Members of New York's Municipal Credit Union--mostly public service workers employed by the city--stole $15 million from ATMs during a computer failure following the World Trade Center collapse. The credit union, which has its headquarters near Ground Zero, lost its computer link to the ATM network and had no way to check accounts to make sure the withdrawals were covered by the member's balances. But officials decided to leave the ATMs operating anyway, under the theory that these 300,000 people needed their money during the crisis. Apparently some needed more money than others. More than 540 members overdrew their account balances by $5,000 or more, with a total of 4,000 stealing enough to come under investigation by the district attorney. So far 101 people have been arrested after refusing to pay up. They say that, if they have to give the money back, the terrorists will have won.
August 19, 2002 7:45 AM
