$40,000 in a purse

[wecandigit]

My wife was the last person in an upscale optical store in South Florida when it closed. She noticed a fanny pack on the counter when she closed. She didnt have the managers home number. She looked inside and saw money. She closed the store and brought the bag home. There was over 40,000 in the bag and identification for the owner. Theres lots of legit money in South Florida and drug money too. We freaked out. We figured it was possibly drug money, but wanted no part of it regardless. We called the person who left the money. About 20 minutes later a big Mercedes with black out window tint and a sinister looking man was at our front door. We checked his ID, had him describe the bag, and handed over the cash. Sometimes when a class ring is returned, theres no thanks. Well here the man took the bag and just turned around and left. We were happy to be rid of the bag. We knew nothing good would have come from it.

 

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[jeff of pa]

hmmm If only you's would have waited till the next morning.

Possably the store would have been Broken into
& Ransacked over night.
"Burglers must have taken it"

at the very least, the person who left it,
may have been a little more appreciative
after loosing sleep

 

[brendan1414]

Im sorry, but if this happened to me i would've DEFINITELY found a way to keep that money.

 

[jeff of pa]

some places have a security camera pointing at
the counter these days. I'd think even more
places in florida do.

upscale optical store in South Florida

Yea I'd guess so.

although I'm Half Joking,
Like I said, I would have waited til morning
Hopeing they Couldn't wait & Broke in ovrnight
looking for it

Or at the very least Nearly Stroked out
till the store Reopend.
They maybe would have been a little more Thankfull

 

[Tigger]

good for you! the other thing you could've done was to turn it in to the police, then they would've had to go to the police station to pick it up, and possibly answer some questions there.
what did her boss say the next day? (and he should post his phone number so his employees can reach him if need be).

 

[cbrtriple8]

in an upscale optical store in South Florida when it closed.

Ha, was it at Stanton's optical, or one of the eye glass world??

 

[pganjon]

Hello and God Bless you for your honesty Reading your story though, I believe I would have turned that amount of money into the Police. Only for your own protection as I agree with the other Post about letting the cops ask this man some more detailed questions. I also understand that it would make me nervous too if I had found that much money. I am glad that you are both safe. Take care Paul

 

[jeff of pa]

the other thing you could've done was to turn it in to the police, then they would've had to go to the police station to pick it up, and possibly answer some questions there.

At the risk of this thread going off topic,
I Disagree with getting the police involved.
I Personally don't believe they should
have any buisness knowing how much money
anyone has, or why.

on every bill
THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER
FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

Therfore no money is Dirty Money

 

[diggummup]

My number one question to wecandigit would be... how long was the wife there after the store closed before she left for home?

Who carries 40 grand around for legitimate purposes? Wait ,let me restate that... Who carries around 40k and then leaves it laying somewhere and then doesn't automatically realize that he left it and doesn't go back looking for it instantaneously?

Reasons for having that much money on your person-

A- Drug money- if drug money, he would have been looking for it immediately, unless he's using his own product, which is the number one no-no in drug dealing, i've seen the movie. lol

B- It was money to be used to privately purchase a luxury car or an RV or something to that effect, in which case he would have been looking for it immediately.

C- He just won it at the casino or the track, in which case he would have been looking for it immediately.

D- He was getting ready to make a business deposit at the bank (hmm? no checks, only cash?), in which case he would have been looking for it immediately.

E- He's related to Scott Rothstein and he just likes to make an impression by throwing large amounts of cash around, in which case he would have offered a reward upon the return of said funds.

F- He just got done picking up the day's "protection" or "numbers" monies for an organized crime family, in which case he would not have left it laying there to begin with for fear of ending up in the Everglades as gator bait, or deep sixed in the ocean at 5000 feet with an anchor tied to him or maybe even ground up in a wood chipper and used for hog feed.

There are many reasons that one could have been carrying such a large amount of cash on them, the question is... how does someone just "forget" that much money on a counter and not immediately return to get it before he reaches his vehicle?
The only thing that makes sense to me is that it's dope money and he is using his own product and didn't even realize where he left it because he was high.
The number one reason you shouldn't use dope... you might leave all your profits on the counter of an upscale optical store and totally forget where you left it.

Or the person is filthy rich and it's such a small amount of cash to him that it didn't matter anyway because it was just his spending money for the night anyway.

 

[Sheldon J]

You took a huge risk returning the money like that ... calling the police and letting them deal with it is what should have been done ... then you could have legitimately claimed the reward for dropping a dime on a drug dealer ..

 

[wecandigit]

You took a huge risk returning the money like that ... calling the police and letting them deal with it is what should have been done ... then you could have legitimately claimed the reward for dropping a dime on a drug dealer ..
[/quote

yeah...hindsight is always perfect. We just wanted it out of the house now. Didn't think of anything else. Return was probably dangerous too. FL has a law now that unclaimed property is given to the finder in 90 daya if not claimed. Dont know if that was the case then 20 or so years ago. Theres probably an exception for suspected drug money.

 

[GibH]

You took a huge risk returning the money like that ... calling the police and letting them deal with it is what should have been done ... then you could have legitimately claimed the reward for dropping a dime on a drug dealer ..

Drug dealers have friends. In Miami, a drug dealer with that much cash on hand likely had friends "everywhere".

yeah...hindsight is always perfect. We just wanted it out of the house now. Didn't think of anything else. Return was probably dangerous too. FL has a law now that unclaimed property is given to the finder in 90 daya if not claimed. Dont know if that was the case then 20 or so years ago. Theres probably an exception for suspected drug money.

They would have tested the cash and found trace amounts of coke on it. Then it would have been forfeited and there would be nothing to claim. 80-90% of the bills in circulation have trace amounts of coke on them.

 

[idigdirt]

Everybody reacts differently when it comes to money. Sure it might have been more prudent to have taken it down to the police station. You did what you did and I'm sure it was the right decision to make. Keeping it would have been very risky, and possibly deadly! That identification was left inside the bag means something but I don't know what. Nice story!

 

[huricanesrul]

I would of went to a nuetral area...public !! they know were u live !!!!! u didn't think of that .

 

[maipenrai]

About 30 years ago, I went to the states, with a friend, to buy some cheap older cars, and maybe some bikes. We had a certified check, for $36,000, and went to the local bank and cashed it. As we were leaving, they told us to be careful, thats a lot of money. Well, we were careful with it, and spent it all, but the fact is, people do sometimes have lots of money with them, and it really isnt that hard to forget it somewhere. We werent drug dealers, just out buying cars, and needed cash. Maybe people from tnet are a bit paranoid? Black merc with dark windows?? Yep, thats a gangster alright! He probably had a metal detector in his trunk too, and a few boxes of rolled quarters? Call the police right away, he just stole someones coin collection!

 

[ivan salis]

might have been a hip hop record producer carrying a "cash signing bonus" for some fresh new "street talent" he found -- who stopped off to buy some upscale new shades * as a added "signing" bonus or for himself -- as the store was closed he did not know how to 'contact" the stores lost and found about his "lost" money --until you called him -- and since it was the only right thing to do , the returning "his" money -- he offered no reward .

yah , right

 

[diggummup]

might have been a hip hop record producer carrying a "cash signing bonus" for some fresh new "street talent" he found -- who stopped off to buy some upscale new shades * as a added "signing" bonus or for himself -- as the store was closed he did not know how to 'contact" the stores lost and found about his "lost" money --until you called him -- and since it was the only right thing to do , the returning "his" money -- he offered no reward .

yah , right

Colorful story excluded, that's why I was asking the question-

"how long was the wife there after the store closed before she left for home?"

Never got a reply though.

Maybe the guy that got the money back was the intended target of a hit, and the money in the bag was for the hitman, hence the reason for his id in the bag.

He just got paid to kill himself.

 

[SilverForBrains]

I'd have bought $30,000 worth of firearms and booby traps for my house and protected the last $10,000 to the death!

 

[spartacus53]

What money Get my drift

 

[Ammonhotep]

All cash has been drug money at some point! But that doesn't matter, bravo for having the integrity to find its owner.

One time I found a fat wallet on a university cafeteria table. It was loaded with cash, SS card, credit and bank cards, PINs, house key ... everything. Took a few hours to track the guy down, but I succeeded. When he arrived at the university he called me, made me walk outside to his car. He didn't even get out of his vehicle. Didn't shake my hand. Didn't say "thank you."

Just goes to show, the only person's character you can control is your own.