Finders Fee

[Griffin NoName]

Taliban commander tries to claim reward for his own capture

A Taliban commander has been captured after marching up to a checkpoint brandishing a wanted poster with his own face and demanding the $100 reward for his own arrest.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

That's both funny and sad at the same time...

[Swatopluk]

And an extremly old idea. There have been songs written about it.
[youtube=425,350]nfJtJYr27Zc[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfJtJYr27Zc
Could not find a (free of fee) version by the original author

Edit: Not to forget Friedrich Schiller's "Die Räuber".
"Dem Manne kann geholfen werden!"

[Griffin NoName]

An old idea...........but how many people have actually done it?

[Swatopluk]

Usually the wanted guy does not go himself but sends a strawman first. The dough goes to his (usually it's a he) family and/or heirs.
Works for suicide bomber recuitment too. "You blow yourself up for the cause and we will take care of your famiy (if you don't we will 'care' for them in different ways".

[Griffin NoName]

But the point of this is that he did do it himself

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

If the family is desperate enough for the money it may make sense.

[Swatopluk]

But the point of this is that he did do it himself

Cutting out the middleman.

I think in East Asia it was not uncommon in feudal times that the state occasionally appealed to criminals (nobles only of course) to do themselves in, at times combined with the promise of an award to the family (instead of the usual threat to the same). Btoken promises were also common though.
Then there are a few anecdotes about Genghis Khan...

[Griffin NoName]

Some people are just mad.

[Roland Deschain]

This did make me chuckle. Some people are incredibly dim.