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[CHRON]California cabbie finds $350,000 in diamonds, returns them to owner

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by oomp, Nov 18, 2005.

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  1. oomp

    oomp Member

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    http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3470119

    Nov. 18, 2005, 8:53AM

    California cabbie finds $350,000 in diamonds, returns them to owner
    Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES — Haider Sediqi didn't give much thought to the small, zippered pouch that a passenger forgot in his taxicab when he got out at Los Angeles International Airport.

    Sediqi stashed the brown bag in the front, where it remained as he took his Checker cab to the car wash, drove a passenger to Long Beach and met a fellow cabbie for lunch Wednesday.

    As he walked off to the restroom, Sediqi asked his friend to check the bag for identification.

    "Oh, God," Sediqi, 40, recalled his friend saying as he stared into the bag. "Look at those things."

    Inside, packed in clear plastic cases were diamonds — about 100 of them, cut and polished and worth, it turned out, $350,000. Also inside was a cell phone bill.

    Sediqi, a father of two with a pregnant wife, called the number, trying to sound nonchalant.

    "Um, did you leave anything?" the Afghan immigrant asked the man who answered, according to the Los Angeles Times.

    "Oh, my God," the voice on the phone responded, according to a story in today's newspaper.

    Sediqi arranged to meet the man, identified as Eric Austein, who had not yet departed LAX for New York, at the airport police station.

    Police inventoried the diamonds and confirmed Austein's identity. Austein calmly took possession of the gems, hugged Sediqi and promised him a reward.

    Sediqi said keeping the loot never entered his mind, even though his wife loves diamonds and he dreams of opening a restaurant.

    "God is up there," he said Thursday as he waited outside an auto shop, where his cab was having its brakes fixed. "He always watches."
     
    #1 oomp, Nov 18, 2005
  2. Uprising

    Uprising Member

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    wow. An honest cabbie. :eek:
     
    #2 Uprising, Nov 18, 2005
  3. Davidoff

    Davidoff Member

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    WOW.. great guy.. I hope he gets a good reward..
     
    #3 Davidoff, Nov 18, 2005
  4. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Member

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    I love hearing stories about this kind of stuff, doesn't happen enough in this world. I was in Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and a guy in front of me was walking down the milk isle with some diapers and baby formula and he dropped 20 bucks he was trying to put in his back pocket. I stopped and told him and gave it back and he was floored that I did it. It's kinda said that it is shocking that people do the things they should do for their fellow man... This guy deserves a helluva reward for giving up 350 large :eek:
     
    #4 Svpernaut, Nov 18, 2005
  5. PhiSlammaJamma

    PhiSlammaJamma Member

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    Meanwhile, the crooked cop slipped a few diamonds into his pocket.
     
    #5 PhiSlammaJamma, Nov 18, 2005
  6. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    If it were me, I'd probably give them back too, but I'd feel physically ill for giving them up.
     
    #6 JuanValdez, Nov 18, 2005
  7. ROCKSS

    ROCKSS Member
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    Good for him. Hopefully he gets a just reward
     
    #7 ROCKSS, Nov 18, 2005
  8. AMS

    AMS Member

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    thats what us siddiquis are all about :D
     
    #8 AMS, Nov 18, 2005
  9. fba34

    fba34 Member

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    to tell you the truth, and i know this is going to make me seem like a bad guy, i think 350,000 in diamonds is too little to return back to the owner.
     
    #9 fba34, Nov 18, 2005
  10. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Member

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    He will, his reward is with God, not in this life.

    Seriously though, why the heck does someone walk around with half-a-mil in diamonds in his pocket?! Anyone else wondering what's going on here?

    May be he's a smuggler or something ;)
     
    #10 tigermission1, Nov 18, 2005
  11. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    Keeping something that large is grand theft.

    The cabbie deserves a reward, but if he was dishonest and stupid, things would've gone bad fast.
     
    #11 Invisible Fan, Nov 18, 2005
  12. count_dough-ku

    count_dough-ku Member

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    [​IMG]


    That man's gonna have good karma.
     
    #12 count_dough-ku, Nov 18, 2005
  13. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Member

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    lol, nice one.
     
    #13 Svpernaut, Nov 19, 2005
  14. Mr. Brightside

    Mr. Brightside Member

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    How is it grand theft? He did not wilfully steal it.
     
    #14 Mr. Brightside, Nov 19, 2005
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