Cabbie Returns Rings To Passenger Who Left 30cent Tip

[mrtonguetwista]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Never mind diamonds- a New York cabbie was a Texas girl's best friend. The driver returned 31 diamond rings he found in his cab after dropping off the passenger, who had left him with a 30-cent tip on a $10.70 fare.

"All my life, I tried to be honest," said Osman Chowdhury, a native of Bangladesh. "Today is no different."

But the 41-year-old cabbie from Queens did have a message: "I'm proud of what I did so that people know New York taxi drivers are honest."

What he did started on Monday evening, when he picked up the woman at a hotel in midtown Manhattan and drove her to an apartment building several blocks away. She gave him $20 to pay the fare and asked for $9 back.

Hours later, at about 10 p.m., three other passengers with luggage discovered the woman's suitcase when Chowdhury popped the trunk open for them.

Chowdhury first drove to the building where he had dropped off the woman. But he had no idea in which of the many apartments she might be and didn't want to cause a disruption by knocking on doors.

He took the suitcase to the Manhattan headquarters of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a drivers' advocacy group to which he belongs. He and the alliance president looked inside and found two display cases with 31 diamond rings inside.

"I saw flashing, and I said, 'Oh my God! Diamonds!'" Chowdhury recalled. "I was shocked. I was trembling."

They also found a small luggage tag with a Texas telephone number they called - the home of the woman's mother in Dallas. Meanwhile, she called the number, too.

The woman, who said she was a jeweler, got back the gems on Monday when she arrived at the alliance office around midnight - incredulous at her luck. She offered Chowdhury a reward - a check for $100.

"I cannot take a penny for being honest," he said, but he reluctantly accepted the money to cover the fares he lost while trying to track her down.

He said it never occurred to him to keep the diamonds.

"I'm not going to take someone else's money or property to make me rich. I don't want it that way," said the soft-spoken cabbie, who was a contractor in Bangladesh until he came to the United States 15 years ago.

He does not own a cab but rents one.

"I enjoy my life. I'm satisfied," said Chowdhury, who is single.

He didn't even mind the meager tip.

"I think some people might be broke," he said. "Or they're distracted."

The woman from Dallas asked that her name not be made public.

[jeromechickenbone]

What a guy.  And what a bitch.

[Dubz]

i would have been tempted to keep them, i dunno, but props to this dude for keepin it fuckin G.


That lady's gotta get her priorities together. This guy probably just saved her 100,000 bucks at least, and she offers him 100? bitches aint shit but hoes and tricks.

[J$crILLa]

cheap ass bitch. 100 $ for some diamonds

[Lake Titicaca]

You idiot Allah gave you those diamonds  she should have offered him a diamond ring for his wifey...but c'mon guys she's from Texas.

[Smoke Break]

that's rare these days, dudes got class.

[SGV]

I would've hit the pawn shops real quick!

[Mac 10 †]

I would've hit the pawn shops real quick!

[Jakubs]

Nice to hear that there are still honest people in the world. Too many low life scumbags running around.

[I.B. BLVD]

I would have took a few of them and then tell her they must have fell out.

[Sikotic™]

I hate cheap motherfuckers. Why you tipping him 30 cents, this ain't 1922.

She's a jewler too, she's got mad loot. Fuck cheapskates.

[acgrundy]

I hate cheap motherfuckers. Why you tipping him 30 cents, this ain't 1922.

She's a jewler too, she's got mad loot. Fuck cheapskates.

Lol, this forum is full of them...how many of you cheap fucks said you shouldn't tip the pizza delivery guy?

[WC Iz Active]

Cool guy!  AND WHAT A FUCKIN BITCH!