SEPTA Worker Stumbles Upon $15,200 Cash And Returns It
By Walt Hunter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For Bob Tracey, the ride home from work at midnight might have been the road to riches.
Tracey discovered a pouch, on State Road at Anderson Avenue, which held $15,200 cash.
"First, I saw some envelopes, then I moved those envelopes, and that's when I saw the first $2,000,and that's when my heart skipped a couple (beats)," he told reporters.
Instantly, Tracey explained, that same heart told me what he needed to do.
"I had to turn it in, that's just the way I am, I had to turn it in," he said.
Tracey, who said he feared at first the money might have been a bank deposit, or a woman's purse, stated he immediately called police and turned the money over to officers.
"We lock up people every day for stealing and robbing and pillaging and here's a gentleman who comes in and finds 15 grand and turns it right over," said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood. "How much more can you say about that, other than 'thank you'."
Neighbors near where the cash was found also had praise for Tracey.
"For someone to find it and hand it in, I mean that's really amazing," Sandi Biddle told CBS.
"It's inspirational, there's good people in the world, thank God!", added neighbor Casey White.
So far, Chitwood says no one has claimed the money, and it's not clear if it belonged to someone legitimate or perhaps criminals.
Either way, Chitwood says, as his department tries to race the cash, he'd like every penny to go to Tracey.
"In the world of Mike Chitwood, if nobody claims the money, it should go to him," the Superintendent told reporters.
"But in the legal world, I don't know."
Tracey, who is married with two children and who has worked for Septa for more than 36 years, says on his job he, and fellow employees, often find wallets, purses and other items left behind on trolleys and buses and immediately turning them in. A career and a personal life that Tracey has repeatedly shown are anchored in honesty.
"I'd want someone to do that for me, so that's why I did that," Tracey reflected.
"I was 15 thousand dollars richer for about half an hour, so that made me feel pretty good, so I'm good," he said with a smile.
