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| Monday, November 19, 2007 |
| Money Makeover: Yvette Washington |
 This New York Daily News money makeover was pretty unique. It is not everyday you read about an ex-felon's money woes, but it makes perfect sense that serving time could play havoc with your finances. Your Money makeover helped Bronx hospital clerk attain financial future. After a decade working as a corrections officer at the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla, Washington got caught up in an investigation of prison contraband.
She was convicted in 2000 of accepting bribes in exchange for promising to smuggle in heroin and alcohol, and ordered to serve five months at a federal prison in West Virginia.
With her 8-year-old boys' father out of the picture, Washington's mom had to care for the children, Ramsease and Marquise.
Among all the troubles she'd brought on herself, the conviction sent Washington into a financial tailspin. She lost her job, her pension and her car. Out of choices in 2001, she filed for bankruptcy.
"I had to start over," said Washington, now 42, wiping away tears. Labels: Money Stories |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 2:50 PM *
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| 9 Comments: |
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No sympathy at all for her situation. She was a corrections officer. She made her choices.
This is the risk of being a criminal. Rewards are great until you get caught. Then they whine.
No sympathy whatsoever for her.
I'm glad she now seems redeemed and is on track to a brighter future, but I have no sympathy for her. She had no idea what shehad until it was too late. A pension lost over a stupid choice.
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I love the use of passive voice to make her seem more sympathetic.
She didn't accept bribes and smuggle drugs, she "got caught up in an investigation of prison contraband."
She wasn't guilty of the charges against her, she "was convicted".
C'mon, she's a felon and thought she could beat the system and she got caught. Give some deserving people a money makeover.
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Wow, anonymous. Sounds like you've never made a mistake! Regardless of how one feels about her past mistakes, I, for one, appreciate her taking responsibility and turning things around. It sets a great example for her kids and keeps her out of the welfare system.
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She did her time, went back to school and is turning her life around. From the article, it just sounds like a little belt-tightening is in order. If she does that, she'll be on track to recover.
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Sounds like some selective reading. I also read in the article.
"among all the troubles she'd brought on herself"
She made a mistake. She served her time. I hope that she makes better choices in her future, especially for her children's sake. At least she was willing to seek help.
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Accepting bribes is not necessarily a felony, depends on the monetary amount assigned to it. I think the first two ppl that commented are too harsh. She's paid her dues.
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The vindictiveness of people in this country astounds me sometimes. First, the requisite platitudes (Yes what she did was a crime, yes she should have gone to jail for it, no I don't condone that sort of behavior, etc., etc., etc.)
Now, dispite what people may think of her, this lady has served her time. The best thing for her now is to get her help to get her money matters in gear so she can live her life independently and not off of the taxpayer dime.
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I'm less offended by her criminal record than the fact that she was spending $500 per month on Dunkin Donuts and Chinese take-out. Plus another $180 for DirecTV and other "nonessentials," when she has all these other debts to pay and two kids to care for!!!
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Escape Brooklyn, where did you see $180? I saw $680 in the article.
I might not have sympathy for her felony record, but I do sympathize with her desire to get her financial house in order. I think the newspaper did a good thing by highlighting someone who's been to jail and trying to make her way in the world again, rather than yuppies with bad overspending habits and SUV's in the driveway of their single family home.
Let's get real here. The subject of the feature is someone who probably doesn't get attention in mainstream media except as a criminal. What if she didn't have a criminal record? She's still a single mom who went back to school and is trying to take care of her two kids as best she can. I think that's still a story worth telling if it inspires someone else to pull themselves together and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
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No sympathy at all for her situation. She was a corrections officer. She made her choices.
This is the risk of being a criminal. Rewards are great until you get caught. Then they whine.
No sympathy whatsoever for her.
I'm glad she now seems redeemed and is on track to a brighter future, but I have no sympathy for her. She had no idea what shehad until it was too late. A pension lost over a stupid choice.