# Boston Cab Driver Returns $187,000 in Cash Left in Back Seat



## ChinatownJake (Jan 3, 2016)

The Pax was homeless; the money was an inheritance check he had cashed. So heartwarming right?

Not quite. For his troubles, the taxi driver was given a paltry $100 reward. Or about one-twentieth of one percent.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...sh-backseat/rWly95VAmLghy4OlEsllMK/story.html


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## Slim Pete (Nov 21, 2014)

He's a bigger idiot than the average Uber driver.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

No good deed goes unpunished, or in this case, rewarded properly. 

Maybe if the driver would have dressed up as a panhandler he would have received a bigger handout. Then again, probably not. 

He shoulda hid the money and said another rider must have took it.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

Obviously I'm not being serious. I woulda gave it back, reluctantly.


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## JaniceCT (Aug 20, 2015)

I wonder if the owner is pissed the cabbies story made th news. I bet at least the IRS is going to wonder where the cash came from. I would have held on to it for a few days. If the rider did t report it then I would say keep it


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## LA Cabbie (Nov 4, 2014)

Slim Pete said:


> He's a bigger idiot than the average Uber driver.


Uber drivers make pennies per mile. No bigger idiot than that.


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## PTB (Feb 3, 2015)

the guy who inherited this money is using Uber math on his tipping


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## Squirming Like A Toad (Apr 7, 2016)

Or maybe he returned $187K of $200K!

That's almost fair. What is the guy going to do, hate you because you returned nearly all of the money?


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## MattyMikey (Aug 19, 2015)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...eward-grows/hZJw4bU78oi3UfICy1ccfM/story.html

So the driver was given a free cruise and has a online fund going to raise $5,000


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## Brandon0315 (May 5, 2016)

I tend to think that these type of situations are setups....there is NO way that I could possibly forget to grab that much money.


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

JaniceCT said:


> I would have held on to it for a few days. If the rider did t report it then I would say keep it


 That's called theft, no way you can legally keep that money. You find $5.00 on the ground congrats it's your lucky day, you find 187K _anywhere_ and that money belongs to someone. Plus it may be dirty money  (not in this case). inb4 you were joking



MattyMikey said:


> So the driver was given a free cruise and has a online fund going to raise $5,000


 Awesome story, if you're a good person and help others good things will find you.

"On Wednesday, Royal Caribbean contacted Raymond "Buzzy" MacCausland and his longtime girlfriend, Sharon King, to offer them a seven-day Caribbean cruise for two, including airfare to the port of departure in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Other rewards are in the works, and MacCausland and King are also hoping an online fund-raiser, with a modest goal of $5,000, might help loosen the financial squeeze they're in."

Kudos to Royal Caribbean (yes it gives them some feel good publicity), 7 day Caribbean cruise would be awesome.


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

How does a homeless person have a smartphone and an Uber account?

How long would it take him to count $18*6*,000?


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## I_Like_Spam (May 10, 2015)

If the cabbie doesn't return this much cash, and starts to spend it, he's going up the river.

And for many cabbies, it would be a "3rd strike" and life imprisonment.

$100 and a congratulatory note in the media seems ok.


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## ChortlingCrison (Mar 30, 2016)

Brandon0315 said:


> I tend to think that these type of situations are setups....there is NO way that I could possibly forget to grab that much money.


Yeah it looks like that. For all we know, they could have marked several of those bills. Not likely though. I think the driver did the right though $100 seems a bit pitiful.


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## thomas1955 (Jan 2, 2016)

People suck, you leave that much cash in my car, I'm like don't know what your talked about... Finders keepers, losers weepers.


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## Ca$h4 (Aug 12, 2015)

Uber probably sent PAX email saying "Don't have to Tip."


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## TwoFiddyMile (Mar 13, 2015)

Cash?
No dude, I didn't find anything, sorry.


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## MattyMikey (Aug 19, 2015)

Hide the money and continue to do instant hails for rest of shift. Because nobody would suspect if you found that much cash you wouldn't quit working for the day (at least). Plus then you could blame other passengers may have saw and grabbed the bag.


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## ChinatownJake (Jan 3, 2016)

MattyMikey said:


> So the driver was given a free cruise and has an online fund going to raise $5,000


Thanks for posting this follow-up. It includes this sentence:

_The $100 tip was as much as [72-year-old taxi driver] MacCausland would accept, the man said, though MacCausland indicated he wouldn't have minded a bit more. _

Which I take to mean that although MacCausland told the guy what he did, he was being "polite" and was really hoping the man would come back with a "No, I insist" more. The taxi driver is semi-retired, driving on weekends to supplement Social Security.


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## ChinatownJake (Jan 3, 2016)

JimS said:


> How does a homeless person have a smartphone and an Uber account?


A lot of homeless people here in L.A. have smartphones, often courtesy of a local support group or agency. To help them find work, keep in touch, stay safe.

However, in the follow-up item, the Globe clarifies that this guy wasn't quite homeless. Maybe formerly, only:

_The man, who spoke anonymously to the Globe on Tuesday, said he had spent the last six months living at the Pine Street Inn and recovering from drug addiction. The money was an inheritance from his recently deceased parents - a fact he proved to police before they released the money back to him.
_
Let's hope that drug addiction is not something he returns to. Otherwise, the 187K could be gone in a hurry.


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## Uberman8263 (Jan 11, 2015)

I wonder how did the homeless guy rate him.


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## MattyMikey (Aug 19, 2015)

Taxi Cab not Uber so no rating.


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## ubershiza (Jan 19, 2015)

"The taxi driver is semi-retired, driving on weekends to supplement Social Security." The TLC and uber robbed him of his retirement.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

I'd give it back too. At the beginning of that day, the cabbie did not have $187,000 in cash. So if he gives it back, then at the end of the day he's lost nothing.


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## ChinatownJake (Jan 3, 2016)

Boston magazine - at the website end - just kicked off a new feature, "Bostonian of the Week." And guess who got the first honors July 8...

https://www.boston.com/culture/lifestyle/2016/07/08/local-cab-driver-bostonian-of-the-week


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## Dredrummond (Jun 17, 2016)

I would've kept the money


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## ChinatownJake (Jan 3, 2016)

Dredrummond said:


> I would've kept the money.


The unanswered question for me is why the hell did he cash out the inheritance check. Not like he's got a secure mattress anywhere. Even if he didn't currently have a bank account, open one and deposit the damn check!


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