If you found a ton of cash and no one was around, what would you do?
Steven Ledo, a worker at Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, came face to face with this moral dilemma when he chanced upon an unusual case of “money laundering” one day in July 2017.
On that particular day, when Ledo was doing the laundry in the hospital’s laundry room, something bizarre happened. He saw numerous $50 and $100 bills, and some $20, $10, $5, and $1 notes flowing out of the door of an opened dryer.
“The door was open, and I saw money falling onto the floor,” Ledo told WPRI.
And it wasn’t just one or two bills, there was “tons of money in there.” Ledo tried calling his boss to inform him about the money, but “the phone didn’t work.”
Ledo ended up getting down on all fours to pick up the money, and he counted $9,100 in total.
“I’ve never had that much money in my hands,” Ledo said.
Yet, Ledo wasn’t even a little bit tempted to keep the money, which he could have done since no one was in the room when it happened.
Raised by his parents to do the right thing, Ledo followed his conscience and returned the money.
“It’s somebody else’s hard-earned money, and it wasn’t mine,” he said.
Ledo handed his unexpected find to his supervisor, and eventually, nurse manager Joe Gordon-Rezner returned the large sum of money to its rightful owner—a patient staying in the hospital.
Needless to say, the patient was happy to receive her lost money.
“The look on her face was priceless: excitement, joy, relief,” Gordon-Rezner told Providence Journal.
Having done something good by returning the money, Ledo felt “good and clean.” His honest deed was also recognized by Miriam President Arthur Sampson.
“He is an honorable man,” Sampson told ABC News. “He’s been a long-term employee and this is well within his character.”
Speaking of his gesture, Ledo said, “There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. You treat people the way you want to be treated.”
Well said, Ledo! If you were the person who lost the money, how would you feel?
Like the Chinese proverb says, “A clear conscience is the greatest armor,” so do the right thing even when no one is watching.
