Man Returns $125K So Grandkids Will Be Proud

Police officer says Joe Cornell is one in a million
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2014 1:50 PM CDT
Man Returns $125K So Grandkids Will Be Proud
   (Shutterstock)

Joe Cornell was volunteering on Tuesday at a Salvation Army in Fresno where he attends a rehab program when he noticed something a bit odd. A car had pulled up beside a Brinks truck that was stopped at a light and someone inside said something to its driver. Yet the truck drove off, and Cornell noticed a big, orange bag lying in the road. As Cornell—who says he's so poor he had just $1 to pay for lunch on Tuesday—picked it up, he discovered it was packed with cash, some $125,000, KMPH reports. "I started crying and shaking," said Cornell. "Everything was going through my mind—the good devil/bad devil thing. What to do?"

But Cornell, 52, says he then thought "'What type of man do I want my grandkids to think I am?' ... I want them to think I'm a just man that does the right thing and I did the right thing." Cornell explained the find to his boss, who then contacted police. When they arrived, an officer told Cornell he was one in a million. As for Brinks, the company says money goes missing "from time to time," and it'll hand Cornell a $5,000 reward, plus donate $5,000 to the local Salvation Army, as thanks for the money's return, the Fresno Bee reports. Meanwhile, Cornell says he's looking forward to finishing up rehab. "I'm trying to finally clean it up," he notes. "I've been battling this for a long time." (More uplifting news stories.)

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