A Long Island Rail Road conductor prevented a heart attack when he returned $9,000 in forgotten cash to a commuter.
Jerry Savino recovered the left-behind stacks of bills in a folder that had been abandoned on a rack inside the train. After opening the folder and finding 90 $100 bills as well as a bunch of paperwork, he turned the package over to MTA Police.
The 18-year veteran of the railroad company said he felt that the money was on the up-and-up due to other contents in the folder.
“We find things on trains every day,” said Savino, according to the New York Daily News. “I saw a lot of paperwork, that was a clue that it probably wasn’t anything nefarious going on.”
The MTA police tracked down the owner of the money and gave it back. They declined to be identified but the police described him as an “excited but desperate and appreciative member of our riding public.”
Savino declined any reward, saying that he was just happy to be praised for his good work. Union representatives pointed to Savino as an example of their workers and the good things they do at a time when the relationship between the MTA and LIRR workers is tense. The railroad and the transit authority have been arguing over benefits and overtime pay for months on end.
“This is a message that’s being missed," said union chairman Anthony Simon. “We do this every day. We safeguard. We take care of the riding public.”
