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Thief Stole Hammer Decades Ago, Sends $45 Check To Repay Pa. Company

Thief Pays Pa. Firm For Hammer Stolen Decades Ago
(AP Photo, file)

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (CBS/AP) This time the check really was in the mail.

A Pennsylvania tool-supply company says somebody mailed a $45 check to pay for a hammer stolen decades ago.

Lynne Gramling, president of Central Contractors' Supply Co., tells the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat that the check arrived earlier this month.

It included an anonymous letter that says the writer stole a hammer 25 to 30 years ago. It reads, "Enclosed is $45 to cover the hammer plus a little extra for interest. I'm sorry I stole it, but have changed my ways."

The company president says she wants the sender to know: "It was a gift from the heart and I appreciated it."

She's donating the money to the Salvation Army.

And that puts the final nail in the case.
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