DVTimes

The founder of online illegal drug marketplace ?The Silk Road?, Ross Ulbricht, has been sentenced to life in prison.

Prosecutors say that his dark web site sold more than $200m (£131m) worth of drugs anonymously.

[LINK]

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Nitzer Ebb

A bit overkill I think. Life time?

Joshua G

after reading the wired articles, seems like a well meaning but misguided soul.

& a dumbass.

kane

I started out thinking he was well meaning, but a bit misguided until he started paying people to kill those who might be trouble to him. At that point we found out who he really is.

Atticus

Prosecution conveniently dropped those charges after he was denied bail because of them. And dropped them because they had no proof whatsoever it had occurred.

Just a way to screw the guy even more, this time in the court of public opinion and bail. And based on your comment, worked like a charm.

kane

I am basing my information on what I read in the bit Wired article which made it seem like the charges were dropped because one of the people involved was a DEA agent who also turned out to be blackmailing Ross. In the other instance he supposedly contacted Hell's Angels and paid them to kill people, but they just took his money and either faked the murders or just ignored his orders. Of course, since all of this was done via Bitcoin and through encrypted chat would hard to know for sure exactly what happened.

This is a excerpt from the Wired story in regards to the murder stuff."Ross, who declined to be interviewed for this story, was not charged with any murders. The case involving Green, which came out of Baltimore, was a separate indictment. (It is still pending.) The New York case dropped the five other murders after further investigation revealed that the whole thing was likely an elaborate catfish-as-blackmail scheme that snookered Ross out of a lot of money. But in all cases, the prosecution argued, Ross believed he was executing people, even receiving photographic evidence faked to prove it. For dramatic effect, the prosecutors read aloud selections of Ross? conversations where he sounded like a heartless mafia boss."

It sounds like they at least had evidence that he tried to carry out murder for hire plots.

georgeyw

*sounds*, what?

So prosecution ask for greater than 20 years and the judge just goes nah fuck it i'll do what I want even if ti is massively out of proportion to sentence he was facing?

Then just makes up a figure of what he has to pay in restitution so they can nab all the loot ?

What exactly are they going to achieve with this sentence?

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kane

In most cases judges have the ability to sentence based on guidelines. The charges this guy was accused and convicted of came with a mandatory minimum of 20 years. There is also a max and the judge can go up to that max.

Personally, I think all drugs should be legal and people should be able to buy them on sites like the Silk Road. However, that is not the current law. If you don't like the law you can work within the system to change it. If you choose to break the law and you get caught you face the penalties of doing so.

As for what will this sentence achieve. . . .absolutely nothing. It is the government trying to send a message and it never works.

georgeyw

After a little more reading, I am going to assume the judge assigned the maximum + whatever they felt as there was no precedent and also assumed it would be appealed down. ? Sound about right ?

I am of the same opinion, don't take drugs, however don't see why it is so ridiculously governed. As a mate just said to me, prohibition obviously isn't working, cannot stop dickheads from being dickheads no matter what laws and punishments you lay out.

Agreed with regards to the sentence achieving nothing, more $ wasted on placing a guy in a concrete box. I can imagine all the jerk offs in the FBI slapping dicks thinking they made a difference now.

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kane

The guy's lawyer has said they will appeal, so I won't be shocked to see the sentenced reduced at least some. He also said they will ask for a new trial, which isn't uncommon in a case like this.

I agree fully with you about Prohibition. The war on drugs has been a total failure. All we have done is made them more dangerous to get and put a bunch of people who are junkies in jail.

I imagine those involved in catching him were full on jerking each other off lol.

JIBCONTENT

You read about his multiple orders to kill people including the innocent roommates of foes (who did him no harm) and you said to yourself - Aw what a well meaning man

L-Pink

He knew the severity of everything he did, and did it anyway. Now he's whining for leniency. Douche-bag

mineistaken

Even without murders and stuff - how can you be well meaning if you create drugs, guns and whatever else marketplace?

Biggy

Yep. the government clearly wanted to make an example out of a guy who publicly stuck his middle finger up to them. How many Silk Road copycats are out there now? They now know what their fate is if they get caught.

I'll never forget him doing that interview close to the pinnacle of the Silk Road, saying how he'll never be caught.

dyna mo

this wasn't an example sentencing. the guy was an international drug dealer that facilitated 100s of millions of dollars in illicit drug deals from heroin to meth, and he got a cut of each and every deal.

that's why he got life in prison.

Joshua G

uh no, the dumbass part was intended as the container for his misdeeds like this. its clear he's a nice guy type, misguided about the dangers of drugs, that got in over his head, & did dumbass things when he got rich. pretty spot on.

EddyTheDog

kane

How is a guy that tries to pay to have several people killed a nice guy type who is just misguided? If all he did was run the site I could see how he just got in over his head, but once he started trying to have people killed that took things to a whole new level.

Joshua G

feds witnessed ross saving cat out of tree while running drug site. he conducted his personal life as a nice guy, didnt commit other crimes or beat people. is it a stretch that a nice guy can do awful things while anonymous online?

kane

A guy who hires people to kill other people so he can maintain his online drug empire is not a good person. Hitler likely loved his pet, does that make him a good person?