Teen receives praise from the city when he returned $135,000 he found by ATM
19-year-old Jose Nuñez Romaniz wanted to help out his grandfather buy socks. He finally found the perfect pair online but needed to deposit money in his bank account to buy it.
He was so shocked when he discovered a bag with a big amount of cash left behind in a drive-thru ATM.
Nuñez drove to the drive-thru ATM, the closest one to his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he found the bag on the ground. It was a clear plastic bag full of $20 and $50 bills inside.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Jose told CNN. “I was just in shock [and] looking at myself and just thinking, ‘What should I do?'”
He was shocked when he discovered the money.
“When I first saw it, I kind of stared at it for a few seconds, not knowing what to do,” Jose recalled. “I was very shocked. I’ve never seen so much money.”
There was a tag inside the bag that indicates it had $20 bills worth $60,000. The bag also had $50 bills but the tag did not indicate how much it was.
But Jose is an honest man.
“It never passed through my mind to keep any of it,” Jose said.
He was also a man scared of his mother.
“In the back of my head, I was just thinking about my parents, especially my mom,” Jose recalled. “What she would do if I came home with the money and what she would do with her chancla (slipper) to hit me.”
Because it was a Sunday, the banks were closed so he called the bank’s 1-800 number. He also called 911 so it doesn’t look like he’s stealing the bag.
Jose did take the bag though and place it in his car so another car could use the ATM machine.
And he parked just a few feet away from the machines and waited for the police to arrive. Within minutes, the police arrived and took Jose’s statement and the money.
The Albuquerque police were amazed at Jose’s actions.
“I’ve seen a lot of stuff in 21 years, but this was unique and refreshing for the department and city,” Officer Simon Drobik, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said. “I think this is the biggest amount of money found in Albuquerque and returned.”
The police counted the $50 bills, which amount to $75,000. All in all, Jose found $135,000 in cash on the ground.
“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 Drobik said.
Even his parents were amazed at Jose’s honesty and could not believe what happened to him until Jose showed them a photo.
The money was left by the bank’s subcontractor, the police later reported. They were going to add the money to the ATM machine but left it on the ground by mistake.
It’s a good thing Jose was the one who found it! Who knows where it would have ended up if he didn’t?
When Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller heard about Jose’s story, he wanted to honor the 19-year-old.
“Man, we all know that temptation – even just take a little, just one of those bundles off the top, I mean that had to be really hard,” Mayor Keller joked but then, with a serious tone, added, “I’m just absolutely impressed.”
The mayor was so impressed that he held a public ceremony to honor Jose.
The police chief gave him a plaque plus he invited Jose, a criminology student, to apply for a job at the police department.
ESPN Radio 101.7 FM also heard Jose’s story and gifted him with signed sports memorabilia and six season tickets for UNM football.
“It’s the coolest story. … it’s unbelievable what the kid did,” Joe O’Neill, the station president, said.
Jose also received $100 and $500 gift cards from local businesses.
His family, especially his mother, was so proud of him for doing the right thing.
“She told me I did the right thing and that she was proud of me,” Jose said.
Learn more about what happened to Jose and how the city thanked him for his honesty by watching the video below.
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