The controversy surrounding U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, three of his teammates and a purported robbery took a rather bizarre turn within the past 48 hours. I have no idea whether he and his fellow swimmers concocted a story or whether they were really robbed, though evidence of the former seems to be mounting. What I do know is that, given that no charges had been filed against Mr. Lochte prior to his departure from Rio on Tuesday morning, there was no reason for him not to board a plane home.
I spoke with LA-based ace criminal lawyer Errol Stambler to see how the U.S. usually handles such matters. According to Errol, the short answer is that in a violent world, this is not a major priority in most jurisdictions. In California, the most that would be brought by law enforcement is a misdemeanor charge of obstructing jus
tice and filing a false report. If the situation was reversed and California wanted a defendant returned from Brazil, it would not happen. Thus, in Errol’s view, it is highly unlikely that the United States is going to cooperate should Brazil want Lochte back. His teammates may have a harder time, but I do not think that Brazil is going to want this to pollute the summer Olympics. Save the pollution for the water.