We’ve all heard the saying, “Finders keepers, losers weepers.” For me personally, I never liked that saying. Even as a child, I always thought that whatever you found, it belonged to someone else and that it should be rightfully returned if they wish to have it back.
19-year-old Jose Nuñez Romaniz from Albuquerque, New Mexico feels the same way that I do. This was apparent with how he reacted to an unusual occurrence on May 3, 2020.
The college student was at his local Wells Fargo bank making a deposit at the ATM, so he could buy socks for his grandfather online when he spotted a “foot-long sack.” Inside the bag were several $50 and $20 bills.
“I didn’t know what to do. I was, like, dreaming,” Nuñez admitted. “I was just in shock. I was looking at myself and just thinking, ‘What should I do?'”
The young man knew that keeping the cash would be unethical, hence why he never had intentions to. However, with the bank being closed on Sundays, he had no idea how to report the large sum of money.
So, Nuñez did the next best thing by calling his local police.
“My parents always taught me to work for my own. Stolen money would never last you any time. I had my mom’s voice and her ‘chancla’ in the back of my head,” he said.
Shortly after he called, two officers arrived at the scene, counted the money which amounted to $135,000, and kept the money in their possession until it could be returned to the bank.
The police explained that the money had to have been mistakenly left out by a subcontractor who was hired by the bank to stock money in the ATM machine. It’s a serious mistake, but fortunately, Nuñez was the one who stopped anything bad from potentially occurring to the very tempting pile of cash.
“This money could have made an incredible amount of difference in his life if he went down the other path, but he chose … the integrity path and did the right thing,” Officer Simon Drobik said.
Due to his honesty, the police department decided to present a special plaque to reward Nuñez. An officer also invited Nuñez, who is studying Criminal Justice at a local community college, to apply for a job as a public service aide at the department.
In addition to the latter, Albuquerque ESPN Radio 101.7 FM gave the teen six season tickets for UMM football as well as signed sports memorabilia. To top it off, several local businesses presented Nuñez with monetary rewards.
And you bet his momma is proud.
“She told me I did the right thing and that she was proud of me,” Nuñez said. “She called me and almost started crying.”
Good things happen to people who make good decisions!
Watch below to hear more about this story.
