A man will receive $5,000 for returning a $125,000 money bag to security and protection company Brinks.
According to The Fresno Bee, Brinks is investigating how the mishap occurred, and plans to properly reward Joe Cornell for his good deed. 52-year-old Cornell gave the money he discovered back to the organization upon finding it in the downtown streets of Fresno, Calif. It reportedly fell from one of the company's trucks.
Cornell said it was only appropriate to give the money back rather than keep it.
"It was the right thing to do," Cornell said.
A Brinks spokesman said the company appreciated Cornell's good deed.
"Mr. Cornell did the right thing," Ed Cunningham said. "For that, we are grateful."
Cornell discovered the bag in the organization's Ventura Avenue lot by Fresno's Highway 41 overpass and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks. He was in the middle of maintaining donated trailers, as part of his duties during month four of the Salvation Army's sixth month substance-abuse rehabilitation program.
The good samaritan said he was puzzled by a conversation a Brinks truck driver(s) had with passengers of a car that pulled alongside it.
"I thought, 'That's strange,'" Cornell said. "Sure enough, there was a big bag laying in the road, next to the curb. "I picked up the bag. I saw twenties and hundreds. The whole thing was full of money." The truck kept driving when the red light turned green. Cornell believes the bag dropped out of the truck as it went over the railroad tracks.
"I started crying and shaking," Cornell said. "Everything was going through my mind - the good devil/bad devil thing. What to do? I have a grandbaby due any time, my fourth. I thought, 'What would I want her to think of me?' That made up my mind right there. I got on my radio and called my boss. 'Hey, I found a bag of money.' I think they thought I was kidding."
Cornell brought the bag to a trailer he utilizes to complete his daily tasks.
"I went down there carrying the bag like I was Santa Claus," Cornell said. "It was heavy. A lot of people come by to shake my hand.
Brinks will also donate $5,000 to the Salvation Army according to The Bee.
