This Guy Told The Judge He Burnt $1,000,000 In Cash Just So He Didn't Have To Give It To His Ex-Wife
Bruce McConville would rather burn his own money than give it to his ex-wife.
The 55-year-old Ottawa businessman and failed mayoral candidate sold properties and businesses behind her back, then withdrew the $1 million and, he claims, burned the money in two bonfires: $743,000 last Sept. 23, and $296,000 on Dec. 15.
First of all let me say I'm SHOCKED that his wife decided to divorce him. Seems like such a likeable guy! But regardless of what you feel about his personality and character traits, you can't help but tip your cap to the grudge he holds. This is an all-time move. You're telling me I owe my ex-wife a million bucks? Nah...let it burn.
So the way this story works is that the guy had not been paying child or spousal support to his ex-wife because he was unhappy with the divorce proceedings, and the courts were trying to determine how much he owed. He was specifically told not to sell his properties, but he secretly did anyways. And then he went to the bank 25 times to withdraw all of the money into cash, which led to this incredible courtroom interaction:
“So where’s the money now? Phillips pressed.
“I destroyed it,” McConville replied.
“You’ve lost me. What do you mean?” the judge asked.
McConville rambled and spoke of anxiety about a relationship with a daughter.
“Can I back you up a bit? When you say you destroyed it, what do you mean?” the judge asked.
“I burnt it,” McConville explained.
“To the tune of how much?” the judge probed.
“In total, about a million and thirty-nine thousand dollars,” McConville said.
I can see the judge's jaw drop right before his eyes. Like, this dude is a Grade A lunatic. No one in their right mind is burning over a million dollars of cash, but this guy is also clearly not in his right mind. Did he really just burn a million dollars to keep his ex-wife from getting more of his money????
Now I'm no private investigator, but I'd have to be on the side of the fence that says no he did not. The guy says he didn't video tape or take any pictures of the money, but he wants you to trust him that he took over a million dollars out of the bank and then burned every single penny.
Absolutely no chance in hell do you pull off this crazy off a move and not document it. I'm not sure which makes him a bigger idiot: thinking someone would believe this or thinking that burning all of your money means you wouldn't have to pay your wife and kids what you owe. Regardless, if this guy truly burnt all of his money and didn't even stop once to snap a picture? Well, that would be unfortunate.
Another unfortunate thing for Mr. McConville is that burning currency is illegal and he literally admitted to it in front a judge. The judge gave him 30 days in jail and promised that if he came back from serving his time and still didn't know where the cash was, he would face a punishment that would make his 30 days seem "like a walk in the park".
So yeah, I don't know what his next move is going to be.....but he has 30 days of alone time to think about it. And if he gets done early, he can start thinking about how to rebrand himself for his next election campaign.
McConville ran a failed bid for mayor in the last city election on a tough-on-crime platform.
This dude is just full of good ideas! And I bet his kids love him, too.