Watercooler Stories

Tennessee couple find, return $12,000

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn., June 28 (UPI) -- A Tennessee couple who found a bag containing more than $12,000 on top of a convenience store trash can said it never crossed their minds to keep the money.

Kenneth Allen and his wife Kristy found the bank bag with $12,764.73 and a man's wallet Saturday evening, officer Jim Knoll, a spokesman for the Clarksville police, said in a release.

Kenneth told the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle he never thought to keep the money "because that's not the right thing to do."

"I knew I had to return it," he said. "Someone might have needed that for something really important."

The Allens tried to track down the owner, but after no success, turned the investigation over to Clarksville police. Officers found the owner, a 51-year-old man who had suffered a reaction to medication and was hospitalized. That's why the bag was left behind, Knoll said.

Kenneth said the owner, whose name was not reported, has since called to express his thanks for the return of the money.

"If anyone else had found this money, they'd have thrown one heck of a party," he said. "We were meant to find it."

NYC man sues over prison dining

NEW YORK, June 28 (UPI) -- An ex-inmate is suing New York City for $80 million, accusing officers at Rikers Island of forcing him to eat too fast, causing him to need life-saving surgery.

In a sworn statement accompanying the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn this week, Michael Isolda said he needed more than the 5 minutes allotted by prison guards to consume each meal, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

Isolda required extra time to chew and swallow because he had undergone a gastric bypass surgery to reduce the size of his stomach in 2008, the statement said.

When Isolda was sentenced to 30 days in jail for possession of painkillers in 2011, his surgeon submitted a letter to the sentencing judge, Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Leonard Rienzi, stating the inmate's nutrition requirements.

Isolda alleges the note was ignored by officials at the prison, and the rushed dining made him vomit after each meal, the Daily News reported.

The situation came to a head March 27, 2011, when Isolda awoke unable to breathe and in pain. His stomach had become separated from his intestine due to the repeated vomiting, requiring emergency surgery to save his life, the newspaper reported.

3 DUIs in 18 days, no prison

TAMPA, Fla., June 28 (UPI) -- An 18-year-old Florida woman who was charged with driving under the influence three times in 18 days was sentenced to a residential drug treatment program.

Kimberly McCarthy, 18, who told police she did not know "smoking marijuana and driving would be a DUI" during one of her three arrests during the spring, was sentenced by Hillsborough Circuit Judge Lisa Campbell to complete a residential drug treatment program followed by three years of community control and supervision, with an ankle monitor worn for the first two years, the Tampa Bay Times reported Wednesday.

McCarthy was spared prison after being charged in the spring with three counts of driving under the influence, careless driving, violating her learner's permit, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.

Campbell said McCarthy will remain in jail until a bed can be found for her in a residential drug treatment program.

Officer fired for texting suspect

PLANTATION, Fla., June 28 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said an officer lost his job after text messaging with a friend who was about to be busted by a SWAT team.

Plantation Police released Internal Affairs documents Tuesday explaining Officer Robert "Bobby" Edwards, 30, sent 20 text messages and four calls to the suspect, who is accused of running a prostitution ring, over the course of 3 hours telling him to delete his information from his phone, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Wednesday.

The arrest was called off when police lost track of the suspect, who apparently inferred from Edwards' messages that his arrest was imminent, and the FBI suggested the arrest be called off for "safety reasons." It was later revealed the suspect was an informant for the FBI in an unrelated case and he surrendered to authorities the following day.

Edwards, a five-year veteran, was fired from the Police Department, but prosecutors said he will not face criminal charges because he was offered immunity in exchange for explaining the events from the day of the planned arrest.