Former waitress sends eatery $1,000, apology for stealing

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The owners of an Arizona restaurant said an anonymous former employee sent them $1,000 along with an apology for stealing decades ago.

Carlotta Flores, owner of the El Charro restaurant in Tucson, said a letter came in the mail last week from anonymous woman who said she worked at the eatery in the 1990s while attending the University of Arizona.

Flores' son, Ray, posted a photo of the letter to Facebook.

"One of the waiters I worked with had encouraged me to 'forget' to ring in a few drinks a shift and pocket the cash. And for some stupid reason, I did it," the woman wrote.

The woman, who identified herself only as "a thankful former employee," said the theft was out of character for her.

"I grew up in the church, I knew better. I hadn't stolen a dime before then, nor have I since," she wrote. "Thankfully, I was a terrible waitress and you all fired me before it could amount to more than a few hundred dollars total."

"It's been 20 years, but I still carry great remorse. I am very sorry that I stole from you. Please accept my apology + this money as a repayment + 20 years of interest. May God forever bless you+ your family," the letter reads.

The envelope also contained $1,000 cash, the Flores family said.

"Some of my managers read the letter and they actually had tears in their eyes because they know that there's very long days and food has a very little profit margin on it," Carlotta Flores told KVOA-TV.

She said the letter came at an opportune time to restore her faith in humanity.

"I had my purse stolen and this sort of renewed the faith that we had a lot of good people out there," she said.

Flores said she is hoping the woman will come forward so she can return the money.

"I don't know where she's at or who she is but I will tell you one thing. I hope that she's read or has seen what an impact this has made not only on me, my family, my business but where it will go in the future so I hope she keeps looking to see what we're doing with it," Flores said.