Homeless Man's Honesty Pays

Homeless Man Receives Rewards Worth $4,000 for Honesty

DETROIT (AP) — A homeless man from Detroit is finding out that it pays to be honest. Charles Moore, who found and turned in nearly $21,000 worth of U.S. savings bonds in the trash, has received rewards worth $4,000, The Detroit News reported Tuesday.

Moore, 59, was originally given $100 from the son of the deceased bond owner, but residents here and in other states decided that wasn't enough.

A Belleville man sent him eight trash bags full of bottle returns and a bowl of coins. Three people pledged a combined $2,500, while two Troy businessmen donated $1,200, a shopping spree at a men's clothing store and a lead on a job. "I was thankful for it," said Moore, who lost his job in Toledo as a roofer, moved back to his native Michigan and can't find a job.

David C. Smith, of Albuquerque, N.M., pledged $1,000 and said that if a homeless person found bonds belonging to them worth $21,000, they wouldn't have thought twice about what to do. "We would have given him the whole amount, period," said Smith. "No questions asked."

Moore said he plans to use the money to find an apartment.

He was searching for returnable bottles in a trash bin when he made the discovery last week. Moore took the bonds to a 24-hour walk-in homeless shelter operated by the Neighborhood Service Organization, where a staffer made some phone calls and tracked down the owner's family.