Teen Turns in Bag of Cash, Gets Rewarded With Job Offer

Jose Nunez Rominez found $135K next to ATM
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 8, 2020 8:48 AM CDT
Teen Finds $135K Near ATM, Hands It In
Jose was honored at the police academy Thursday.   (Albuquerque Police Department)

Albuquerque teenager Jose Nunez Rominez wants to work in law enforcement—and his actions after finding a bag of cash near an ATM definitely didn't do his career prospects any harm. The 19-year-old community college student tells CNN that he went to the Wells Fargo machine Sunday morning to get cash so he could buy socks for his grandfather. He says he spotted a clear plastic bag on the ground containing a "foot-long stack" of $50 and $20 bills. He called police and turned the money over to officers. Police say the bag, containing $135,000, had been left there accidentally by a Wells Fargo subcontractor filling the ATM. Nunez was honored at the Albuquerque police academy Thursday, where Mayor Tim Keller joked that even he would have been tempted to take "just one of those bundles off the top."

"Whether you can believe that it is divine, or it’s good luck or whatever, we were just talking about how—the irony that his career is so far leaning towards criminal justice, and he happens to be looking for a job, and we happen to be hiring," the mayor said, per KRQE. Police Chief Mike Geier said that the teen will be invited to apply for a job as a public safety officer while he's in school. He's has also been rewarded with $500 checks from three local businesses. Albuquerque ESPN Radio 101.7 FM presented Jose with a football autographed by former NFL linebacker Brian Urlacher, along with six season tickets for UNM football. (More uplifting news stories.)

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