I'd say that wealthier people commit crimes over not having what they want, whereas not so wealthy people commit crimes over not having what they need. There's a mighty big divide between greed and desperation.
And what those not-so-wealthy people need is money for drugs.
Craziest fiends I ever met came from wealth and means
Very True. When papa cuts off funding to drugged-up little Johnny, watch out.
Marginal_propensity_to_consume hookers and blow has been shown in some studies to shorter lives and balance sheets of pro basketball players.
What do you think the chances are that the guy who broke into my car a few months ago (only to steal a few dollars in toll quarters I had in the center console) came from wealth and means? If you were a bookie, what odds would you put on that?
That's a bad use of statistics. There are significantly less wealthy people than poor people, so any single instance is going to be much more likely to be perpetrated by a person from a poor background. That doesn't prove that people from poverty are more likely on aggregate to break into your car.