To earn extra cash, retired Russian man offers to serve others' jail term

Saint Petersburg, Russia: A retired Russian man posting on Russia's popular classified ad website offered to serve other people's time in jail for some extra cash, the Saint Petersburg-based news website Fontanka said Thursday.

The screen shot posted by Fontanka showed the ad on popular website Avito.ru which seems to depict a grey-haired man reclining on a couch in a plaid shirt.

"Will serve your time in prison up to four years," the classified ad says. "Can take responsibility and give testimony."

The note says the man would not take "cases including violence" or "petty cases" and only works on Russian territory.

And what's his price for prison?

"Regarding the tariffs: one day in prison is 3,000 rubles ($48)," the ad says. Rates are cheaper for penal colonies but higher for solitary confinement or transfers, which are notoriously tough.

The ad however was quickly taken down, according to Fontanka.