Larceny - The Crime of Illegal Possession
What is larceny? It is the illegal taking of another
person's personal property with the intent of completely depriving
him/her of it. Larceny is often not seen as a vicious crime but it is
when you consider the value of the item taken and its effect on the
person(s) from which it was taken.
Larceny
involves taking goods
without a person’s permission
and intending to keep them. It isn’t a crime of ownership but
possession.
Larceny doesn’t apply to land or services rendered.
Say,
you take your car to the
mechanic to be fixed. Whether you
sign a job order or engage in a verbal agreement to have it fixed, your
car is
assumed to be in your mechanic’s legal possession
temporarily. If you take your car home
without your mechanic’s consent,
you could be charged with larceny. Possession of the car becomes the
subject of
the case. The unpaid bill for services rendered is another matter.
The
same holds true if you take
your pet to the vet and
reclaim your pet without the vet’s consent. However, under US
law, larceny
doesn’t apply to wild animals because they’re NEVER
the property of any citizen
no matter where they’re found. You may then be subject to
other charges for
keeping wild animals.
Recent
Incidents of Larceny
The
FBI files are filled with
famous cases of larceny —
often of notorious bank robbers charged with burglary and/or breaking
and
entering and larceny. Many of these cases, however, occurred many years
ago
(e.g., 1950s Brinks Robbery).
Recent
larceny cases seem to
involve white-collar offenders.
The famous Tyco grand larceny case for instance, which was widely
documented
from 2003 to 2004 in news stories, appeared like a page out of
Lifestyles of the Rich and (In)famous!
Tyco
execs were shown at a
$2-million toga bash cum
hedonistic party. They also made the company pay, among other things:
- $2,200 for a
trash can.
- $6,000 for a
shower curtain.
- $15,000 for
an umbrella holder.
- $30,000 for
opera glasses.
The
Tyco honchos forgave loans
and hid bonuses to themselves
and pumped up company stock by lying about Tyco’s financial
standing.
The
judge declared a mistrial
in 2004 after one juror
received threats for taking the side of the Tyco execs. But Tyco CEO,
Dennis
Kozlowski, is still facing charges for tax evasion.
Larceny
- Types & Penalties
Larceny
is a kind of theft.
Grand and petty larceny are
distinguished from one another by some US states based on the value of
goods.
Grand larceny is punishable by state prison time, while the penalty for
petty
larceny is normally a county jail sentence.
The
term
“grand” applies to different amounts across states.
In New York, for instance, the grand larceny limit is $1,000. In other
states,
that limit goes down to $200 in cash, checks, or valuables —
or even $5 if
stolen from a person by a pickpocket or robber.
Grand
larceny is often attached
to a much harsher penalty.
But some US states don’t use the term
“grand” and only refer to the crime as
larceny. The gravity of the punishment depends on whether the crime is
a:
- Felony,
where the amount is above the felony limit for larceny and involves
sentencing to a state prison plus fines.
- Misdemeanor,
where the amount falls below the felony limit for larceny and involves
sentencing to a local jail, or perhaps a fine determined by the value
of stolen property.
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