An update on the story I first mentioned here.

To refresh your memory (or check above link), contractor Robert Kitts found lots of antique cash (worth $500K+ to collectors) stuffed in the walls he was tearing out, then got into a dispute with the owner, Amanda Reece, about ownership of the loot. Identifying mark “P. Dunne” was found on the packages of bills. Court date was set.

Now an initial hearing has been had on the matter, reported in a nice article here.

Heirs of P. Dunne have been located by genealogist Ray Whitaker, who finds people for a living. Their attorney has now entered the fray.

At the hearing in early February, Magistrate Judge Charles Brown was informed that most of the money was gone. From the article:

Brown turned to Reece. “How much is left?”

“About $18,000,” Reece said sheepishly. It was stashed in her 71-year-old mother’s safety deposit box in South Carolina. She refused to say how she spent it.

It wasn’t noted in the article whether there were any punitive measures in the offing for Reece’s spending of the money. If she did “spend” it, she sure got a bad exchange rate, the money being worth about triple its face value to collectors. Perhaps if no court had ordered her not to spend it, she could do so without consequences. Could Kitts’ lawyer have obtained an injunction? If the money (or part of it) is found to have belonged to someone else, the true owner(s) may have a civil remedy (lawsuit) against Reece for her reckless spending while she knew ownership was in dispute.

The remainder of the funds were ordered placed in a lock box, only accessible by the lawyers involved. A new court date (presumably for a trial) is being set. More reports from me when I get news.

B