Man Discovers $45k Stashed In His Attic

[SoCalDem]

Weird News
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Man Discovers $45k Stashed In His Attic
Thousands of dollars in cash... coins... and bonds are found in the attic of a home in Bountiful.
Talk Radio 105-7fm 570am

Josh Ferrin says there was a brief moment of "finders-keepers"... but in the end, he knew what he had to do. Ferrin and his wife had just purchased a home and were in the process of unpacking when he noticed a pice of carpet, sticking out of an access panel in the ceiling of his garage. He got a ladder and found a metal box containing cash... coins... stamps and other mementos that had been neatly tucked away. He says after all the counting was done... they had about $45,000 dollars in their hands.

The man who stashed all that money away... Arnold Bangerter... died in November of 2010. Ferrin contacted his family and told them he had found something that belonged to their father and they might be interested in having it back. The family had no idea Bangerter had been stashing the money away for decades.

Ferrin says although he could have used the money to remodel their new home, he knew he couldn't keep it. Besides... he says it was a great teaching moment for his two young sons.

Read more: http://www.y100.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104673&article=8597112#ixzz1MqepBFg9

[Skittles]

1. honest people are awesome

:thumbsup:

[MineralMan]

2. That, my friends, is what an honest man does!

Bravo! :applause:

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. awesome!

[rug]

4. I'd be reading the real estate contract with a magnifying glass.

[yawnmaster]

36. To me it wouldn't matter what the contract says. There is a right thing to do...

and he did it.

[Ready4Change]

45. Agreed.

.

[reggie the dog]

41. I would have just kept it and kept my mouth shut

cashed the bonds years in the future and either sold the coins to collectors out of state or spent them and kept the cash. I guess i am an asshole but i know i would not be able to pass up finding 3 and a half year's salary for me tax free and give it up.

[kenfrequed]

43. I can understand that

if 45 K is three and a half years salary I can totally understand that impulse. I don't know what I would do in that case.

[spooked911]

46. I think it depends what your personal financial situation is

Probably if you're buying a house, you have some regular income. But if someone who is poor finds the money, I can't blame them for thinking it's their lucky day.

[reggie the dog]

49. I made about 12,000 euros this year

my wife left me and i have to live on this, i am in france so i am better off than with that in the usa but still if i found 45,000 euros i would be damn tempted to just keep it and shut up about it.

[Ghost Dog]

52. Sorry to hear

about the split-up, reggie.

As regards the 'windfall', I'd guess there'd be some tax to pay on that unless it were kept very quiet.

Same in USA?

I mean, otherwise people could smuggle in cash from what they'd stashed offshore, and just say "I found it", and get away with it tax-free?

[progressiveinaction]

59. But the New World Order

will just confiscate it anyways so it really doesn't matter.

[Wednesdays]

56. Something tells me you wouldn't quite reach 100 recs with your story

:shrug:

[reggie the dog]

66. not on this site at any rate

which is why i say myself that i would be an asshole in that situation.

[progressiveinaction]

57. Tax free?

I can't imagine someone on our side just running away from taxes and saying "I got mine, everyone else worry about paying the taxes".

I can understand a freeper with the mentality of "everyone else pay for the roads I drive on, I'm keeping all the money".

[reggie the dog]

67. just that if i find cash in cash form i would not pay income tax on it

so as to say that you get 45 000 free and clear of taxes, not like saying you have a taxable income of 45 000.

when i was in college i was a valet car parker, we were only paid in cash, never in check, and i had no checking account or credit card so i didnt even file taxes for those years. I know it is not "progressive" but i didnt see the need to pay taxes on an invisible industry. i also have never paid taxes on profits i have made from selling cannabis when i used to do that.

[treestar]

70. Strangely enough

It could be said that if Harold wanted his family to have the money, he'd have made a will and said where it was. Or told them, so they'd be able to get it before the sale. Harold might have intended it to be for the next occupant of his house who could find it!

[demosincebirth]

5. My dad would have done the same thing.

[TuxedoKat]

37. My dad too (nt)

[demosincebirth]

73. Nice to know that we had great parents nt

[Snoutport]

6. bravo!

[Philippine expat]

7. This is what honest people do

since when is honesty news worthy

[AlecBGreen]

8. well done!

now, to the real question: why do you have a picture of my cat with a ribbon on her neck? Are you a cat stalker?

[TexasProgresive]

13. We have two kitties that decided they wanted to live with us like that.

Eddie and Tony. They both show up about a year apart and are definitely not feral cats - they love people. Anyway what are cats marked like that called?

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. You have a tabby cat (s).

My favorite kind. I have found them to be the most cuddly.

[TexasProgresive]

21. I thought Tabbies were stripped or marbled like these two

[SoCalDem]

28. Tabbies had the telltale "M" on their foreheads (chart link included)

and the cat in my sig does have some stripes, so technically it could be a tabby.. It's a male, so it's unlikely to be calico

?big chart

[TexasProgresive]

34. Thanks for that link- the chart is outstanding. ,/t

[trud]

60. M on tabby cats' foreheads

"All of us have heard that first Christmas described as a silent night. However, one of God's creatures knew otherwise.
The cat hunted in the cold, starry night. He didn't look much different from the other cats; he was gray in color with stripes the color of charcoal. As he walked down the dark alleyway, he heard crying coming from a stable. He entered the door and saw a mother trying to comfort her newborn son.
She spoke softly. "I don't know what to do. I thought you were hungry, so I fed you. I thought you were wet, so I changed your diaper. I thought you were cold, so I wrapped another blanket around you."
She rocked the infant a few minutes longer and then laid him back in a manger filled with hay. The baby continued to cry.
The cat knew what needed to be done. He leapt into the manger and curled up next to the child. In comforting tones, he began to purr. It was the sweetest lull-a-bye ever heard. The baby quieted and drifted off to sleep.
The woman gently stroked his fur. "Thank you. I don't know where you came from, but thank you."
God was looking down and witnessing the blessed events of His son's birthday. Heard only by the cat, God spoke.
"You have done a wonderful deed this night. Because you cared enough to help this woman, I will mark you and your offspring forever so that people will know what you have done. Her name is Mary and from this day forward you will have the letter "M" on your forehead.""

[AlecBGreen]

16. Well I have 2, brother & sister.

Here is the girl, La Jiao (Chinese for chili pepper)



Here is her brother, Dicos (a Chinese fried chicken restaurant)



He in particular looks like what they call a Turkish Van. Dunno, just bought him on the street in China back in '05. He really does love water like they say Vans do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Van

[TexasProgresive]

20. Tony looks just like La Jiao.

When he first showed up he was a little shy. We thought he was a she until he got comfortable with us. The day he went to the vet Eddie showed up. He is marked much like Tony but is definitely more masculine looking. Well the up shot is that Eddie and Tony live outside with Smudge our tuxedo cat in the yard and barn and 3 kitties live in the house.

Dicos is a handsome guy!

[SoCalDem]

18. That kitty is the 10 Downing Street kitty

all decked out for the Royal Wedding..

I have been too lazy to change the pic:)

[Little Star]

9. Wow, nice story! Bet the Ferrin's are not Republicans, lol.

[Sheepshank]

15. Not to fast there little star

This was in Utah. Bangerter is a well entrenched family name in Utah and includes the name of a previous Republican Governor. So there is a great likelyhood that the poor dead dude and the new home owner were Republicans.

[pipi_k]

24. Not fair...

One of the families down the hill from me are Republicans. In the 15 years we've lived here, they are about the only people who have given a shit about me and Mr Pip. They've done so much for us we could never even come close to repaying their kindness.

This AM on the wife's FaceBook page I saw a link to that article and her comment...that she's encouraged there are still honest people left in this world. I know it's what she and her family would have done...looked high and low for the owners of the money and given it back.

It really pisses me off when people here smear a whole section of the population.



PS...

and if I am really honest, I'm not so sure I'd have bothered looking for the rightful owner. Imagine...a dishonest Democrat!

[Canuckistanian]

10. I didn't think there were people like that anymore

Good on them. Good Karma will flow their way.

But strange, that Mr. Bangerter - hoarding money and other valuables that he didn't leave in his will or even tell his family about.

[SoCalDem]

19. Lots of older folks "stash" cash.

Many people of a certain age, have lived through many times of scarcity, and they know that having ready cash gives them a sense of security. They also may not want their relatives to know, or they might start asking for "loans"..:)

I have a "stash" as well, but I have shown my son where it is if there's ever a need for him to get to it:)

Sometimes I stash it too well.. I once found an envelope with $1200 in it... It had been misplaced for about 8 years:)

[callous taoboy]

29. My SIL's grandpa stashed a large collection of gold coins in a house in Houston.

He did it right before a family vacation, stashing them in a place in the house that he didn't tell anyone about. They went on vacation, came back, they carried on with life and grandpa eventually forgot where he stashed the coins. The house was recently torn down, so maybe some house wrecker got lucky.

[Poll_Blind]

11. The world can tear all kinds of things away from you, but nothing can take away a man's honesty.

Really. It is something worth crowing about and always keeping in mind, IMO.

PB

[The Magistrate]

12. A Good Man, Ma'am

[Shagbark Hickory]

17. They don't call it Bountiful for nothin'. nt

[JVS]

22. Idiot doesn't know to STFU about the $45K he found.

[lumberjack_jeff]

55. Honest < > idiot. n/t

[progressiveinaction]

61. But as Democrats

aren't we all about honesty? Is there anything honest about finding someone else's money and keeping it?

I find that Democrats and Liberals in particular are truth seekers and by definition you cannot be a truth seeker without being honest.

[LeftinOH]

23. My response: "Hey, folks- your dad stashed away $5,000.00 in the attic, here ya go."

Yes, I'm serious.

[Sky Masterson]

32. ..

:rofl:
My thoughts exactly!

[reggie the dog]

42. I would have just kept my mouth shut, not even told my wife.

[pipi_k]

25. OK a little bit of what could have been a lot of irony...

What if the new owner of that house had never found that money?

He and his family live there 20 years and nobody knows the money is there. The kids leave home. He and his wife die.

Then someone buys the house and finds the money and figures it must have belonged to the previous owner...the guy who didn't put it there at all.

And he gives it to the guy's kids.

[SoCalDem]

27. That would be possible for cash., but bonds have the bondholder's name on them

or they could have gone unnoticed forever and when the house was demolished, they ended up in the dump

[treestar]

71. Had that thought too

It could have belonged to a previous owner and Harold never found it.

[callous taoboy]

26. I once found a valuable baseball card collection in a closet in an old rent house.

The closet had been left piled with a lot of junk and clothing. There were a lot of boxes in there. I just left it all alone assuming the owner would come back some time. A few weeks after I moved in the former tenant's brother shows up and asks if there is a closet full of stuff that was left behind. I showed him the closet and he went right to the back of it and picked up a long, narrow box. He started showing me all of these cards, some signed from the 40's and 50's. He was really glad to get the collection back. He said the rest of the stuff was his brothers and that he would be back to get it, but he never came back.

[bvar22]

30. My first thought:

"I bet that was in the attic of an old hunting lodge in Northern Wisconsin."


I found a quarter in the WalMart Parking Lot yesterday,
and I kept it.
.
.
.
Now I feel so ashamed.

[hfojvt]

53. really? What else were you supposed to do with it?

give it to "lost and found"?

[progressiveinaction]

62. Is a quarter really the same thing as finding 45K?

[Beaverhausen]

31. Trying to figure out why this is a big deal. Clearly, this money should be returned to the family

Why would anyone think twice about keeping it? The man who had been saving it just died 5 months ago. It's not like this was found years and years after he passed.

I mean, good for Josh Ferrin for doing what could only be considered the right thing.

[MasonJar]

33. I am totally impressed with Mr. and Mrs. Ferrin. They deserve recognition

at a time when the corporations are raping us of as much as they can.

[louslobbs]

35. What do most of you think the average Republican politician would have done with the found money?

Good for you Mr. Ferrin.
Lou

[DeSwiss]

38. K&R

- With that kind of cash, he should definitely stay out of http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x584792">Tennessee......

[bluesbassman]

39. Right thing to do. I found an envelope on the floor in a store a few years back...

Had about $500 in cash and a couple of checks made out to a local coffee shop. I called the owner and told her I had found the envelope. She was ecstatic as it was right before Christmas and that money was going to cover her payroll.

I got a free coffee. :)

[reggie the dog]

40. if i found 3 or 4 years salary like that i would have kept it

no way in hell would i pass on 3 to 4 years of my salary tax free. i dont care if you think i am an asshole either. I could do a lot for my kid with that money. perhaps even stop renting.

[Beaverhausen]

48. you've said this three times in this thread. You would not be entitled to this money

If you bought a house from someone who died a mere 5 months ago, giving that money to his family the the right and ONLY thing to do with it.

I'm sorry your financial situation is bad but giving this money back to the family is the only answer. In the long run, you would benefit.

[reggie the dog]

50. i understand where you are coming from

the money would rightfully belong to someone else but who? the dead man's who? was it not in the will? I dont see how i would benefit in the long run if i gave the money back as i think i could take the money in clear conscience by rationalizing that "i am poor" but i know that the kids of the guy could be poor too, and i know that if my dad hid something like this i would be happy if someone was honest and turned it over to us but at the same time i could understand if they didnt.

[MrMickeysMom]

64. Reggie.... face it....

You are what you think you are...

[reggie the dog]

65. no denying it

[trud]

63. reggie

what you would do for your kid if you did that was teach him his Dad was dishonest.

Plus, do you seriously think if a person doesn't have a will his property is up for grabs? Every state in the Union has laws covering that, saying who inherits. Plus any will drawn by an attorney disposes of all property even without it being itemized.

You can rationalize all you like, but you can't change what's right and wrong.

[reggie the dog]

68. like you said i can rationalize without changing right and wrong

i know the property would not be up for grabs, i would just be really tempted to keep it, hide it from my wife and kids, and just slip some out each year at vacation time, or when the car broke down. i know it is not the "right" thing to do in the big picture but it would be very hard to do the right thing when the right thing is giving back what is over 3 years of income for me.

[Uben]

44. A local guy here found $200K

HE had to go under his house to fix some plumbing, and back in one corner he caught sight of a leather satchel with his flashlight. Inside were 200 $1000 bills. HE took it to the local bank, which seized the money until it was cleared from being from any known robbery. It cleared and the money was returned. Since it was $1k bills, it had been there a very long time. Each one is now worth about $1500 each

[DefenseLawyer]

47. A heartwarming story, unless of course he really found $245,000

Damn I'm cynical.

[onethatcares]

51. I heard that

honesty is what what you do when no one is looking.

I'm glad the money went to the owners, and I'm pretty sure the finder got a reward.

[SoCalDem]

69. even if he didn't , his kids got a valuable look into their dad's character

and he will have some bargaining power when they turn into teenagers:)

[Auntie Bush]

54. I found a lunch sized bag of jewelry my renter left in a box of garbage she left when she moved out.

My husband found it while cleaning up. She left suddenly when she dropped a platter on her foot and cut her toe off. She moved in with her mother is all I knew and I didn't know her maiden name. Somehow I found her, called and told her I had her jewelry and she could come over and pick it up. But she never came so I still have it somewhere. I think she never picked it up because she owed me almost 2 months rent and didn't want to face me or maybe her X husband gave it to her and she didn't want it anymore. Thanks for this article...reminded me of it and I should sell it to a used gold company. Yeah $$$$$$

[guruoo]

58. I'd hire that man.

If I didn't have an open position, I'd create one.

[B Calm]

72. I would have kept the money. After all the man was dead and they

bought the home from his heirs.