A waiter in a central California city did what he called “the right thing” and told his manager about a canvas pouch he found in their Applebee’s restaurant. It contained more than $32,000, more than Brian Gerry’s annual salary.
The 33 year-old told Reuters he found the pouch at the Fresno eatery after a family of guests left the establishment. He brought the unopened container to his manager, who speculated that rectangular shape inside might be medicine and suggested Geery open it to check.
Inside was a stack of U.S. currency.
“I’d never seen so much cash in my life before,” Geery said.
A regional director of the chain of “casual dining” restaurants, Carrie Hellyer, said the lackadaisical family offered Geery a reward for finding the stash, but this he declined. He also withheld his name from media at first.
He “didn’t want the right thing being overwhelmed by anything else,” Hellyer said.
Geery reported that he is “a big believer in karma,” the principle integral to a number of religions stating that the intentions and actions of individuals influence that individual’s future. Geery has worked for Applebee’s for ten years and confirmed that the cash he found exceeded his annual after-tax income.
To underscore Gellyer’s honesty, director Hellyer said the restaurant does not have a camera in the area where the family was seated.
Fresno police picked up the bounty later that day. Spokesman Joe Gomez said that, before the money was handed back, a detective scrutinized the family and determined it was obtained legally. It apparently was legitimate revenue from a number of rental properties and a Mexican restaurant the family operates in the San Jose area.
“Some people don’t use banks,” Gomez said. “They’re that type of person.”
Reuters reported that, earlier in the day, the family tried to rent a safe deposit box at a bank but could not find one. So, as Gomez said, “they had the cash with them at Applebee’s when they went there to eat and simply forgot it.”