DC - Savvas Savopoulos, family & Veralicia Figueroa murdered; Daron Wint Arrested #2

[JudyBolton]

The father would have given him instructions so if he told his assistant to leave it at the front door then assistant would do just that.
Pizza was left at the front door so perp didn't trust the father to be able to open the door and get the pizza (and the perp didn't want to do it himself for obvious reasons).

I guess you're right but it seems that should have set off some alarm bells to the assistant...to leave that much CASH sitting on the doorstep just doesn't sound normal or something a professional person would do. I need to see a timeline - but when were the landscapers there working? That would be another reason not to leave tens of thousands of dollars outside... Hindsight shows us many red flags but sadly none were enough to initiate a response.

 

[SpanishInquisition]

I really want to know about the $40K in cash and if large cash drops at the private residence was normal. $40K in cash is an awful lot of money to be brought over to one's house on short notice. No matter how rich someone is - we could be talking about a billionaire - having a large cash delivery just isn't usual except under limited circumstances as usually for large purchases the super-rich would use their elite credit cards or wire transfers. To me it sounds like the banker (probably a low level employee of whatever bank it was) violated banking protocols to allow this cash withdrawal without requiring SS to come in person and sign for it and the transaction may have even been illegal if whoever picked up the money from the bank didn't have signatory authority for that amount of money (which it sounds like they didn't).

I used to work for a large bank and even though I wasn't in that part of the business (I was on the mortgage banking side) enterprise-wide all bank employees received training on suspicious transactions as part of Anti-Money Laundering training and reading about this banking transaction triggered my old banking training. If SS was making large cash withdrawals, I do wonder if he was engaged in some kind of illicit activity if this sort of thing was BAU for him (and this made him a target), while alternatively I've got to think that a lot of people both employed by him as well as his bank fell down on their jobs in not becoming extremely suspicious and seeing if everything was OK after the apparent demand for $40K in cash to be dropped off at his private residence instantly without him going in and signing for it. Neither buying artwork nor a store opening are good reasons for him to have a large money drop at his private residence as that's too much money for a store opening and legitimate purchases of artwork would be by credit card or wire transfer plus these reasons itself would raise accounting issues in comingling funds between businesses or otherwise doing things you shouldn't be doing with company money.

 

[oh_gal]

Even when discussion was about El Salvadorian landscapers, I didn't notice anyone casting dispersion on Latinos in general. Not in the slightest. In fact, I noticed careful consideration and thoughtful pondering.

I also noticed a lot of admiration and affection for Vera and her family.

We discussed the information we had available to us. People were not being unkind or unreasonable during this thread.

I can merely state that that is a matter of personal opinion, and I was not the only poster who expressed that certain posts seemed offensive in nature. I think we can all say that everyone has certain scenarios that they are sensitive to.

I am merely replying to your post, not trying to get all bogged down in stereotypical profiling. I'm more than happy to move on; I assume you are, as well?

 

[Inthedetails]

I really want to know about the $40K in cash and if large cash drops at the private residence was normal. $40K in cash is an awful lot of money to be brought over to one's house on short notice. No matter how rich someone is - we could be talking about a billionaire - having a large cash delivery just isn't usual except under limited circumstances as usually for large purchases the super-rich would use their elite credit cards or wire transfers. To me it sounds like the banker (probably a low level employee of whatever bank it was) violated banking protocols to allow this cash withdrawal without requiring SS to come in person and sign for it and the transaction may have even been illegal if whoever picked up the money from the bank didn't have signatory authority for that amount of money (which it sounds like they didn't).

I used to work for a large bank and even though I wasn't in that part of the business (I was on the mortgage banking side) enterprise-wide all bank employees received training on suspicious transactions as part of Anti-Money Laundering training and reading about this banking transaction triggered my old banking training. If SS was making large cash withdrawals, I do wonder if he was engaged in some kind of illicit activity if this sort of thing was BAU for him, while alternatively I've got to think that a lot of people both employed by him as well as his bank fell down on their jobs in not becoming extremely suspicious and seeing if everything was OK after the apparent demand for $40K in cash to be dropped off at his private residence instantly without him going in and signing for it. Neither buying artwork nor a store opening are good reasons for him to have a large money drop at his private residence as that's too much money for a store opening and legitimate purchases of artwork would be by credit card or wire transfer plus these reasons itself would raise accounting issues in comingling funds between businesses or otherwise doing things you shouldn't be doing with company money.

I didn't work for a bank like you did, but I have some experience in accounting. If a client wanted cash like this, it would definitely send red flags and not be normal at all. But, if a long-term, high-level client wanted cash fast, and the cash belonged to him, and it felt urgent, I can see the money being pulled together and questions asked later.

And even if the red flags were waving, I don't think it follows that people would think someone is being tortured and held hostage. Even if all the professionals involved thought this was a weird request, the reaction might be concern, but I don't know if the reaction would be to call the police about it.

Nobody caught on to the dire circumstances, despite SS's efforts to get the message across.

JMO

 

[dcjohn]

I really want to know about the $40K in cash and if large cash drops at the private residence was normal. $40K in cash is an awful lot of money to be brought over to one's house on short notice. No matter how rich someone is - we could be talking about a billionaire - having a large cash delivery just isn't usual except under limited circumstances as usually for large purchases the super-rich would use their elite credit cards or wire transfers. To me it sounds like the banker (probably a low level employee of whatever bank it was) violated banking protocols to allow this cash withdrawal without requiring SS to come in person and sign for it and the transaction may have even been illegal if whoever picked up the money from the bank didn't have signatory authority for that amount of money (which it sounds like they didn't).

I used to work for a large bank and even though I wasn't in that part of the business (I was on the mortgage banking side) enterprise-wide all bank employees received training on suspicious transactions as part of Anti-Money Laundering training and reading about this banking transaction triggered my old banking training. If SS was making large cash withdrawals, I do wonder if he was engaged in some kind of illicit activity if this sort of thing was BAU for him (and this made him a target), while alternatively I've got to think that a lot of people both employed by him as well as his bank fell down on their jobs in not becoming extremely suspicious and seeing if everything was OK after the apparent demand for $40K in cash to be dropped off at his private residence instantly without him going in and signing for it. Neither buying artwork nor a store opening are good reasons for him to have a large money drop at his private residence as that's too much money for a store opening and legitimate purchases of artwork would be by credit card or wire transfer plus these reasons itself would raise accounting issues in comingling funds between businesses or otherwise doing things you shouldn't be doing with company money.

Your point about bank withdrawals is true. Any withdrawal above $10,000 requires a US Treasury form to be filled out. The only way they could circumvent that is if SS's assistant was an authorized user on the account, which I would highly doubt. Or perhaps one of his family members (maybe the sister?) helped out in the process.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I read this morning that Savvas had never ever requested cash be brought to his home before. Even the banker he contacted should have seen the red flags and certainly his personal assistant. But what happens sometimes there are no questions asked if the asker is wealthy. Savvas was trying his very best to send red flags to anyone he contacted trying to save their lives.

I think the reason he stated for wanting the cash wasn't the real reason he had to have it because he knew he couldn't tell them it was for the ransom demand the perp was telling him he must get. He may have told the perp that is all he could round up quickly.

Savvas did not want money for his new business. The wealthy deal very little in cash. He just used that as an excuse so that the money would be delivered to his home where he and his family were being held hostage.

Imo, it was all to try to appease this hoping once he had the money he would leave them alive. That was the real reason he was asking for 40K to be delivered to his home.

IMO

 

[Elley Mae]

There is an amount that can be withdrawn that does not raise an eyebrow when doing cash withdrawals. IIRC there is an amount that will red flag an account. If a customer is well known to the bank and their employees and the customer takes out large withdrawals on occasion no one is suspicious. I recently bought a vehicle and went to the bank to have check drawn for the amount, >30,000 and even though I handed her the paper from the dealer with the exact amount I needed she still had to have her manager over to allow the withdrawal. jmo idk

here, more red flags

The documents show a flurry of phone calls among Savvas Savopoulos, a bank, an accountant, the personal assistant, a construction company executive and Savopoulos’s American Iron Works company in the hours before the fire.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...00af9e-ff07-11e4-8b6c-0dcce21e223d_story.html

 

[Inthedetails]

Your point about bank withdrawals is true. Any withdrawal above $10,000 requires a US Treasury form to be filled out. The only way they could circumvent that is if SS's assistant was an authorized user on the account, which I would highly doubt. Or perhaps one of his family members (maybe the sister?) helped out in the process.

I think his accountant helped. Yesterday's news coverage mentioned a flurry of communications Thursday morning with SS business associates. Even with the $10K limit, SS probably had more than one account to tap, so perhaps it as $10k x 4 accounts. I'm thinking the assistant was only the delivery person, not the person who made the withdrawals.
JMO, based on info provided thus far.

 

[moonriverfarm]

Guyana. Land of Jim Jones. Much bad juju there.

 

[Inthedetails]

Snipped

I read this morning that Savvas had never ever requested cash be brought to his home before. Even the banker he contacted should have seen the red flags and certainly his personal assistant. But what happens sometimes there are no questions asked if the asker is wealthy. Savvas was trying his very best to send red flags to anyone he contacted trying to save their lives.
IMO

Bingo. I think that is exactly what happened with all of SS's communications. People didn't question him because he's The Boss.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I think his accountant helped. Yesterday's news coverage mentioned a flurry of communications Thursday morning with SS business associates. Even with the $10K limit, SS probably had more than one account to tap, so perhaps it as $10k x 4 accounts. I'm thinking the assistant was only the delivery person, not the person who made the withdrawals.
JMO, based on info provided thus far.

Since the bank was contacted I am sure they are the ones that prepared the 40K to be picked up by the assistant. I am sure SS told the banker he would be the one to pick it up.

IMO

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

EXCLUSIVE: America's most wanted man was seen relaxing at his father's home the day after 'killing CEO, wife and son in DC mansion' - and was identified by DNA on pizza crust

The suspect, Daron Dylon Wint, 34, of Maryland, remains at large

He has previous convictions for sexual assault and theft, and relatives describe him as 'arrogant' and 'hostile'

Savvas Savopoulos, his wife Amy, their son Philip and their housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa were all found murdered inside their DC home last week

A Domino's employee took pizza to the home as the family were being held captive and Wint's DNA 'was found on a crust left behind'

Savopoulos' assistant also went to the house to drop off $40,000

Another housekeeper for the family said Savopoulos was expecting the cash delivery for one of his business ventures

Investigators believe the family was held and tortured overnight

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...on-finding-DNA-pizza-crust.html#ixzz3amNTGZZg

 

[JudyBolton]

And sometimes wealthy people do keep cash in a safe. Do we know this was withdrawn from a bank that day? I'm confused as I thought it was reported that the cash drop was expected - that the housekeeper knew about it in advance (as someone mentioned she may have purposefully or inadvertently revealed this information to the wrong person).

 

[Millhouse]

I just Googled this company and phone number, and very few things come up- in fact, this forum was the fourth Google result.

A BBB page comes up, but only says that they are not BBB accredited: http://www.bbb.org/washington-dc-ea...t-a-bdc-companies-in-washington-dc-170837048/

Also found this page: http://www.buzzfile.com/business/T.s.A-Bdc-Companies-202-258-7586

Found a company in DC with a similar name, but different contact phone number and they don't seem to go by BDC Companies: http://www.bundydevelopment.com/

It's a strange sign to me, since BDC is kind of a general term for a Business Development Company. The family doesn't seem like the type that would use an unknown company, but the lack of web presence for BDC Companies is interesting. I guess word of mouth goes a long way in contracting/construction, but still interesting to me.

 

[jjenny]

And sometimes wealthy people do keep cash in a safe. Do we know this was withdrawn from a bank that day? I'm confused as I thought it was reported that the cash drop was expected - that the housekeeper knew about it in advance (as someone mentioned she may have purposefully or inadvertently revealed this information to the wrong person).

The housekeeper apparently tells different things to different newspaper. One newspaper published that housekeeper told them she knew nothing about the money. The other that she knew about the money.
Then it was published that housekeeper claimed security system was always on. Another newspaper published that housekeeper told them family was lax about security and sometimes left the door open.
Basically, you can't make conclusions on what she told some newspaper because what she told seems very inconsistent (to say the least). It could be bad reporting or language barrier, but I wouldn't put much into what is being reported.
I think it's very clear by now this was not scheduled in advance but instead a ransom money that father arranged in the morning.

 

[SpanishInquisition]

I didn't work for a bank like you did, but I have some experience in accounting. If a client wanted cash like this, it would definitely send red flags and not be normal at all. But, if a long-term, high-level client wanted cash fast, and the cash belonged to him, and it felt like an emergency, I can see the money being pulled together and questions asked later.

And even if the red flags were waving, I don't think it follows that people would think someone is being tortured and held hostage. Even if all the professionals involved thought this was a weird request, the reaction might be concern, but I don't know if the reaction would be to call the police about it.

Nobody caught on to the dire circumstances, despite SS's efforts to get the message across.

To me the big kicker is that he was wanting the money delivered to him at his private residence rather than it just being about the large cash withdrawal itself, which to should have really raised red flags. As a matter of business it would be negligent to drop off the money at the house rather than delivering it to the martial arts studio or to the art dealer as that is an invitation to be robbed/burglarized with no upside in storing tempting sums of cash at a location other than the stated final destination, so all these things should have sent red flags that something was up. That it was an emergency should be the notice to check it out by either calling the cops or going over in person, like the accountant or the AIW exec should have brought the money over in person and met with him at least or asked to speak to him in person before having someone bring the money over. If it's such an emergency that he needed $40K in cash instantly that really raises the question why he couldn't get the cash himself and that it is to be delivered to his home rather than the location he says it was actually for.

 

[Inthedetails]

And sometimes wealthy people do keep cash in a safe. Do we know this was withdrawn from a bank that day? I'm confused as I thought it was reported that the cash drop was expected - that the housekeeper knew about it in advance (as someone mentioned she may have purposefully or inadvertently revealed this information to the wrong person).

That's a good point. He might have had some of that cash in a safe, though I doubt the entire $40K.

You're confused about the package drop? We're all confused!! There have been different versions reported about the package.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I think more than one. At least two. It would be very hard for one guy to control that many people. The other suspect either ate all his pizza (no DNA) or his DNA isn't on file.

I think he acted alone. Other murders in the past have been able to murder more than even four. He didn't have to have any help. He knew that everyone in that home loved and cared about each other. All he had to do is grab one of them threatening to do them harm and the others would comply just like we have seen happen in other multiple murder cases where the multiple victims were found bound.

Imo, they all complied to his demands thinking they could reason with him. After he had all the adults bound they were at his mercy. Philip would be no match for this brute. And we know he had no mercy because even after restraining them he tortured them over and over again.

 

[jjenny]

Child was in a different room from adults. How could he watch people at different locations at the same time?
Especially considering father had access to a phone, I don't think they would leave him alone.
How could one person do all of this?

 

[stmarysmead]

This cockroach comes from a hard-working family. Obviously, his lifestyle of laziness, violence, and entitlement is not something he learned from his Dad. Sitting around on a stoop all day...probably while a Father twice his age is working. He is certainly able-bodied but he thinks he's owed what others...including his Father work for.



Powerfully-built Wint has a string of previous arrests and convictions for offences including sexual assault, theft and weapon possession.
He has gone by various names, including Daron, Darron and Davon. DC's Metropolitan's Police suspect he has fled Maryland and Wint’s Facebook page lists his current home city as New York.
Mr Brooks added: ''I don't know him personally or what he does for a living. 'But his father is hard working. They are a good family. He doesn't live here but he comes to visit often. 'He would come over in the summer and sit on the steps all day. This is a very quiet neighborhood.'
Detectives do not know where Wint is and it is not clear whether he was connected to the family.
'He's very hostile,' an unidentified family member told ABC News of the suspect. 'He's arrogant. He doesn't listen.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...on-finding-DNA-pizza-crust.html#ixzz3amPpDb00
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