Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

NEW YORK (Feb. 7) -- Never mind diamonds -- a New York cabbie was a Texas girl's best friend. The driver returned 31 diamond rings he found in his cab after dropping off the passenger, who had left him with a 30-cent tip on a $10.70 fare.

But the 41-year-old cabbie from Queens did have a message: "I'm proud of what I did so that people know New York taxi drivers are honest."

What he did started on Monday evening, when he picked up the woman at a hotel in midtown Manhattan and drove her to an apartment building several blocks away. She gave him $20 to pay the fare and asked for $9 back.

Hours later, at about 10 p.m., three other passengers with luggage discovered the woman's suitcase when Chowdhury popped the trunk open for them.

Chowdhury first drove to the building where he had dropped off the woman. But he had no idea in which of the many apartments she might be and didn't want to cause a disruption by knocking on doors.

He took the suitcase to the Manhattan headquarters of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a drivers' advocacy group to which he belongs. He and the alliance president looked inside and found two display cases with 31 diamond rings inside.

"I saw flashing, and I said, 'Oh my God! Diamonds!'" Chowdhury recalled. "I was shocked. I was trembling."

They also found a small luggage tag with a Texas telephone number they called -- the home of the woman's mother in Dallas. Meanwhile, she called the number, too.

The woman, who said she was a jeweler, got back the gems on Monday when she arrived at the alliance office around midnight -- incredulous at her luck. She offered Chowdhury a reward -- a check for $100.

"I cannot take a penny for being honest," he said, but he reluctantly accepted the money to cover the fares he lost while trying to track her down.

He said it never occurred to him to keep the diamonds.

"I'm not going to take someone else's money or property to make me rich. I don't want it that way," said the soft-spoken cabbie, who was a contractor in Bangladesh until he came to the United States 15 years ago.

He does not own a cab but rents one.

"I enjoy my life. I'm satisfied," said Chowdhury, who is single.

He didn't even mind the meager tip.

"I think some people might be broke," he said. "Or they're distracted."

The woman from Dallas asked that her name not be made public.

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

I wonder why the woman doesn't want her name made public?

What a nice guy....

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

Posted by curliegirl

I wonder why the woman doesn't want her name made public?

What a nice guy....

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

How nice

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

Posted by curliegirl

I wonder why the woman doesn't want her name made public?

What a nice guy....

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

There are good people out there!

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

OMG they were talking about this on Channel 7 news this morning. NOT ONLY did she only give a $.30 tip, but she only gave the cabbie a $100 reward afterward for returning it. Steve Bartelstein made a few snide sarcastic remarks about it. I think he may have even called her cheap.

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

There ARE some really good people in this world!


I took a cab with a co-worker of mine and she refused to tip them due to her "bad experiences" with cabbies. Whatever.


What a great guy, and yes, that woman was cheap.

Re: Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings

Posted by DaniRella

B/c she should be ashamed of herself for being so cheap and inconsiderate to tip him 30 cents!

What a great person he is.