Judge Orders $1 Million Returned to Exotic Dancer

A federal judge has ruled that Nebraska cops must return over $1 million confiscated at a traffic stop from a woman who saved the money $1 at a time during her 15 year career as an exotic dancer.

The money belongs to Tara Mishra, 33, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., who began putting aside her earnings when she started dancing at age 18, according to an opinion U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon wrote last week. The money was meant to start her business and get out of the stripping business, the judge wrote.

State troopers confiscated the money in March 2012 when they pulled over Rajesh and Marina Dheri, of Montville, N.J., for speeding in Nebraska, according to court documents. The Dheris are friends of Mishra and had been given the cash so they could buy a nightclub in New Jersey. Mishra would own half of the business and the Dheris would own the other half.

Mishra had packaged the money in $10,000 bundles tied with hair bands and placed in plastic bags, and it was stashed in the trunk of the Dheri's rented car, which the Dheris were driving to Chicago. When they were pulled over for speeding, a state trooper asked the Dheris if he could search their vehicle, which they allowed, Bataillon explained.
The state trooper found the money and after suspecting it was drug money took the Dheris into custody, according to the judge's opinion. But police did not find any evidence of drug activity in the car and a K-9 analysis found only trace elements of illegal drugs on the cash, according to Bataillon.
Neither Mishra nor the Dheris could not be reached for comment.
"The government failed to show a substantial connection between drugs and the money," Bataillon wrote in his opinion. "The dog sniff is inconsequential…The court finds the Mishras' story is credible…Ms. Mishra did have control over the money and directed the Dheris to deliver the money to New Jersey for the purchase of the business."
Bataillon ordered that Mishra receive cash or a check in the value of $1,074,000 with interest.

Odyssey Exploration recovers silver from shipwreck

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Odyssey Senior Project Managers Andrew Craig and Ernie Tapanes inspect the first silver bar recovered in 2013 from the SS Gairsoppa site, which lies 4,700 meters deep 300 miles off the coast of Galway, Ireland.  In July of 2013 from the site, which yielded 1,574 (60 tons) silver ingots. In July of 2012, Odyssey also recovered 1,218 (48 tons) silver ingots from the site. 

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A U.S. deepwater salvage and exploration company said on Monday that it has recovered more than 61 tons of silver bullion this month from a British cargo ship that was torpedoed during World War II.
Odyssey Marine Exploration said the recovery includes 1,574 silver ingots weighing about 1,100 ounces each. The silver was recovered from a depth of nearly three miles, and marks a record for the deepest and largest precious metal recovery from a shipwreck, the company said.
The company said the silver has been moved to a secure facility in the U.K. It said its contract with the U.K. Department of Transport calls for the company to retain 80 percent of the salvaged value of the cargo. At current prices, the silver would be worth over $35 million.
The SS Gairsoppa is a 412-foot steel-hulled British cargo ship sunk in 1941 by a German U-boat about 300 miles off Ireland's coast. It sits 15,420 feet deep.
Odyssey said 2,792 silver ingots have now been recovered from the Gairsoppa, which is more than 99 percent of the insured silver reported to be aboard the ship when it sank.
The company said sources including Lloyd's record of War Losses show that uninsured government-owned silver may have been aboard the ship, but so far, no uninsured silver has been found.
Odyssey used remote vehicles to recover the silver. The company said the recovery was complicated by the size and structure of the Gairsoppa, and the latest silver was stored in a small compartment that was difficult to access.