed for armed robbery. Larceny, which means theft, would probably only result in a one-year jail term.

Written by Christian Nordqvist