If that is the case they should be called on it. What he did was wrong but not to the extent of the $10,000 extortion they did with one of the other swimmers.

Should at the very least come with a hefty fine. False police reports get people killed. I don't feel the least bit sorry for him.

when people find locked doors in service stations.

Instead, they trash the place, then construct a witless, arrogant, insult to harm the people who didn't like their illegal destruction of the place, wrecking the door, ripping down soap dispensers attached to the wall, demolishing a sign they didn't like, (probably said "please ask a ttendant for keys&quot and left stinking pools of their heavenly US American pee around the place for some "unimportant" worker to labor with.

Maggots.

Who wouldn't swim like a dream if that's all he ever did from childhood, anyway? Pampered putz.

Last edited Thu Aug 25, 2016, 08:48 PM - Edit history (1)

I guess not. Photos don't show any damage to soap dispenser or the mirror. They only thing that was damaged was a small crack on a sign.

Someone's gotta stand up for those poor, broken spirits.

Look at the photo in usa today article. Jeez.

officials -- as they have also done with nine Australian athletes who they claimed "tampered with documents" in order to watch an Olympic basketball game. Each Aussie athlete was required to pay over 3k USD in order to leave the country!!! ONE of our swimmers was forced to pay over 11k in order to leave the country after this incident -- when the Rio officials themselves admitted that Lochte et al were in fact held at gunpoint and did hand over money ($150) to the security guard.

That is gross corruption and extortion. If our cops did that to international athletes we would be rightly criticized for it. I have no idea why the Rio officials are being excused for behavior that is very inappropriate.

I haven't seen a hint about that shocking robbery anywhere before you posted it here.

Thanks, in advance.

That they held there had to pay that fine to get out.

Is that less or more true than the extortion claim?

Poor, poor US Americans. They sure get kicked around a lot, don't they? Maybe we should consider taking over Brazil next.

Feigen said he slept through the incident, not wanting to have to corroborate Lochte's story.

The Australian officials had to go to the bank and get $3,100 USD for each athlete in order to get them out. Their offense was tampering with their credentials to get into a basketball game.

100k to bail all of them out! All they have done with these draconian penalties and bribes is confirm some of people's worst suspicions about their country. Those guilty of minor offenses like tearing a poster might as well be dealing with the the mafia.

Long before the swimmers were charged they mentioned under Brazil law, people can donate to charity to avoid charges for minor offenses which is what they chose to do.

Ridiculous to call it extortion when it comes to laws their applied to everyone. It isn't like Lochte is a diplomatic spy operating under diplomatic immunity.

He could have said no, but he didn't. In fact he finally admitted to being a criminal.

http://wpri.com/2016/08/19/2-us-swimmers-leave-rio-after-robbery-scandal-3rd-pays-fine/

A lawyer for another swimmer, James Feigen, said early Friday that the athlete had reached an agreement with a judge in which he planned to donate 35,000 Brazilian reals ($10,800) to an “institution” and leave the country later in the day.
Attorney Breno Melaragno said under the agreement, Feigen will make the donation, get his passport back and depart.
Melaragno did not specify where the money will go, but his use of the term “institution” can be taken to mean a charity. He said that under Brazilian law, a donation can be made to avoid criminal prosecution for minor offenses, but did not say what charge was being contemplated.

can not only withhold the passports but also disrupt their ability to travel outside the US for a long time if the fines aren't paid. I imagine the "institution" that the money went to was some judge's back pocket.

your just saying it. Here let me demonstrate, Many, many , many people have said, its being reported everywhere, that the judge was payed off. Now there is a orange sundae for you. Enjoy.

Most likely the fine is the same amount as rationalizing a privileged liar as anything but...

(six of one, half a dozen of the other-- and each as petulant as the other)

Yes, I guess he could have stayed up there.

Sorry but the Rio officials are guilty as sin -- demanding that athletes accused of misdemeanors -- U.S. athletes and Aussie athletes -- pay large amounts of $$$ before they are allowed to leave the country is extortion. Plain and simple.

...To a charity. The selected charity is the same one that helped a Brazilian gold medalist in Judo (who grew up in the City of God slum) get where she got.

The money does not go to the Brazilian police or their justice system. It's not a fine. It is just a law that allows these types of negotiations for these kinds of crimes.

The donation amount takes the person's income into consideration.

The alternative was community service, which was likely in the original deal.

what crime did Feigan commit?

...which converts to US$10,800.

Feigen had to show the receipt with the purchased material for the Projeto Reação charity that helps children in the Rio favelas.

The crime was lying to the authorities about a robbery that didn't happen.

The other two swimmers were not charged because they did not lie to the authorities and none of the swimmers were charged with vandalism because the store owner did not press charges.

If you were held at gunpoint by a couple of security guards demanding money, would you think YOU had been robbed?

And is was 31K US originally. When his lawyers balked, they threatened to raise it to 46K.
11K was the settled amount.

"Prosecutors initially sought $31,500 for the return of Feigen’s passport that would allow him to leave the country. When Feigen’s lawyers balked at that figure, prosecutors raised the fine to $46,875"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/24/jimmy-feigen-statement-rio-olympics-gas-station-swimmers-incident-release-negotiations/89245930/

Is the fact that the guards also have a side in this story. One of them spoke with Jornal Nacional (nightly news for the Brazilian's Globo network) as soon as the whole brouhaha came out claiming that he only pulled the gun when one of the swimmers started acting more agressively. The guards claimed they were intimidated by the size of the swimmers and thought it could go down to a physical fight.

The translator said that the guards would likely let the swimmers go with an apology and that the swimmers were the ones who offered to pay to avoid calling the police.

Saying that the guards used guns to extort $50 from the swimmers does not sound believable to me. I am not saying that there is no possibility that the guards acted like vigilantes, I am just saying it does not seem likely given all the accounts.

If the swimmers in fact believed they were being robbed then language is likely the culprit, with the translator doing a piss poor job in his attempt to help.

The US won't extradite him over as misdeminor.

Just avoid Brazil in the future, and that's no big loss.

with Dilma Rousseff years ago.

by her own government which is probably why there's no one minding the store in Rio which is clearly out of control:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/world/americas/brazil-impeachment-dilma-rousseff.html?_r=0

for the rest of your life, you have to worry about being arrested and extradited to Brazil. But then again perhaps this will help spare the rest of the world from Lochte's "ugly American" antics.

this are worse than anything the swimmers did.

and getting his teammates in trouble. Lauer shamed him for leaving his teammates behind but all he did was leave on his scheduled flight home. He apologized for it anyway.

I think a diplomatic effort to put a stop to this is warranted. They were there representing the US and don't deserve the outrageous fines.

good start.

...in relation to Brazil's exclusion for the visa waiver program.

The fine for being a Brazilian visitor to the US starts at $160.

But do try to stay focused on how you believe this diplomatic effort would play out.

for them to drop this. That's all I'm saying.

And if they keep it up they will inevitably get some pushback from one or more of the 3 countries whose citizens they have so far molested, being US, Republic of Ireland and Australia, and that's just from reading DU. This is really getting out of hand.

Statements from a silly premise deserves a silly answer.

The US State Department warns US tourists and visitors to observe the local laws.

Any money that Feigen had to pay falls within Brazilian written law.

The idea that the US would pursue anything here because of Feigen having to pay money to a charity is extremely dumb. I mean, beyond stupid! You don't even need to argue or waste your time falling prey to an endless debate.

It is the duty of the US State Department to provide consular assistance to all US citizens traveling abroad, including the athletes in this case. It's a given. No one is refuting that.

But you don't seem to think that is enough.

So it goes back to the question of what else do you suggest the US State Department should do? The swimmers are subject to local laws and everything so far is going according to the local laws.

You can go to any travel literature written by the State Department and you will see a warning:

And there would be a small claims lawsuit, but no fine for the damage.

"They were there representing the US..."

I don't think changing a story twice is accurately representing the US. But let's continue pretending we know who does or does not deserve what, as it's a fun game that strokes our biases.

just blabbed to a reporter. Mental note: do not go near. Ever.

I can't grasp how they can make the leap legally since nothing was actually reported.

Is the message they're sending. Granted, Rio is not Tijuana, but Olympic athletes are not drunken sailors and shouldn't be treated like pond scum.

Source: BBC

Whoever is right... NOT making public statements is a very good plan for idiot Ryan Lochte.