From the Toronto Star.
HAMILTON — There are a lot of things Christina Bianchi could have done with $10,000.
Buy a used car. Pay off her student loan. Pay off her credit card bills.
But instead, she took the five tidy stacks of $20 bills and gave them back to the bank that lost them.
The people at this city's Mountain Plaza CIBC branch just about cried when they got their misplaced cash bag back.
An investigation was already under way into the missing money's whereabouts, but the bank and courier company who lost it never expected the finder to do anything but keep it.
They must have thought they'd chanced upon the last honest person in the world when Bianchi walked through their doors Tuesday morning, with the money, her mom and a family friend in tow.
"They were almost on the brink of tears with joy," said her mother, Brenda.
As all that cash slipped through her fingers, Bianchi, 23, mentioned that she was in the branch last week thinking about applying for a loan. Within an hour of returning the money, a $7,000 loan was approved.
It all started early Tuesday. Bianchi pulled up to a CIBC ATM about 2 a.m., probably minutes after an armoured truck drove away with a slightly lighter load than intended.
Bianchi, a karaoke hostess at a downtown tavern, was on her way home when she stopped at her bank to pay some bills.
As she parked, she saw a package on the ground right by the curb in front of the bank's door.
The official CIBC label said it was the second of two bags with $110,000.
She drove home, waking up her parents to tell them what she'd found.
"We stared at the bag for a very long time. We just didn't know what to do."
Count it, for one. Which is when they realized they had $10,000 on their hands, with the balance likely in the first of the two bags.
Next came thoughts of what it could buy.
"Here you go dad, here's a trip to Mexico," Bianchi said, tossing a bundle of $20s his way.
Then came the guilt. What would happen to the employees who lost the money? What if she was caught spending stolen cash?
There never was any serious thought of keeping it.
Back at the bank branch, the armoured truck from Universal ATM Services had driven back to the parking lot five minutes after leaving, looking for the money missing from their pickup.
They couldn't find it.
Bianchi showed up at the branch at 11:30 a.m. the next day. "We commend you for your honesty," branch manager Gloria Rallis said yesterday on meeting her.
CIBC will be sending something in the mail to thank her soon.
And yesterday, an investigator from the courier company came to her house with a gushing letter of thanks and a $500 cash reward.
Bianchi's saving the reward. The loan will help pay off bills and buy a used car — her 1986 Toyota Tercel broke down a few weeks ago.
Well, I think that's pretty freakin amazing.
How many here would do the same thing?
How many people think she's crazy??
Joanna
HAMILTON — There are a lot of things Christina Bianchi could have done with $10,000.
Buy a used car. Pay off her student loan. Pay off her credit card bills.
But instead, she took the five tidy stacks of $20 bills and gave them back to the bank that lost them.
The people at this city's Mountain Plaza CIBC branch just about cried when they got their misplaced cash bag back.
An investigation was already under way into the missing money's whereabouts, but the bank and courier company who lost it never expected the finder to do anything but keep it.
They must have thought they'd chanced upon the last honest person in the world when Bianchi walked through their doors Tuesday morning, with the money, her mom and a family friend in tow.
"They were almost on the brink of tears with joy," said her mother, Brenda.
As all that cash slipped through her fingers, Bianchi, 23, mentioned that she was in the branch last week thinking about applying for a loan. Within an hour of returning the money, a $7,000 loan was approved.
It all started early Tuesday. Bianchi pulled up to a CIBC ATM about 2 a.m., probably minutes after an armoured truck drove away with a slightly lighter load than intended.
Bianchi, a karaoke hostess at a downtown tavern, was on her way home when she stopped at her bank to pay some bills.
As she parked, she saw a package on the ground right by the curb in front of the bank's door.
The official CIBC label said it was the second of two bags with $110,000.
She drove home, waking up her parents to tell them what she'd found.
"We stared at the bag for a very long time. We just didn't know what to do."
Count it, for one. Which is when they realized they had $10,000 on their hands, with the balance likely in the first of the two bags.
Next came thoughts of what it could buy.
"Here you go dad, here's a trip to Mexico," Bianchi said, tossing a bundle of $20s his way.
Then came the guilt. What would happen to the employees who lost the money? What if she was caught spending stolen cash?
There never was any serious thought of keeping it.
Back at the bank branch, the armoured truck from Universal ATM Services had driven back to the parking lot five minutes after leaving, looking for the money missing from their pickup.
They couldn't find it.
Bianchi showed up at the branch at 11:30 a.m. the next day. "We commend you for your honesty," branch manager Gloria Rallis said yesterday on meeting her.
CIBC will be sending something in the mail to thank her soon.
And yesterday, an investigator from the courier company came to her house with a gushing letter of thanks and a $500 cash reward.
Bianchi's saving the reward. The loan will help pay off bills and buy a used car — her 1986 Toyota Tercel broke down a few weeks ago.
Well, I think that's pretty freakin amazing.
How many here would do the same thing?
How many people think she's crazy??
Joanna
Last edited:
