LONG BEACH, Calif., April 10, 2008
Man Finds $140,000, Turns It In To Cops
Brinks Gives Struggling Landscaper $2,000 Reward, His Mom Says It Should Have Been 10%
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Play CBS Video Video Calif. Man Turns In $140Gs A landscaper with lots of debt found bundles of $20 bills on the street in Cerritos, Calif. He turned them into police and was rewarded by Brinks, the company who left them. Glen Walker reports.
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The cash found by Eli Estrada. Photo courtesy of Long Beach Police Department. (Long Beach Police Department)
There was his credit card debt, upcoming wedding and making ends meet with his artificial grass and landscaping business.
But turning it over to Long Beach police last month was the right thing to do, he said.
The 40-year-old Estrada admits that some days "I think I was nuts," but he adds, "I know in my gut that to keep that money would be wrong."
The Bank of America money bag was lost March 11 by Brinks Armored truck drivers. The unmarked $20 bills were bundled into wads of $20,000 and bound for ATMs.
Long Beach police Sgt. Dina Zapalski said Estrada handed over the money bag to an officer who took a report at one of the landscaper's job sites.
Zapalski said she had never heard of someone turning in so much cash.
"I've had people come to me with purses and wallets with cash in it and they'll turn it in," Zapalski told the Los Angeles Times. "But not like this."
Brinks later gave him a $2,000 reward.
"They should have given him 10 percent," Estrada's mother told the Times.
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 250 Commentsbut you can tell it to the birds and bees,
give me money, it''s what I want,....
Crazy thing is, anyone who loses $140,000 CASH in a bag on the street can afford to lose it- especially ina BRINKS bag!
in this case the bank is insured too, and its not like THEY are hard up for money with their $39 bounced check charges and the like!
Shoulda kept it and said phux the bank the way they, mortgage co''s and credit card co''s phux their customers.
Unmarked, used 20 dollar bills are imposable to trace and as long as he used them over his lifetime for cash at super markets, car repairs, Gas, etc. he would be good to go.
Regular folks, small business folks, church, schools people and things like that get their money back from me. I have found cash and returned it in the past. Just a few hundred but I returned it non the less.
The bank''s on the other hand can kiss it goodbye if I find it.
I have nothing but admiration for Mr. Estrada. He did the right thing when so many others (evidently) would not have. May he live long and prosper.
[Posted by truth-hurts at 10:47 AM : Apr 11, 2008]
does this have any impact on the cost of tea in china?
It can all be summed up in one word, ''integrity''.
Some people have it, and some don''t. Those that don''t, couldn''t understand what motivates those that do if you tried to pound it in with 20 years of prison.
And, THAT folks is why we have so many folks in prison.
The thing is, that he KNEW who the money belonged to. It was in a Brinks bag. If it had been in a brown paper bag, then he could have taken it to the police, and I think that after 30 days (or so) - if nobody came looking for it - it would be his. But. It wasn''t in a brown paper bag. It was in a Brinks bag. So. There you go.
WAY TO GO, ELI ESTRADA!!! You make me proud!!
[Posted by enriquecalie at 09:47 PM : Apr 10, 2008]
it goes much further than this. many claim that the loss of ethics and ''doing the right thing'' is lost due to the lack of religion in schools. but more influential than saying a prayer (or not) in school is the pervasive attitude that seems to exist at all levels of authority that it (whatever) is ok to do ''as long as you get a away with it''. this seems to be the new touchstone principle that guides peoples desision process.
politicians misrepresenting the truth ... including those in the highest seats of power ... corporate leaders who fudge the numbers, lay off thousands, then take huge severence ... and even distraught parents tossing their children off of bridges creates a pervasive sense of ''me'' ... which is the true ''trickle down'' that affects us all ... and is the underlying theme of your post.
You are really amazing. Where did you find out he was an illegal ? When have youeever seen an illegal walk intoi a police statioin to return something they found ? And yes many illegals come here to work to support their families becasue they can''t earn enough in their own country to do so. When they do come they try to be law abiding so they will not attract the attention of the authorities.
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Exactly.
To Bank of America, losing 140K that fell out of a truck, would be like us losing a penny that fell out of our pocket.
You are despicable, Thirteenburn!
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Wow, you people are some of the dumbest people I have ever read about.
It''s pretty amazing that you believe if I drop a $100 bill out the window of my car that the next person who picks it up will suffer "karma consequences" if they don''t spend their whole life trying to "do the right thing" and find me and give it back to me. Since it would be impossible to find me, according to your logic the $100 bill would be better off sitting there in the dirt, doing nothing.
Maybe I didn''t give a rattsass about that $100 bill I dropped out the window....and maybe I wanted the next person who found it to keep it and do something good with it.
But listening to you...the person would no doubt blow their brains out because of the guilt and shame. LOL
Man, you people and your shameful urban legends are really amazing. LOL
thank you
todd
Posted by tenielsen
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I don''t think the Ten Commandments said
"Thou Shall Not Steal From Brinks"
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