GoFundMe Raises Money For A Bank Robber: The Tragic Case of Mr. Smith

In 2015 a man named Thomas Smith was released from prison after serving nearly 14 years for a bank robbery committed in 2002. Eager to start his new life in the free world, Smith begins looking for work. He eventually lands a job at a Wal-Mart supercenter in New York. All was going well for the ex-con until right as it seemed he was gaining momentum in his life he gets abruptly fired from his job for a seemingly petty reason. Smith's firing would catch the attention of the local media, resulting in an outpouring of support from around the country via social media. From kind words to donations, Smith got it all. While this seems like a straightforward internet helps a man in need story, it is far from it. As later a shocking development would come forward that made many feel as if their faith in this man was misplaced. This is the story of Thomas Smith.

[gripen]

the ironic thing is, he got more money from the fundraiser than the robberies

[Banshee_Queen]

I’m a recovered addict. You don’t give an addict that much money. They 8/10 times will think once won’t hurt and it’s game over.

[matchingbird]

I once accidentally stole a water bottle from my school thinking they were giving them out for free when they were actually selling them for an event. At the time I thought the right thing to do was pay them back which I did but now I realize the correct action is for me to expel myself. This action is truly unforgivable.

[EckhartsLadder]

Bro imagine firing someone for cleaning extra shit up lol

[QuestionYourWorld]

I worked at Walmart when they started cracking down on associates for collecting recycling out of the parking lot trash cans. They collect and separate those cans so they to recycle and collect profit. Shortly after, they stopped letting customers/employees have cardboard boxes because it affected their profits using their bailer for recycling.

[swishyfish]

I’d still love to find out what happened to the “thicker than a bowl of oatmeal” guy :P

[scionixx]

After hearing he was robbing banks I knew it was drugs. You can’t just give people a ton of money in this situation like that and always expect it to go well.

[Shane-bzsy]

I guarantee you the Walmart didn’t pay for the background check for this man. They then heard that he was an ex-con and found any reason they could to fire him. Legally

[hattrick]

I love the chill aesthetic of your set. The warm colors of the salt and lava lamps with the blue tapestry is a very nice combo

[charredolive]

A company would look at it like: We told him to do the carts, but instead he was trying to do another job at the same time as his current one. Really sucks that jobs would prefer you do less instead of more. Managers love to throw out the “That’s not your job” card all the time when they’re in the wrong.

[persontheguy]

you have such a smooth way of staying non opinionated in the beginning of moral stories like these and it’s perfect

[amyd]

I got fired from Dollar Store for donating items that would be thrown away. I did everything the way the training said: to have the organization’s tax number, and scan each item. Unfortunately, my manager was not trained properly, lost the tax number, and she didn’t scan every item. I was facing lawsuit, and had to pay $150 to dollar store. The items were holiday decorations that were priced at $0.01 each, but I was charged full price for the items. They probably spent more money taking me to court. The church I donated the items to used the decorations for children’s parties.

[dragon_ninja_]

As a cart that has been working at Walmart for the past 3 years, I want to add another takeaway. The job really does suck. Working in the hot summers, cold winters, and even rain and snow. Not good pay for all the all hard work done, and basically being treated like shit since were seen as grunts. In some cases more so than the people in the store. All I ask is that if you could, try to make our jobs a bit more easier by putting the carts in the right places and once in awhile thank us for our backbreaking work please. Oh try not to get in our way, thank you.

[SenhorKoringa]

“Save money, screw people over, Walmart.”

[localmenace]

I had a relative that worked as a cart-pusher for Wally’s for a few years. It really messed up his back, and the horrible cold didn’t help (we lived in AK… bad winters). Absolutely wouldn’t recommend it. He got basically pennies for the physical labor he gave them.

[tomgola]

Ouch. Worst I had happen to me was when someone I thought was a friend at the time opened a campaign for his sick mom. He raised a few grand, next day he's showing off his fancy Rolex.

[ShadowDemon_]

I'm autistic so getting a job is a bit tough for me. I eventually went into a program that teaches you how to get a job and what not and they were able to get me a job at the grocery store near my house. It was a tough change. They were supposed to teach me multiple jobs such as stocking the shelves, janitorial work, backroom stuff and so on but one day they called me into the office and just told me to go home and not to come into work tomorrow. It wasn't until later that I called them and they straight up said I was fired despite not teaching me even half of what was expected and with no reason given. Their excuse was that they sent out paperwork explaining it all but that some how got lost.

[DEADisBEAUTIFUL]

If he’d been offered a job rather than a large sum of money, things may have ended up with the “happy ending” everyone was looking to see. It’s not that he didn’t deserve the help that was given to him, but the help he received didn’t serve the right purpose. It’s like when large groups of people get together, haul all the materials needed to build a house or school or whatever to an impoverished place, and construct the building. That’s nice and all, but it would’ve been more helpful if they’d hired the people who live in the impoverished area to do the work and bought that materials needed from that area. The people would benefit more. Kind of like “give a man a fish, but teach a man to fish…”

[naadeiashie]

That wig disguise was super funny. Ik I wasn't supposed to laugh at this segment of the video but I couldn't help myself

[Trauson]

Imagine someone doing a crowdfund to play Payday in real life oh