$19,900 Lesson in Doing Right

Twelve-year-old Geoffrey Little found just about the last thing he expected to on the floor of a parking garage at Los Angeles International Airport. His mother, Lisa Lyne, passed right by the billfold containing $19,900 in $100 bills on June 16.

On Tuesday night, the Hermosa Beach City Council presented Geoffrey with a certificate, police T-shirts and a standing ovation for turning the money over to authorities.

Hermosa Beach Police Det. Wayne Lewis said Geoffrey and his mother, who came from out of state to visit Hermosa Beach resident Steven Firestone, found the money and eventually turned it over to police, who released it to the owner the next weekend.

Lewis said the mother’s own detective work was instrumental in returning the lost money.

A flight attendant for Southwest Airlines, Lyne noticed a flight voucher for Southwest, tracked down the owner, Torrance resident John Post, and contacted him on his cellphone.

“This was a great thing on the part of the parent and the kid. Even the most honest kid could hand it to the crooked parent. They would stick it in their pocket and away it goes,” Lewis said.

Post was on his way to Las Vegas when he misplaced the money.

He made detailed plans to pick up the money from Lyne when he returned, but sent his wife instead.

Lyne and Firestone refused to release the money to the wife, who seemed vague on the actual amount, then contacted police.

Lewis said Firestone was afraid of the old adage “No good deed goes unpunished.” “Everyone was trying to do the right thing, and Firestone did not want to be the one burned in the end,” Lewis said.

The Hermosa Beach City Council and the Police Department were happy to reward Geoffrey. “He is just a great kid,” Police Capt. Thomas Eckert said.

“All we see is the 2% of the bad people. Seeing someone who does something good is refreshing,” Lewis said.

Although lost property is turned in on a regular basis, Lewis noted that Hermosa Beach police almost never get money or valuables.

The week when the money was found was a particularly busy one at the property desk.

Lewis said that, in June, the contents of a stolen purse were returned in a FedEx package from overseas.

“Something must have entered the atmosphere in Hermosa Beach making everyone become a good person,” Lewis said.