NEW YORK - A Bangladeshi taxi driver in NY City returned a lost purse with more than $21K lost by tourist (517 hits)
NEW YORK - A Bangladeshi taxi driver in New York City said he returned a lost purse containing more than $21,000 in cash and expensive jewelry because his mother always advised him to be honest. "I'm broke, but I'm honest," 28-year-old Mohammad "Mukal" Asadujjaman said Tuesday.
Felicia Lettieri, of Pompeii, Italy, and six relatives had taken two cabs from midtown Manhattan to Penn Station on Christmas Eve. The 72-year-old Lettieri left her purse behind, with more than $21,000 of the group's travelling money, jewelry worth thousands more, and some of their passports.
Police advised the tourists they had little chance of recovering the lost goods. Felicia Lettieri returned to Pompeii and could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Her sister, Francesca Lettieri, 79, of Long Island, told Newsday that the honest driver had saved her family's vacation, and said "We really love what he did."
The immigrant is a full-time student at a city college near his apartment in Jamaica, Queens. He began driving a cab a few days a week about three months ago, after his hours were cut back at a former factory job.
Asked if he was tempted to keep the cash, Asadujjaman acknowledged the money would have allowed him more time to study, "but my heart said this is not good." He also turned down a reward, saying he could not accept it as an observant Muslim.
"I'm needy, but I'm not greedy," said Asadujjaman. "It's better to be honest."
