Muslim cab driver returns $21,000 forgotten by passenger in taxi

Mohammad Asadujjaman's mother may not have schooled him in the quickest routes through the mean streets of the Big Apple or the best ways to negotiate with its famously plain-speaking inhabitants.

But she does appear to have imbued the 28-year-old New York taxi driver with an even greater gift: incorruptible honesty.

On finding that an Italian tourist had left a handbag containing more than $21,000 (£13,000) in cash - not to mention jewellery worth thousands more - on his backseat on Christmas Eve, the Bangladesh-born cabbie knew exactly what to do.

He rummaged through the bag until he found an address in Long Island. Then he rang a friend with a car and embarked on a 50-mile trip in the hope of handing over his find to someone who knew his fare, 72-year-old Felicia Lettieri from Pompeii. When his knocks at the house belonging to Lettieri's sister, Francesca, went unanswered, Asadujjaman left his mobile number and a note reading: "Don't worry, Felicia … I'll keep it safe."

A little while later the phone rang and he headed back to the Long Island address to return the bag and keep his word.

[...]

The cabbie himself shrugged off the incident, saying he had been taught never to take advantage of people. "My mother is my inspiration," he said. "She always said, be honest and work hard."

Despite conceding that such a large amount of money would have allowed him to focus on his studies, Asadujjaman insisted he was not tempted to keep it: "My heart said this is not good."

He also declined the reward the Lettieri family offered him, saying that as an observant Muslim he could not accept it.

"I'm needy, but I'm not greedy," he said. "It's better to be honest."

Read the whole article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/13/new-york-taxi-honest