Man charged after finding bag filled with nearly $5,000 in parking lot
TRUMBULL, Conn. (WJW) — A man found a bag of cash in a Connecticut parking lot in May, and rather than leaving it or turning it in, he spent the money, police said.
On Friday, 56-year-old Robert Withington turned himself in to Trumbull Police. He is accused of stealing bills that turned out to be nearly $5,000 in town tax receipt funds. He was charged with third-degree larceny and reportedly admitted to police he believed “he had no obligation to return the bag to its rightful owner.”
This month’s charge came after a long police investigation into the whereabouts of the missing money. A local tax collector office employee had reportedly been on their way to deposit money at a bank, but when they arrived, they couldn’t find the money bag.
Police said the bag was “clearly marked with the bank’s insignia” and contained several documents identifying the town of Trumbull as the owner.
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Through search warrants, surveillance video and interviews, police said they were able to identify Withington as the person who took the money, which had been accidentally dropped outside of the bank.
After turning himself in, Withington was released and is set to appear in court next week. He spoke with a local newspaper regarding the charges, saying, “This is, like, a crock of baloney. I found money, and now it’s probably going to cost me money.”
He told the CT post that he had not planned the theft and that finding the money was like hitting the lottery.
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