DC - Savvas Savopoulos, family & Veralicia Figueroa murdered; Daron Wint Arrested #5

[katydid23]

If we are talking about a locally-owned bank that would be true, but the branch manager isn't high up on the BOA food chain and this was not a large client to BOA. Just because people are multimillionaire business owners does not mean that national banks aren't PITAs to them and have them go through red tape. A branch manager can be a locally prestigious job and they can have a nice executive sounding title, but it doesn't mean it is within their own authority to do certain things no matter how much they want to. The branch manager may have tried to please SS to the point that the branch manager did things that could result in getting fired for cause.

He did in fact come up with the 40K. So it appears that it was a possible task. He probably had several accounts and took less than 10k from each. I don't see that as anything that would get a manager fired.

And even in a large corporate bank, there is a lot of pressure on individual branches to lure local business accounts. There is pressure to please a CEO and keep him as a current account holder. JMO

 

[SpanishInquisition]

I think the parties could have been contacted on wednesday and the appointment easily set up. He TELLS them to meet when bank opens. DONE--appointment set.

Then he tells the driver to meet them at same time. Not a mystery. A wealthy CEO gives orders to his employees and to the bank manager, imo.

That sounds like two flurries if you're saying all these people called on Wednesday and then called again on Thursday, but we're told the flurry started on Thursday rather than Wednesday. If the flurry was reported to have started on Wednesday, I'd agree with you.

 

[jjenny]

Interesting comment in NBC4 story yesterday, referring to W-1:

"Sources close to the Savopoulos family say neither friends nor family close to the tragedy have seen that assistant since the day before the house was set on fire."

People deal with grief and shock in their own way. Even so, his failure to surface was notable enough to provoke comment by "sources" close to the family. One would hope that he might want to approach the family and tell them about his final conversations with SS, especially since he was apparently the last person to speak to SS, at 11:54pm, if that call went through.

His conduct continues to be questionable, but could still be simply lack of maturity.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...W-DC-Mansion-Slayings-Released-304946491.html

Is that surprising to them that they didn't see the assistant? Why would they expect to see him?
We know assistant has an alibi for Thursday and was in fact seen outside the house.

 

[stmarysmead]

from a Greek newspaper:

After the Asia Minor Catastrophe, during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, Savopoulos’ grandfather moved from Cappadocia to Chalkis in Greece. After marrying his wife, he had two children, Philip (the victim’s father) and his younger sister. Philip Savopoulos finished school in Chalkis and then moved to the United States to study engineering at the University of Maryland. In 1948, Philip Savopoulos founded the family company, American Iron Works, specializing in large metal structures.

Twenty years later, Savvas Savopoulos took the company reins, making its profits to drastically increase. Now, the company only undertakes large construction projects, worth several millions of dollars.

Even though Philip Savopoulos is fluent in Greek, his son never managed to learn the language. Nevertheless he made sure that his three children knew about their Greek heritage and culture, and always brought them to Greece during their summer holidays. Mykonos was their favorite destination.

Savvas and Amy Savopoulos actively participated in establishing American Institute of Welding, an organization offering a fresh start to people who have lost their jobs. The Greek-American philanthropist was always trying to help others and his charity work was mostly concentrated in Greece and the United States.

- See more at: http://usa.greekreporter.com/2015/05/25/savvas-savopoulos-from-greece-to-d-c/#.dpuf

 

[stmarysmead]

Is that surprising to them that they didn't see the assistant? Why would they expect to see him?
We know assistant has an alibi for Thursday and was in fact seen outside the house.

Perhaps LE has told them more than we (the public) know.

 

[jd dickinson]

Is that surprising to them that they didn't see the assistant? Why would they expect to see him?
We know assistant has an alibi for Thursday and was in fact seen outside the house.

I read it that that SS's own personal assistant / driver, involved in the last hours of SS's life, would be expected to approach the family to offer his condolences and tell them what he knew.

In context for the article, the comment was clearly intended to cast suspicion on the assistant. The prior paragraph: "The affidavit also says police interviewed Savvas Savopoulos' assistant, who was told to take $40,000 to the house the day the bodies were found. The assistant lied about when and how the ransom money was delivered."

I think that family and friends are viewing him with suspicion, the more so because he has disappeared from their view. The article can't say this, so the writer suggests this by context.

 

[Tillicum]

Interesting comment in NBC4 story yesterday, referring to W-1:

"Sources close to the Savopoulos family say neither friends nor family close to the tragedy have seen that assistant since the day before the house was set on fire."

People deal with grief and shock in their own way. Even so, his failure to surface was notable enough to provoke comment by "sources" close to the family. One would hope that he might want to approach the family and tell them about his final conversations with SS, especially since he was apparently the last person to speak to SS, at 11:54pm, if that call went through.

His conduct continues to be questionable, but could still be simply lack of maturity.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...W-DC-Mansion-Slayings-Released-304946491.html

So I take it that family or friends saw the assistant the day before the fire.

 

[katydid23]

I am not that surprised that W1 is laying low. If he was my son I would urge him to get away from that area and stay in a safe place while things shake out. It is a scary, devastating thing to be involved in. I think it is smart of him to stay clear of the family for now. Especially since he tends to be inconsistent and blabby. JMO

 

[Cassie P]

If you have duct tape you don't need rope imo

Good point, so the amount he has to carry is even smaller. Could all be carried in a small bag, except for the gasoline.

 

[tambo]

Interesting comment in NBC4 story yesterday, referring to W-1:

"Sources close to the Savopoulos family say neither friends nor family close to the tragedy have seen that assistant since the day before the house was set on fire."

People deal with grief and shock in their own way. Even so, his failure to surface was notable enough to provoke comment by "sources" close to the family. One would hope that he might want to approach the family and tell them about his final conversations with SS, especially since he was apparently the last person to speak to SS, at 11:54pm, if that call went through.

His conduct continues to be questionable, but could still be simply lack of maturity.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...W-DC-Mansion-Slayings-Released-304946491.html

this whole article is off, but here is an example W-1 drove the assistant to the Savopoulos home, and called Savopoulos 10 minutes before arriving. According to the witness, Savopoulos instructed W-1 to leave the money in a red car inside the garage.

 

[desertmama]

Did SS have a driver or personal assistant before W1?

 

[Inthedetails]

this whole article is off, but here is an example W-1 drove the assistant to the Savopoulos home, and called Savopoulos 10 minutes before arriving. According to the witness, Savopoulos instructed W-1 to leave the money in a red car inside the garage.

Sigh. One of the clearest things about the Charging Statements is defining W1.

Next thing is they'll start referring to a suspect or witness with the initials "IT."

LOL.

 

[SpanishInquisition]

He did in fact come up with the 40K. So it appears that it was a possible task. He probably had several accounts and took less than 10k from each. I don't see that as anything that would get a manager fired.

And even in a large corporate bank, there is a lot of pressure on individual branches to lure local business accounts. There is pressure to please a CEO and keep him as a current account holder. JMO

For those unfamiliar with banking there is what's called the Bank Secrecy Act that requires regulatory paperwork on any customer who withdraws more than $10K a day and if it looks like someone is trying to structure transactions to have a single transaction be below that, that too is supposed to be reported. There is also the bank's internal polices as to how much a customer can withdraw in cash in a single day over and above regulations. If SS told the bank manager he wanted to withdraw $9K x 4 plus $4K that would be setting off all kinds of triggers both with bank policy and with regulatory policy. So unless the AIW account had already been set up to do that or this was something that could get the bank manager fired.

 

[tambo]

Did SS have a driver or personal assistant before W1?

I've wondered that too. For all we know Wint's relative could have been SS's previous driver. I'm not saying I believe that, buy hey, who know's.

 

[popsicle]

Interesting comment in NBC4 story yesterday, referring to W-1:

"Sources close to the Savopoulos family say neither friends nor family close to the tragedy have seen that assistant since the day before the house was set on fire."

People deal with grief and shock in their own way. Even so, his failure to surface was notable enough to provoke comment by "sources" close to the family. One would hope that he might want to approach the family and tell them about his final conversations with SS, especially since he was apparently the last person to speak to SS, at 11:54pm, if that call went through.

His conduct continues to be questionable, but could still be simply lack of maturity.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...W-DC-Mansion-Slayings-Released-304946491.html

That's not just rumor... it was mentioned on the 11 am news today.

 

[jd dickinson]

So I take it that family or friends saw the assistant the day before the fire.

If we assume that "sources close to the Savopoulos family" would include the maid NG, then yes. NG has talked to the media more than anyone else, and she may be relaying puzzlement on her part and that of family / friends that W-1 has disappeared from view, aside from submitting to questioning by investigators.

I am imagining that the S family included W-1 as a pseudo extension of their family. It's odd (at least to me, and to them) when such a person suddenly disappears, especially when he was so central in the final hours.

If he has nothing to hide, why not express his grief and remembrances to SS's family? Even if his tenure was short, he was significant at least to both SS and PS.

 

[tambo]

For those unfamiliar with banking there is what's called the Bank Secrecy Act that requires regulatory paperwork on any customer who withdraws more than $10K a day and if it looks like someone is trying to structure transactions to have a single transaction be below that, that too is supposed to be reported. There is also the bank's internal polices as to how much a customer can withdraw in cash in a single day over and above regulations. If SS told the bank manager he wanted to withdraw $9K x 4 plus $4K that would be setting off all kinds of triggers both with bank policy and with regulatory policy. So unless the AIW account had already been set up to do that or this was something that could get the bank manager fired.

is it the same for business accounts as it is for personal accounts. I was the personal assistant to the controller of a large company and I went to a different part of the bank for all of our transactions. I only dealt with one person at the bank. I also did payroll for this company and we access to money any time we needed for whatever reason.

I should add that as part of my job I did everything you could possibly imagine, from babysitting her kids, to shopping for gifts, to driving her fancy car, you name it, I did it. Thats why I was hired..starting on day one i did those things..She treated me very well. I was paid by the company but I was her personal assistant/confidante/friend and employee all wrapped in one. I knew her Immediate family, kids and hubby but I didn't know her friends or other family members.

 

[jd dickinson]

That's not just rumor... it was mentioned on the 11 am news today.

What did they say?

 

[BellaVita]

It doesn't work that way. Remember I used to work at BOA and I received training on how they deal with transactions. It's the transaction you do in a day and both the bank as well as the government are monitoring how much cash your pulling out of there whether it's from 1 account or 100 accounts. I'm not saying he couldn't have pulled it off in a few hours, just that if he did, it wasn't his first rodeo withdrawing large sums of cash. For this not to have triggered regulatory paperwork on the transaction a prior arrangement with the bank would have had to have been made creating an exception for AIW that they've used large amounts of cash on a recurring basis and this transaction was part in line with that and hence no need to fill out the special paperwork. The bank manager may have created the exception that day and not required the regulatory paperwork and approval from higher ups, but if so it would be something would get the bank manager fired as opposed to something that is normal and acceptable banking practice.

Perhaps the person who withdrew the money had a power of attorney or was an authorized signer on the accounts? From what I've read about AML/BSA, many banks now have all information needed on their customers in order to fill out a currency transaction report without having to verbally ask for all the info. The computer systems are programmed to prompt the filing of the CTR by the teller/manager or whoever handles the transaction. A lot different than when I worked in banks in the 1980s. Even if there had been no prior exemption to forgo the CTR, I still see no reason why the CTR wouldn't/couldn't be filled out.

 

[popsicle]

What did they say?

That they hadn't seen or heard from him.