- Oct 10, 1999
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- 136
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Ne...12/11/7706456-sun.html
Its good to see people not thinking only about themselves.
I wonder if the Brinks guy gets fired?
UPDATE: it wasn't $80,000. It was $16,000.
Link to new article
Finder of $80k gets thanks, praise for honesty
Thu, December 11, 2008
Bus driver Rick Bazinet found the cash left behind at a coffee shop by a Brinks employee
By JOE BELANGER
Bus driver returns $80,000 Brinks bag
Bus driver Rick Bazinet got a heartfelt thank you.
But whether the London Transit driver will get a reward for handing over the bag of $80,000 in cash he found is anyone's guess.
Bazinet's phone has been ringing off the hook, including calls from radio talk show hosts, news media and Brinks Canada, whose driver left the bag of $20-bill bricks behind after filling an ATM at the Esso and Tim Hortons drive-thru at the corner of Hamilton Road and Highbury Avenue.
"It doesn't happen every day," said the 34-year-old father of three young children who seemed unfazed by the attention.
"Yes, I got a call from the local (Brinks) manager and he thanked me and said he'd be getting back to me (today). I don't know if there's a reward or not. But I asked and he assured me the driver wouldn't be fired. It was a mistake."
Brinks Canada did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
Bazinet spotted the bag sitting near a stack of pop bottles after he ordered a coffee and walked to the restroom at about 10:35 p.m. Monday.
Bazinet told the clerk about the find and she managed to track down the Brinks truck, which was parked at another Tim Hortons across the street. The "panicked" driver retrieved the bag, but didn't offer a reward other than to buy her a coffee.
A co-worker of Bazinet's contacted The Free Press and his story was told on yesterday's front page where Bazinet said it never occurred to him to keep the money.
Several readers contacted the Free Press, most singing his praise, but one saying it would have been theft to keep money he knew wasn't his.
One man wants to give Bazinet a $20 reward for his "unbelievable honesty" with the hope others would do the same.
"Maybe he won't get the $80,000 from Brinks, but he might if he gets it from the public," said Milos Jesko.
"I think that it would be a great idea to open a donation account for this honest bus driver, so people like me can donate a $20 bill as a Christmas present for him, as a token of admiration, that he returned the money."
Its good to see people not thinking only about themselves.
I wonder if the Brinks guy gets fired?
UPDATE: it wasn't $80,000. It was $16,000.
Link to new article
Bus driver says honesty best policy
Sat, December 13, 2008
Returning bag of cash pays off
By JOE BELANGER
London bus driver Rick Bazinet got a heartfelt thank you and a cash reward for his honesty for returning a bag of cash found outside a coffee shop washroom.
Brink's Canada officials met yesterday with Bazinet and two Tim Hortons employees who helped ensure the money got back to to the guards, who left it behind when they filled an ATM.
They had lunch with company officials, then were given cash rewards, the amount of which they were asked not to disclose.
"We were very well compensated for our troubles, much more than I would ever have expected," Bazinet said.
"They were very nice, the meal (at the Keg) was nice. And the reward will be a nice help at Christmas."
"They did what everyone would expect a good citizen to do, but not everyone does and we certainly appreciated it," said Don Flynn, general manager of the Brink's London branch.
Bazinet found the bag of cash on Monday near the ATM at the Esso and Tim Hortons drive-through at the corner of Highbury Avenue and Hamilton Road. It was initially thought the bag contained $80,000, but Brinks said yesterday $16,000 was inside.
The London Transit driver had stopped to grab a coffee at 10:35 p.m. and hit the washroom when he saw the bag and alerted store staff, who tracked down the Brinks truck that had stopped at another Tim Hortons across the street.
Flynn said guards leaving money behind is "extremely rare."
"In fact, I can't recall another incident like this. It's an isolated situation that doesn't happen very often," he said. "The crew knew they made a mistake, but nobody will be fired."
Bazinet became an instant media celebrity with calls for interviews and was the focus of a flood of e-mails praising his honesty, although some suggested it was the only thing he could do because keeping the money would be theft.
The 34-year-old father of three young children seemed unfazed by the attention, but admitted the cash would have made "for a great Christmas . . . but that's not the way I was brought up and it's not the way I teach my kids."