Posted on 09/01/2023 6:29:09 AM PDT by lowbridge
A man who felt like he had won the lottery after finding a bag containing nearly $5,000 in a car park has been charged with larceny.
Robert Withington, from Trumbull, Connecticut, said he found the bag of cash on the ground outside a local bank in May and decided to keep it, thinking it was his lucky day.
“Everything was in the moment and it was like I hit the lottery. That was it.”
According to Trumbull Police, the 56-year-old, who turned himself into police last week, believed he had no obligation to return the bag to its rightful owner.
“This is like a crock of baloney. I found money and now it’s probably going to cost me money,” said Withington, who told Hearst Connecticut Media he did not notice anything identifiable in the bag.
“If I knew I was wrong in the first place, I would have given it right back. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.”
Police said the bag, which was full of town tax receipt funds, was clearly marked with the bank’s insignia and contained “numerous documents” that identified the contents belonged to the town of Trumbull.
Officers launched an investigation when an employee of the Town’s Tax Collector Office was unable to locate the bank deposit bag while making a delivery to the bank on Tuesday, May 30.
Police combed through surveillance videos, obtained search warrants, and conducted “numerous” interviews, before learning the bag had simply been “inadvertently dropped” on the ground outside the bank, where Withington picked it up.
Three months on, Withington was charged on Friday with third-degree larceny, punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $5000 in fines.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
When my daughter was 5 she found a small coin purse on a parking lot of a tourist trap. It had about 900 dollars in it and nothing else whatsoever. So teaching her the lesson we called the police and she told them we found it. We filed a report and left it for safekeeping lest the rightful owner show up. They told us to check back in 6 months and if nobody has turned up she could have it.
So 6 months later, we called and it was still there. When we stopped by to get it and the woman sergeant and a detective told us it was likely drug money and they were going to seize it.
I told them I had turned it in to teach my daughter a lesson and the lesson she was about to learn was that the police would steal from her and shouldn’t be trusted. They relented and gave it to her. Pricks..
We used it for a Disneyland vacation… back when 900 bucks could take three people to Disneyland for 3 nights. And Disney was wholesome and celebrated America…
“I told them I had turned it in to teach my daughter a lesson and the lesson she was about to learn was that the police would steal from her and shouldn’t be trusted. They relented and gave it to her. Pricks..”
Well played...🤔🤨
That has actually happened before, and they didn’t call it theft. I had to pay a towing charge even though it was legally parked. But to your point, no that is not OK. There is an obligation to find the owner of the property before deciding to keep it.
I wouldn't think it safe to let this guy around kids.
Good answer...:)
True...true.
Because there are statutes and case law regarding “found” property and how it must be dealt with before a “finders keepers” claim can be made. If you don’t take the proper steps, you are a thief, not a finder.
Anyone who thinks it’s a good idea to keep something of value they found despite clearly knowing it’s not theirs should watch the movie “No Country For Old Men”.
The only money I ever found was when I was a 10 year old dependent living on the Navy base overseas in Yokosuka, Japan...I was walking down a wintry, windswept street near the Navy Exchange, and I actually saw money blowing down the street!
I ran and gathered up as much as I could before it all disappeared in the gusts of wind, and I got five MPC (Military Payment Currency, funny money) notes, which was a lot back in those days.
There was absolutely nobody on the street, so I wasn’t in the mode of finding who it belonged to!
But to a ten year old kid back in the mid sixties, 5 MPC to a kid was worth a lot of money! (I recall I got a kite and a few plane models with it!)
LOL, 5 MPC to a kid back then is probably similar to an adult today in Biden’s economy picking up a valise of $5,000!
Crazy. I got two medium steak and cheese subs the other day, and it was $35!!!!!
Finders Keepers!😁
This guy never saw the Brady Bunch?
Walking early in a small Mississippi town, I saw a new window envelope lying on the residential street. After picking it up I saw a bill through the window. Inside were crisp $100 bills. There were no identifying marks or cards. Remembering that some found bills are drug laden or coated with poison, I took them to my B&B for washing. There I called my wife and told her I’d found $1,000 with no indication of the rightful owner. Only as they were drying did I notice the Chinese characters on the backside and the printed statement: Not real money.
Hahahahahahahaha! Damn!
I don't think anyone should just assume any more that they are not on camera pretty much everywhere they go in a commercial area, and most neighborhoods. Plus, if they carry their cell phone, their location and time can be pinpointed.
So if police have someone on camera and then question them and they lie, that just adds to the charges against them.
We were in Colorado & I found a lady’s wallet outside a public restroom. Was going to take it to the police but she came back. Pulled her license to make sure it was her & handed it over to her. Didn’t think to look to see if there was any cash. She was very thankful that someone honest had found it. I don’t recall if she offered me anything but that’s kind of the situation where I hope someone would do for me.
Later I read an article where there was a scam where robbers were stealing wallets, taking pics of credit cards but turning everything back to the owner & using the info to make purchases.
“If I knew I was wrong in the first place, I would have given it right back. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.”
Filed under: Reasons to Teach Kids the Golden Rule.
"He who has the gold makes the rules."
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