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A former movie critic for the New York Times finds himself the center of international attention.
Last Friday (Aug. 8.) Elvis Mitchell was briefly detained while trying to reenter the U.S. after attending a film festival in Toronto. The reason for his detention? He was carrying $12,000 concealed in a cigar box, along with a small stack of Cuban cigars -which are banned in the America.
The law requires any one entering the U.S. to tell officials if they are carrying more than $10,000 in cash. Mr. Mitchell declared only $80 to border guards according to border patrol chief Ron Smith.
He tells the New York Post, “I have a fear of banks, so I keep cash in my house and I grabbed the wrong box. I took it into the country and out. The cigars, well I should have smoked them before I left.” He added, “Apparently a black man with dreads can’t carry that much cash, but I think there are a few worse things to be embarrassed about. I haven’t cheated on my wife like some in the news.”
Mr. Mitchell was in Canada promoting his latest project, “The Black List,” a documentary on race he co-produced with Timothy Greenfield-Sanders for HBO.
