NATIONAL NEWS

An ex-deep-sea treasure hunter jailed for nearly 10 years scores a legal win but won’t be freed

Feb 3, 2025, 10:15 AM

FILE - Tommy Thompson holds a $50 pioneer gold piece retrieved from the wreck of the ship S.S. Cent...

FILE - Tommy Thompson holds a $50 pioneer gold piece retrieved from the wreck of the ship S.S. Central America, Nov. 1989. (Lon Horwedel/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Lon Horwedel/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former deep-sea treasure hunter who has served nearly a decade in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of missing gold coins has had that term ended by a federal judge in Ohio, but he will remain behind bars for now.

U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley agreed Friday to end Tommy Thompson’s sentence on the civil contempt charge, saying he “no longer is convinced that further incarceration is likely to coerce compliance.” However, he also ordered that the research scientist immediately start serving a two-year sentence he received for a related criminal contempt charge, a term that was delayed when the civil contempt term was imposed.

Thompson has been held in contempt of court since Dec. 15, 2015, and also incurred a daily fine of $1,000. In his ruling, Marbley assessed Thompson’s total civil contempt fine at $3,335,000.

Thompson’s case dates to his discovery of the S.S. Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, in 1988. The gold rush-era ship sank in a hurricane off South Carolina in 1857 with thousands of pounds of gold aboard, contributing to an economic panic.

Despite an investor lawsuit and a federal court order, Thompson still won’t cooperate with authorities trying to find 500 coins minted from some of the gold, according to court records. He has previously said, without providing details, that the coins — valued at about $2.5 million — were turned over to a trust in Belize.

After Thompson failed to appear for a 2012 Ohio hearing to discuss the coins, U.S. marshals eventually tracked him to Florida in 2015 and arrested him. He pleaded guilty in April 2015 to skipping that hearing and was given the two-year prison sentence.

Federal law generally limits jail time for contempt of court to 18 months. But a federal appeals court in 2019 rejected Thompson’s argument that that law applies to him, saying his refusal violated conditions of a plea agreement.

National News

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives to talk to reporters after a closed-door meeting ...

Associated Press

House Republicans unveil blueprint to extend $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and lift the debt ceiling

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans released a budget plan Wednesday that sets the stage for advancing many of President Donald Trump’s top domestic priorities, providing for up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit so that the U.S. can continue financing its bills. The budget plan also […]

9 minutes ago

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2019 file photo, R. Kelly appears during a hearing at the Leighton Crimina...

Associated Press

Federal appeals court upholds singer R. Kelly’s convictions and 30-year prison term

NEW YORK (AP) — R. Kelly’s racketeering and sex trafficking convictions, along with a 30-year prison sentence, were upheld Wednesday by a federal appeals court that concluded the singer exploited his fame for over a quarter century to sexually abuse girls and young women. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled Wednesday […]

26 minutes ago

FILE - North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, presides over the session at the Legis...

Associated Press

North Carolina legislators fleshing out details on $500M in additional Hurricane Helene relief

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina House members advanced Wednesday a Republican package to boost state recovery funding after Hurricane Helene as committees fleshed out details on how best to spend another $500 million to address the historic flooding. The House’s budget-writing committee voted for the latest spending proposal, which would emphasize repairs for damaged […]

36 minutes ago

FILE - Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago,...

Associated Press

Former longtime Illinois legislative leader Michael Madigan is convicted in corruption trial

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago Democrat who once set much of Illinois’ political agenda as the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history was convicted of some charges Wednesday in a mixed verdict in his high-profile corruption trial. Jurors convicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan 10 counts and acquitted him of seven, but could not […]

46 minutes ago

FILE - Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill, Jan. 14, 2025, in Washington....

Associated Press

As DOGE hammers away at the US government, Republicans stir with quiet objections

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Katie Britt has been working to make sure the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency doesn’t hit what she called “life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions,” including her state’s beloved University of Alabama. Kansas GOP Sen. Jerry Moran is worried that food from heartland farmers would spoil rather than be […]

1 hour ago

FILE - New York City Mayor Eric Adams exits from federal court in New York, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo...

Associated Press

Attorney for NYC Mayor denies “looming threat” of prosecution after unusual Justice Department order

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed confidence Wednesday that the criminal case against the Democrat is dead and buried, even though the Justice Department official who ordered the charges dismissed left the door open to the case being brought back next fall. “There is no looming threat. […]

1 hour ago

An ex-deep-sea treasure hunter jailed for nearly 10 years scores a legal win but won’t be freed