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Employee at Rochester Hills dry cleaner returns $1,700 in cash she found in customer's clothing

Posted at 5:48 PM, Dec 27, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-28 15:08:57-05

Just about everyone has dropped their clothing off at a dry cleaner, but what if you left a wad of cash in the pocket of one of those items.

Would you ever see that money again?

It happened today, shortly after a customer dropped off her dry cleaning with wads of money inside.

She had forgotten to check one the pockets.

When the long time customer dropped off her husband’s clothing to be cleaned at Walton Cleaners off of Walton Road in Rochester Hills, employee Sandy Bufalini prepared the clothes to be dry-cleaned.

“I was checking the clothes, as I normally do and I found something in the pocket,” she says. “I thought it was just a bunch of trash. Ready to throw it a way. I look, I’m like oh my God there’s a wad with a $2,000 band across it - hundred dollar bills.”

“I was floored,” she continued. “We went to count it.”

Altogether, there was more than $1,700 she was holding in her hands.

Sandy didn’t even hesitate. She picked up the phone and called that customer.

We’re told the woman rushed back to the store and Sandy returned every last cent to the customer.

The woman was grateful.

Her fellow coworkers were proud she did the right thing.

Sandy, who says it’s common for customers to leave items in their clothes, says she doesn’t feel like a hero, but she realizes there are many who would have pocketed the cash.

Still, Sandy says she would do again in a heartbeat.

“I feel good about myself,” she says. “I could find a dollar in a pocket and I will give it right back to the person. You feel good about it. I found $100 bills. I call the customer. They come back. They want to give a reward, but why? I do this out of the kindness of my heart and you are supposed to of that.”

We did try to reach that grateful customer, but were told that she is too embarrassed to talk to us about what happened and is also worried about her husband and finding out she forgot to check the pockets before taking her clothes to the dry cleaners.