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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Honesty Own Reward For Teen Who Found Money

Mike Hurewitz Albany Times Union

Passers-by beep at him. People pat him on the back. Yet Joseph Loveland, a high school senior, is a little surprised about all the attention he is getting for returning a lost bag containing $70,000 in cash.

“In all honesty, not to sound boastful, I knew what I had to do,” Loveland, 18, said. “I had to return it. I knew somebody would get in trouble if they lost that much money - maybe fired.”

On Wednesday, a city bus driver who spotted Loveland in front of the Trustco Bank honked his horn and gave the thumbs-up sign.

Motorist Pat Miranda rolled down his window to offer his congratulations: “It was terrific. There are not too many people who would have done that.”

Loveland is a senior at the New Life Academy, a private school in this upstate New York city of 66,000 people. After finishing work Monday evening at a clothing store, Loveland was sitting on the bank steps waiting for a ride home.

When he spotted the gray canvas bag marked “Trustco Bank,” he figured it contained money, but he never wavered for a second.

He immediately tried the bank doors - all locked. He tried the night deposit box - no luck. Then he began to worry.

“I felt it was my duty,” he said, “since I picked it up, to protect it until I could return it. But I felt I was risking possibly even my life.” He sat down again on steps near the curb and put the money sack bag behind his knees, shielding it with the book bag he was carrying.

In what seemed like a long 10 minutes, someone emerged from the bank, Loveland hailed him and turned the bag over. Around the same time, a Brinks van pulled up.

“The driver had been looking for the money and he was nervous,” Loveland said. The bank official turned over the bag to the driver, who walked up to Loveland.

“He gave me a hearty handshake and took his wallet out, and out of his own pocket he gave me $20. It was touching,” Loveland said.

Bank officials were even more generous. On Tuesday, they awarded him a check for $1,000 accompanied by a note that said, in part, “Your unselfish act is a wonderful example to others.”

A Brinks spokesman declined to comment on details of the incident but said the security company was “considering” sweetening the reward money.

“I’m very proud of him,” said Gail Loveland, the young man’s mother.