A Connecticut man who found and kept a bag of money in a parking lot is now facing a criminal case.
Robert Withington of Trumbull called the third-degree larceny charge “a crock of baloney” after he turned himself in on Friday, August 25th. Investigators slapped him with a felony stemming from a May 30th incident, where he found a bag of money in a bank parking lot. The 56-year-old admitted no witnesses were present, so he took the bag home with him. However, the $5,000 in cash he discovered belonged to the Town’s Tax Collector Office. An employee was supposed to be depositing the money at the bank but somehow dropped the sack along the way. When Withington stumbled upon the money, he did not attempt to find its rightful owner.
“I walked out onto the parking lot, saw something on the ground, and there was no one around, so I picked it up. It’s not like I stole something,” Withington told the CT Post.
The Tax Collector employee realized they’d lost the bag once they arrived at the bank. However, the CT Post also reports that officials confirmed that all deposits are typically made with police escorts. An investigation into why that didn’t happen continues. Nevertheless, Withington will still be held accountable for taking the funds and leaving the premises, which was captured on surveillance video.
“It’s not like this was planned out. Everything was in the moment, and it was like I hit the lottery. That was it,” Withington also told the outlet. Withington is now facing five years behind bars and $5,000 in fines.
