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LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Article Excerpt
Byline: The Register-Guard

Waddling Bandit on the loose

Natalie Holloway, move over.

A new crime wave grabs the headlines. The Waddling Bandit is on the loose and may be ready to strike again.

Robert Christie looked like the bank photos and was therefore accused of being the mysterious thief. The chief evidence against him - he waddled. And he gambled. A guy in a casino pointed him out.

The FBI moved in swiftly. J. Edgar Hoover would be proud. They had been on the case for months and when the feds apprehended the 71-year-old farmer from Tillamook with no criminal record, they wasted no time before issuing headlines to this newspaper about the arrest. The community needed comfort in knowing that yet another ungodly terrorist had been identified and restrained. He waddled. Case closed.

Christie must necessarily serve as a fallen citizen in the war on terror. He paid the price with his money and his reputation.

Christie admits to being left with a bitter taste: "It is quite a shock. It certainly alters your opinion of the people in charge of the justice system. My freedom was thrown out the window." The FBI agents, not pictured in the newspaper, offered no apology.

Instead of a rush to judgment, authorities should have swayed in a slow rocking manner. A citizen was sacrificed in a travesty unbecoming to a nation. Christie deserves a...

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