Air Conditioners for Poor Sold to Pawnshops
TAMPA, Fla. — Air conditioners given to the poor during a late-summer heat wave have been turning up at Florida pawnshops now that the weather has eased, the Tampa Tribune said Wednesday.
“Obviously they violated the principle of the program, but it wasn’t illegal,” Tampa police spokesman Steve Cole said.
The $300 air conditioners were distributed under a federally funded emergency program as September heat waves took their toll on the poor and disabled nationwide.
Pawnbrokers recognized the units because they were all the same make and model.
Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa, got $453,244 to distribute air conditioners to the poor under a $100-million emergency grant released by President Clinton.
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