Community Corner

Ex-Belleville BOE Member Returns $2K He Found At Bank Drive-Thru

Why return a huge fistful of hundred-dollar bills? It was a simple choice, Michael Sheldon said: it's what his parents would tell him to do.

A member of the Belleville Zoning Board of Adjustment says he found more than $2,000 in cash at a local bank drive-thru.
A member of the Belleville Zoning Board of Adjustment says he found more than $2,000 in cash at a local bank drive-thru. (Photo courtesy of Michael Sheldon)

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Michael Sheldon just planned on a quick trip through a bank drive-thru. But sometimes, good deeds have a way of sneaking up on you.

Last week, while visiting a local bank in Belleville, Sheldon reached for the deposit canister and made a surprising discovery: it was full of money.

Sheldon, a member of the Belleville Zoning Board of Adjustment and a former Board of Education member, told Patch that he found over $2,000 in cold, hard cash in an envelope.

Find out what's happening in Belleville-Nutleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Sheldon immediately gave the money back to bank employees, who told him that it likely belonged to one of their elderly customers and that they were “quite certain” they knew their identity.

Why return a huge fistful of hundred-dollar bills? It was a simple choice, Sheldon said – it’s what his parents would tell him to do.

Find out what's happening in Belleville-Nutleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Sheldon said he owes his moral code to his parents, both of whom voluntarily served in the U.S. military.

In a bit of good karma, his dad won $2 on a lottery ticket that afternoon, he added.

“To be honest, all I would like to know at this stage is that the rightful owner of the $2,000 has been reunited with their money,” Sheldon said. “A simple thank you from that person would make my day.”

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