An unassuming bank manager who went missing in North Queensland is alleged to have made “full and frank admissions” to police about a missing $3 million from the community bank in which he worked.
The disappearance and subsequent arrest of bank manager Colin Carleton is a kind of crime story more fascinating than a heist pulled off by a gang of hardened criminals. The Courier Mail reports that Carelton is widely described as “quiet, down-to-earth, family man”.
Carleton’s alleged theft only came to light in the last few months, and is thought have taken place over a decade. He was due to meet with private investigators looking at financial irregularities at his Bendigo Community Bank when he disappeared on July 13, last seen going for a trail bike ride in the Herberton Ranges.
This type of allegation against people like Carleton’s are more shocking because they involve the type of people we know. Psychologically we can turn criminal gangs into the kinds of creatures we can’t empathise with, but Carelton is not only one of our community but someone in a position of implicit trust. Which leads to the awkward question: what would we be capable of if left in a similar position?
It has all the elements of suburban existential thriller. The allegations are the kind of story the Cohen brothers have frequently explored in films like The Man Who Wasn’t There and Fargo: normal people who lose complete control of their lives and start committing crimes from which there is no point of return.
Or is a potentially criminal personality type always necessary (as in Matt Damon’s The Informant) with a person merely needing the necessary position of power and access to explore their criminal potential?
Either way script writers from around the world must already be pitching this one.
In other news a NSW teenager was shot dead on the weekend after he was mistaken for a deer during a hunting trip. The 19-year-old from Thurgoona was shot and killed by a single shot from a rifle while hunting with two friends at a deserted property near Tallangatta in northern Victoria, the Herald Sun reported.
American celebrity news website TMZ are reporting that police are now investigating the possibility that actor Brittany Murphy and her script writer husband could have been killed by mould in their house. Murphy and her husband Simon Monjack died several months apart, reportedly pneumonia was the cause of death for both of them. Mould is often linked with respiratory illness and police are investigating the possibility that mould in the couple’s LA house was responsible for the deaths.
Snooker legend Alex “Hurricane” Higgins is reported to have starved himself to death, a friend told Britain’s Daily Mirror in an interview. Higgins had reportedly refused to eat in the last moths of his life after being forced to survive on pureed food and Guiness after cancer treatment.
In more upbeat news Britain’s oldest newly married couple have tied the knot, the Daily Mail reports. Henry Kerr, 97, and his bride Valerie Berkowitz, 87, were married on the weekend in the aged care home where they live. Henry reportedly asked Valerie over a cup of tea, but was not given an answer immediately saying she would need more time to think about it.
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
RT @popculturechris: Meanwhile, Gotye holds no.1 for a sixth massive week in the US - "that" song has now sold over 4 million copies there.
I like how a tip erodes so only you can use it MT “@paulwiggins: BBC News - Why are fountain pen sales rising? http://t.co/0hk2MRtf”
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
Protecting the Barrier Reef is the Fin end of the wedge
When you take on a job like being Environment Minister there’s some hits you can see coming. …
ICB: Is white bread the worst thing since sliced bread?
Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit column. It’s a regular column that looks at skulduggery…
Sometimes, you’ve just got to stick it to the bloody ref
We are taught early in life that we should not question authority. We must listen to our parents, our…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Most commented