Good Samaritan Finds Wallet Filled with Hundreds of Dollars in Crazy Twist of Fate
Are you missing money? A good Samaritan found a wallet with hundreds of dollars left behind at a gas station.
Michael Venetozzi discovered a wallet sitting on the gas pump at the Fastrac on Oriskany Boulevard. "When I opened it there was almost $500 in it," said Venetozzi. "The craziest part is I have a build turbo Subaru and only get gas at one station in Oriskany. I was running low and didn't want to back track so I stopped at the FastTrac on Oriskany Boulevard because they have 93."
Venetozzi tried to find the owner. He found the license inside the wallet and searched for Kurtis Shad Palmer on social media, but no luck. "The only person I found wasn't him."
After his failed social media search Venetozzi decided to turn the money into Utica Police. "I don't know if they found the guy but they took all my information when I turend in the wallet."
Venetozzi could have used that money too. He has a newborn baby and he just got laid off from his job. Instead, he did the right thing and turned it over to police. "I'm just doing my part."
Venetozzi hasn't heard whether or not Utica Police found the owner and returned the money. "I kinda want to meet this guy. It was his lucky day because I literally never go to Fastrac."
Captain Underpants
Venetozzi is no stranger to stepping up to help. In 2019, he made news when he pulled three drivers out of flood waters at the Riverside Center in North Utica in his underwear.
Venetozzi has heard every underwear joke imaginable but he'd rather be called Captain Underpants than a hero. "I just did what anyone would do," he said while choking back tears. "We have men and women overseas. They are the real heroes."