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Bike courier returns $20,000 he found sitting atop ATM

By: Carolin Vesely

14/09/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 46

A $50 gift certificate to Boston Pizza was Matt Magura's reward for returning money to Assiniboine Credit Union.

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A $50 gift certificate to Boston Pizza was Matt Magura's reward for returning money to Assiniboine Credit Union. (BORIS.MINKEVICH@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

AS someone who makes his living delivering important envelopes -- many of which contain sensitive financial information -- to businesses, Matt Magura can empathize with whoever forgot nearly $20,000 in bank deposits on top of an automated teller machine in downtown Winnipeg last Tuesday.

Lucky for him or her -- and for the Assiniboine Credit Union -- the 29-year-old bicycle courier took a detour from his route around 11 a.m. that morning to deposit his GST cheque at the ATM in the lobby of the Medical Arts Building on Kennedy Street.

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While looking for a deposit envelope, Magura noticed a bundled stack of them sitting on top of the machine.

"I saw a $100 bill through one of the peep holes," he said during an interview Sunday. Turns out the envelopes contained around $8,000 in cash and at least that much in cheques.

"They came out of the back of the machine and were obviously supposed to go into the bank. It was probably the day's, or maybe even the long weekend's, worth of deposits," said Magura, adding that there were at least four people behind him in line.

Since he was en route to a delivery, the First Choice Courier & Messenger rider said he took care of business first, then personally delivered the misplaced loot right to the Assiniboine Credit Union's head office on Main Street.

"They were completely surprised," he recalled. But grateful, too. The credit union rewarded the honest messenger with a $50 gift certificate to Boston Pizza.

"I was happy to get anything, really," he said.

Magura, who has been making his living as a messenger for about eight years, said he hopes the fallout isn't too harsh for the bank employee who emptied the ATM but left its contents behind.

"I hope they're not in s and didn't lose their job," he said. "This stuff happens."

carolin.vesely@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 14, 2009 A4

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46 Commentscomment icon

Its feels good to see there are still honest people left in a very dishonest world where money has become the Almighty. Its not about the reward. Its about doing the right thing. Way to go Matt.

I was glad to hear that the security business that was responsible for leaving the money behind rewarded Matt with $500 cash! KUDOS to you Matt!

Just a query... what do you do when a clerk attempts to mistakenly give you back too much change? Do you tell them and give it back? Do you think, 'lucky me!' and pocket it? What if you leave a grocery store and later find something in you kid's hand that you realize you didn't pay for? Do you return to pay for it or think 'oh, well.'?

Some people do the right thing just because it is the right thing. No reward, big or small, changes the behavior of a person who believes in doing the right thing. Good for you, Matt!

$50/$20,000 = 0.25%

And that's holding the BP gift certificate at cash value.

I laugh at how true that commercial about bankers might be. Hands in your pocket, hands in your pocket, hands in your pocket. Funny stuff.

Sponsor his band?? I don't get it. Gord's or MEC was the winner for sure. Price range should be relevent to something nice of value from one of those stores.

Great publicity for him at any rate. I'm sure the people upstairs know his name now. Could be a good sign of things to come for him.

And seriously people, I like Pasta Tuesdays at BP. Great price! Why are you using this article as a means to attack a restaurant? Stick with the topic

$50.00 for returning $20,000.00 well....there really isn't a decent value that could be placed on what he did. Maybe the credit union could help sponsor his band. I've never heard of them, but publicity might help. Maybe the band could be part of the entertainment at one of the credit union's next shin digs....

You'd think that Assiniboine Credit Union (who normally places a strong value on local investment and supporting local community initiatives) could've come up with a better "Thank You".

Its almost insulting to be given a gift certificate to Boston Pizza? Who goes there? Football fans and suburban wankers? Puhhleeeze.

I actually think that the reward should have not been mentioned as now we have an issue....20,000 dollars vs 50 buck reward...good intentions are about the person not what they get for it but maybe someone who is thinking about the reward they may think twice...too bad but it is human nature for people who are struggling within themselves...whether they will return it or not...for example some one dropped 60 bucks at the casino betcha it does not get turned in unless the person was an employee

50$ GC? I agree with mamabunny, they should have put more thought into his 'reward'. I'm sure he could have used a GC for a different business, something he could actually use! or a monetary reward, he's a courier, they don't make that much money and remember he went out of his way and used his time, most people couldn't be bothered and if he doesn't want to make a fuss at least pay him for his time, or offer him a job from one of the companies he saved $20,000, wouldn't they want someone honest like that to work for them? but he did the right thing...Kudos Matt

What Matt did was an all around good-deed - and it can rest that way on his own concience.

What the CU did by giving him a 50$ gc to Boston Pizza was pretty lame at best. Matt is a bike courier - he rides through the winter. Could they not have considered the climate he rides in and provided him with something a little more useful - like a gift certificate to Mountain Equipment Co-op, a local bike store (Gord's?), or to Natural Cycle for him to get a tune up or some new tires.

Yes - ACU is a local credit union, but their management come primarily from Royal Bank. You'd think that as a credit union and "what they stand for in the community" they'd have gone and supported another business, within the community in lieu of a gift cert. to crappy, over-priced American chain restaurant that serves terrible food? I dunno. I think that Matt took 15 seconds to decide what he would do (and did the right thing) and ACU took 15 seconds to decide what they would do and didn't consider what Matt could actually use.

To the people who are saying the commenters are greedy for wanting to see this guy get a better reward, they're misunderstanding the sentiment behind it. We're not putting ourselves in Matt's shoes, saying we'd be pissed at getting such a stingy reward. We know he did it because it was the right thing. We are putting ourselves in the shoes of the business who could have been out $20,000, if not for the selflessness of this man. He didn't just "not steal" the money. He took personal time to deliver it to the ACU. If I was in a position where I had just had my ass saved like that, I'd want to express my gratitude at a level that reflects the deed that was done. Regardless of whether the good samaritan accepts or refuses the reward, it's common courtesy to offer one. A gift certificate is a joke, because in all likelihood, they had it sitting around as a perk anyways. Businesses trade promotional materials, gift certificate, products, coupons, etc... ACU probably didn't pay a dime for that.

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