Kids today. Four William Paterson University football players were caught on security camera entering Buddy’s Small Lots, a brand name close out store, after-hours on Tuesday when no employees were present. The store was closed, but due to a broken lock, the young men were able to enter and could have emptied the store out for free. Instead, they bought batteries, headphones and sunglasses, leaving the money on the counter... INCLUDING the tax.
"We thought it was a Halloween gag or something," one of the young men said on The Today show, where they appeared because their honesty is so unusual it's now national news. "Character is what you do when no one is watching," a radiant Matt Lauer declared at the interview's conclusion.
“The manager did lock the doors, but there was a glitch in our system and the alarm popped the door back open,” Marci Lederman, director of operations for Buddy’s Small Lots, told 1010 WINS. Store management were alerted that there was a "break-in," but when they found the cash on the counter, they checked the surveillance cameras. The footage shows the young men waving money at the camera to indicate they're paying, and one even mouths the word "tax" as he counts out the correct amount for the merch.
"I think that there are still wonderful people in this world that have a sense of honor and dignity," Lederman says. "They were coming in there to shop, they did just that, and they felt that it was the right thing to do to leave the money behind. They didn’t take advantage." In addition to their newfound fame, each of the four football players—Anthony Biondi, Jelani Bruce, Kell’E Gallimore and Thomas James—were given a $50 gift certificate to spend at the store. Good people did the right thing and were lavishly rewarded THE END!
