Las Vegas Weekly

Ken Miller is torn

How should he feel about the guy who punished his bank with fish and urine?

PRO Sticking it to the man? Hell, this guy stuck it in the man’s safety deposit box! When Bank of America froze the account of Las Vegan Byren Stuckey, ruining his vacation, Stuckey struck back: leaving sardines and piss in his BofA deposit box. (He was later arrested.) Who among us, having been screwed with by banks in one way or another—and having watched them botch their industry and then get bailed out—hasn’t wanted to do the same? Let’s face it: Other than a good Bernie Madoff prison shanking, there’s precious better schadenfreude in these troubled times than causing a little stink at a lending institution.

CON So what if the bank froze your funds? Does one mucked-up vacation justify guerrilla tactics that eventually menace people who likely had nothing to do with your predicament in the first place? (I mean, tell me there wasn’t some kind of health hazard fermenting in that box.) In fact, odds are the people you endangered were likely busy with routine bank business—denying small-business loans, creating endless red tape for loan-modification requests, suggesting desperate homeowners just stop paying their mortgages so they can qualify for assistance … ah, to hell with defending these assholes. Next time, might I suggest salmon?