Great-Granny was strip-searched ....

Hello Drannhh, Granny really bathed in her sheathe? Wow, that is a big difference from today's society. I do wonder though, where was she bathing? If she didn't have indoor plumbing, and was bathing outdoors, or in an uninsulated home, then I don't blame her for wearing her sheathe. Burrrrrr! As for the rest of your comment, though I understand where you are coming from, I'm reminded of my great-aunt who always kept her cash in her bra strap, when walking about her NYC neighborhood. Since it's reasonable that Myrna is from the greater NYC area, I wonder if that practice wasn't a common theft deterrence act. Little old ladies are a pretty easy target for pick pockets & purse snatchers. I very much respect that you elect to reserve judgement until all the facts are in. I suspect though, that Myrna's statement that the ticket was found inside the machine is quite damning. And, I doubt that her attorney would have allowed such a statement were it not factual, as it would hurt her case. Whether it was an off-duty NYS trooper, or another employee of the casino who demanded the strip search before a thorough examination of the slot machine, the fact of the matter is that the illegal search was demanded before the casino performed its due diligence. I see this as the casino clearly overstepping its authority. I'm not a fan of casinos, because I'm not a fan of gambling one's income in an institution that so grossly stacks the odds in their own favor. I do, however, believe it's reasonable for their patrons to expect at least a modicum of respect from their host. Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your own granny, and how she might perceive Myrna's real or construed outrage.

Good morning Drannhh, Yup, you're correct in that the devil's in the details. Was the trooper moonlighting at the casino, in an unofficial capacity, or was he part of an official NYS detail? Hmmm, if the latter is the case, then this story opens up a whole other can of worms. Like, why are state P.D. pulling casino duty, instead of being out there 'to protect & serve'? Casinos hire private security. So, if this casino is using tax-payer paid P.D., then I have even more of an issue with Myrna's incident. Now my curiosity is peaked. I'll have to investigate this further. Thanks for the follow up on your own granny's possible reasoning. Yes, I guess it's fair to think of today's casino as yesteryear's saloon, when thinking as if you & I were our granny's or great-aunt. Definitely considered inappropriate for a lady, as both could be considered houses of debauchery. No, my auntie didn't step into the ladies room to withdraw her stash. She would carefully turn her body away from any probing eyes, then quickly reach under the strap over her collar bone, pull out the stash, separate the necessary denomination of cash, the quickly return the rest to its hiding place. This was all done with stealth, speed, and discretion. The goal was for no one to know where her hiding place was. 'Course, I imagine hers was a pretty common hiding place. I, myself would never do this because of how many different hands handle cash. Yuck! In that regard, I definitely agree that credit cards are a vast improvement. Especially now that most swipe machines no longer require the cashier to swipe the card.

If the interrogating officer had in fact been off-duty, then it might be appropriate for the woman to have filed a complaint against the casino, however the news story I read stated the officer was working undercover at the casino at the time of the detainment, not for the casino. So I'm not sure yet whether it was an illegal search or not. The male police officer interrogated her, but in the following video, we hear Ms. Jones explain that the woman who performed the search was a casino employee. http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/2007/11/ot-ny-great-grandmother-strip-searched.html Undoubtedly, mistakes were made all around. I'd often heard of women of the last century stashing money in their upper undergarments, but I'm curious. Didn't your great aunt step into a ladies room before reaching in to pull the cash out from it's NYC hiding place? Credit cards do make life a lot easier, don't they? Although her farmhouse was chilly in the winter, my prudish grandma bathed in her nightie strictly out of modesty. Being straight-laced in the extreme, she didn't approve of ladies going into casinos, either, but that was pretty standard thinking for people of her generation. This was quite a few years ago, and casinos were a bit different back then, too.

Hello Healer, I suspect that I would have refused to step away from the machine until a thorough examination of it had been performed. As you suggest, I would have been outraged that accusations would fly before checking the machine for the missing ticket.

Oops, I forgot to thank you Healer. Both for the well wishes, and for stopping by to share your perspective. You have yourself a great day as well!

Hello Marie, Yes, you're right. Ours is an overly litigious society. Should we ever stop electing lawyers to postitions is the Senate and Legislature, we might see the USA adopt a 'loser pays all' system. Speculation should never have been allowed to become an issue. If they had searched the machine before accusing Myrna, then this mess would have been avoided. It's always nice to hear an outside perspective of some of our nonsense. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Hello ParaTed, I agree that the police should be looking into this with a fine-toothed comb. Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts on this.

Hello Grasshopping, You raise a very interesting question: Did the casino offer a heartfelt, sincere apology to Myrna? And if so, did the casion amend its policies & practices to make certain that this kind of thing does not happen again? If so, should that suffice? Is Myrna just in filing suit if the casino was penitent, and made a sincere offer of amends? Very interesting questions! I'm sorry that these types of mis-use of authority abuses happen anywhere. Unless a person in a position of authority has reason to immediately fear loss of life, I do believe that offering a bit of respect in any early inquiry, goes a long way! Thanks for sharing your perspective, and Welcome to MyLot!

Hello Mwala1287, Yup, I agree. Shocking best describes this abuse of authority! Thanks for sharing your perspective, Mwala1287

Hello Ligli_78, I agree that before the trooper accused her of theft, and subjected her to a strip search, that the casino representatives most definitely should have examined the machine. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Hello Red, Although I'm not a fan of casinos, I know others who are. And, from what I know you're absolutely right. The mgmt & staff are usually very customer service oriented. I also suspect that your remedy would have been much wiser for the casino mgmt. to have offered. As you say, now they stand to possibly lose much more in damages, PLUS the very high cost of negative publicity. If my perception is accurate, a great many senior citizens frequent casinos. This news article will be something for seniors to consider before they enter that, or any casino henceforth. I sure wouldn't go where I might be so disrespected.

Hello Citygirl, I fully agree that it would have been appropriate for the casino to withold accusations of theft, and the demand of a strip search before performing an exhaustive search of the machine. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Hello Destiny, You raise some very interesting questions here: "... whether or not strip searches of patrons is a routine thing, ... and if so, are there any warning signs displayed? ... what authority or law they claim allows them to perform strip searches." Hmmm, many unanswered questions. It would seem that a bit of investigative digging is called for. I know that my curiosity is peaked for sure. Thanks for sharing Destiny!

Hello Ctrymuziklvr, Yup, this one's a doozy! At this point, I have to suspect that there's more to this story, since it's been over a year since the incident took place. Like you, I would certainly be angry if this happened to me, or my granny. Thanks for sharing your perspective!

Hello Juenshia, You're right to be shocked. What happened to Granny Myrna is not O.K. Perhaps if the casino had reasonable cause; i.e an informed knowledge that Myrna had a deceptive history in the casino, or that she was linked to a scam that the casion was aware of. Yet, even then, the machine should have been thoroughly searched before she was subjected to an invasion of her personal space. Thanks for sharing Juenshia & Welcome to MyLot!