This is news because it happens so seldom. What would you do? I know I would not have to thnk twice about returning any amount of money. However, I can understand the temptation to those who have little. Iwish they would have given her a small reward, however, just as a token thanks like $50 or $100. -- The Philadelphia Talk Radio Politics and Opinion Forum

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Date Posted: 20:38:16 06/05/03 Thu
Author: SurveyGuy
Author Host/IP: pcp01422563pcs.lndsd201.pa.comcast.net / 68.81.153.209
Subject: This is news because it happens so seldom. What would you do? I know I would not have to thnk twice about returning any amount of money. However, I can understand the temptation to those who have little. Iwish they would have given her a small reward, however, just as a token thanks like $50 or $100.

Woman finds bank bag with $1,700, returns it
By Shanna McCord UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER June 4, 2003

VISTA � It was the temptation of all temptations.

A plastic bank bag full of cash sat in the middle of the street and no one was there to see Michelle Tamayo pick it up.

She could have kept the $1,700 inside. She thought of all the bills it would pay off. She thought about her mother, dying of cancer and overwhelmed by hospital expenses.

Just one problem.

"The feelings of guilt would last a lifetime," Tamayo said. "It's not worth it."

She turned the money over to its rightful owners at a Vista Napa Auto Parts store.

Police say such acts of kindness are not unheard of. But most often, authorities say, it's finders keepers.

Tamayo said she came across the cash while hurrying to visit her mother at a hospice during her lunch break Monday afternoon. The small bank deposit bag caught her eye.

Tamayo stopped her car to pick it up, and discovered it contained a stack of bills and a cash deposit slip belonging to Napa Auto Parts.

Tamayo's mind was racing. She thought about her major expenses � rent, car payment, insurance, food and clothing for her two young children. She thought hard about the comfort the extra money would bring to her life as an office manager making modest wages.

Then she stopped thinking about herself.

"I thought someone probably put it on top of their car and drove off," she said. "Someone could lose their job over this and I'd hate for a family to go through that."

She brought the bag to her mother's hospice room, where the two joked that it was possibly a gift from God. But they both agreed it must be returned.

"God can send us a check in the mail," quipped Tamayo's mother, Judy Secrest.

With or without Mom's advice, Tamayo admitted that the temptation was strong. Police agree.

"Normally when people find something on the street that has monetary value, turning it in to the police is not their first thought," said San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson. "We don't hear about it very often."

Tamayo said the manager at Napa Auto Parts was surprised when she showed up at the store with the money in hand.

"We are grateful for honest people in Vista," manager Heather Stiner said yesterday. "It was the right thing to do and we appreciate it."

Tamayo said she did not get a reward. She doesn't care. She figures that honesty is its own reward.

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[> I would have returned all of the money. I have gone through this numerous times in my own life. I cannot understand why people are not more honest and return that which does not belong to them, especially when the owner is clearly identified. I have been down on my luck and poor, or impoverished as well and I still would not keep what does not belong to me. If it is no mine, I will not keep it. I will seek Identification and return it to the owner. If I cannot find the owner through channels after some time then I see no problem with keeping it at that point. -- William, 04:39:00 06/06/03 Fri (pcp01723644pcs.coatsv01.pa.comcast.net/68.83.107.210)

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[> I've had some odd reactions when I try to be honest in similar fashion -- there have been times when a salesperson forgot to ring up some of my items before bagging them, and I'd point this out when I checked the receipt. One was completely dumbfounded, saying how "rare" it was. I just remember my first job in high school as a cashier, where I got fired because a spotter made it through my aisle without paying for something hidden under the cart. I wouldn't want someone else to get fired who really needs the job. -- Spock, 10:52:52 06/10/03 Tue (user-vc8fm1s.biz.mindspring.com/216.135.216.60)

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[> [> I have often corrected errors made in my favor. Such honest is usually regarded with suspicion that gratitude once they understand you are trying to help. For me it is usually too much change like an extra $10. You should see their attitude when you try to return it. I have also reported someone I spotted stealing merchandise. -- SurveyGuy, 18:59:10 06/11/03 Wed (pcp01422563pcs.lndsd201.pa.comcast.net/68.81.153.209)

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