Totally pissed off: $206 in urine-soaked coins is not acceptable payment for a speeding ticket in Washington
(Source: Autoblog & Oregon Live)
“It was nasty. It reeked,” said Sgt. Phil Anderchuk.
Anderchuk called a U.S. postal inspector to see if federal law had been broken, and learned that it’s not against the law to mail a box of bodily fluids, as long as it’s properly packed and doesn’t emit an obnoxious odor.
In explaining why the courthouse couldn’t accept Lynch’s payment, the sergeant wrote that “the pile of coins emitted a strong, pungent odor of stale urine. This was very concerning to me.”
Anderchuk reminded Lynch he still owed for the ticket.
“I encourage you to submit your payment in a more traditional form,” he wrote in a January letter. He told Lynch to expect a visit from a postal inspector, presumably to talk about how close he came to violating federal law.
Lynch apparently got the message, because a few weeks later a check arrived. But it was made out to the wrong agency. Courthouse staff sent it back. In February, a new check arrived, but this time it was made out for the wrong amount: $206, which didn’t account for $65 in penalties for arriving late. Last week, the state turned Lynch’s case over to a collection agency.