INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Boston Taxi Driver Hands In $187,000 Found In Cab, Gets $100 Reward For His Honesty

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 21:33 PST, Jul 5, 2016

A Boston taxi driver was praised for returning $187,000 in cash left on the back seat of his cab. However, Raymond “Buzzy” MacCausland, 72, admits to being a little disappointed that all he received as a reward for his honesty was a mere $100.

The Boston Police Department lauded the Boston taxi driver for his honesty in returning the bag of cash he found on the back seat of his cab on Friday, July 1.

According to Boston Police, after MacCausland dropped a passenger off on Friday afternoon, he noticed there was a backpack sitting on the rear seat of his taxi cab. When he searched the backpack to try to find some form of identification, the cab driver found the huge amount of cash, which he immediately took over to the Boston Police Headquarters.

Reportedly, as police officers were examining the backpack brought in by the Boston taxi driver, the passenger in question called police to report he had left the backpack in the cab. Because of MacCausland’s honesty, the owner of the cash was then able to retrieve his bag and the money it contained after giving proof of ownership.

Police Commissioner William Evans said in a statement, “This hackney driver exhibited exemplary behavior and his honest deed should be recognized.”

As reported by the New York Daily News, MacCausland received a $100 reward from the passenger, leading the honest cab driver to feel a little disappointed as it was less than half a penny on the dollar.

“I thought maybe he would give $500 or $1,000, maybe one of those bundles,” the driver told the Daily News.

MacCausland went on to explain that the passenger had been a homeless man, who after spending six months at a homeless shelter, had inherited the money. He said, “I’ve never seen money like that before. It was quite a sight when they dumped it on the table.”

As reported by the International Business Times, MacCausland said that several thoughts ran through his head when he found the cash. The first thought was the man who left the money behind could be dangerous. He then tentatively thought of keeping the cash and heading for home. However, as basically an honest person, he decided to hand the money in to the authorities.

“That’s the way I am. I don’t steal anything; I’ve never been a crook,” Buzzy said. “It would have been nice to see a lot of money like that though—probably changes lives.”

While he was a little disappointed at his reward, the Boston taxi driver took the newly rich passenger back to the hotel where he was living. As MacCausland dropped the passenger off again, he did admit he was hoping the man would forget his money for a second time.

“I don’t know if that’ll happen again in my lifetime,” he said.

The cabbie said of his decision to return the money, “I think it was the right thing to do.”

“A lot of people said, ‘You should have kept it,’ but I couldn’t do that.”

Larry Meister is the president of Independent Taxi Operators’ Association and a longtime friend of MacCausland. When he heard the news he wasn’t surprised at all and he said this is just the kind of person his friend is.

Reportedly the cabbie has been working as a taxi driver for around 50 years in Boston and Meister said he is a “very honest, good guy” the company could be proud of.

“Believe me, he could use the money, he’s not a very rich man,” Meister said.

It turns out this isn’t the first time MacCausland has found lost cash in his cab. Reportedly around 30 years ago a man left a briefcase containing around $10,000 in the taxi at the airport. Reportedly, that man didn’t give the Boston taxi driver any kind of reward.

[Photo via Flickr by Ben Fredericson, cropped and resized/CC BY-NC 2.0]

Share this article: Boston Taxi Driver Hands In $187,000 Found In Cab, Gets $100 Reward For His Honesty
More from Inquisitr