During my perusal of the morning papers online, I came across a story in the NY Daily News that I wish to share with my readers. You see, this scumbag, known as the “Bling Bandit,” who has robbed seven banks on Long Island and two in Queens, is an ex-cop. This dirtbag, retired NYPD Detective Athelston Kelson, 59, surrendered to his lawyer on charges of robbing banks at gunpoint while wearing flashy rings and a gold watch. According to the NY Daily News, Kelson was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer shortly after he retired in 2005, and sources said his spree may have been an attempt to commit suicide by cop.”He didn’t hide who he was,” a police source said. “He didn’t wear gloves or cover his face. He was begging to be recognized and caught.”
Here’s the shameful part, after earning a Purple Heart in Vietnam, he joined the NYPD in 1972 and made his name going undercover to infiltrate the Black Panthers and investigate JoAnne Chesimard, the Black Liberation Army leader and convicted cop-killer who escaped from prison in 1979 and lives in Cuba.“He was a Vietnam War hero. He served … with the NYPD in some of the most dangerous and prestigious assignments,” said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association. “He was also one of the most caring and effective union reps we had.”The man was viewed as a hero cop by many of his colleagues, then why would he have stooped so low and for what? To spend the rest of his life in prison?
According to the Daily News, wearing dark shades and a baseball hat, Kelson, who drives a Porsche (I wonder how he got that?), walked into banks and wrote his demands on the backs of deposit slips. After patiently waiting in line, he handed the note to the teller, requesting the loot be stuffed in an envelope.Twice, he flashed a semi-automatic handgun during his heists, police said.
The police said that he first struck on June 12th at a Chase Bank in Elmont and has hit banks in Queens, Valley Stream, Franklin Square, New Hyde Park, and most recently on Tuesday, West Hempstead.
Oh, so I guess the cancer made him do it? Crazy. He deserves to rot in prison. There goes all the good he did while he was a police officer.
Filed under: 1
Black Political Thought 
Mr. Kelson is not a scumbag. Yes, what he did was totally wrong and I’m not excusing his behavior. Did it ever occur to you and anyone else for that matter, that he has seen alot and experienced things in Vietnam as well as in the NYPD that most of us will never see or experience? That, on top of having terminal cancer, is enough to make anyone snap. You do not know this person personally as I do. Therefore, it isn’t necessary to call someone you don’t know at all or know what he has gone through a scumbag. Did it ever cross your mind that he has mental issues? Of course not.