Car mechanic cheered for return of money he found

(El Paso-AP) -- Jose Marquez admitted he had second thoughts when he went to his bank and found $981 in a broken night deposit box.<br><br>The car mechanic says he thought fleetingly of overdue bills and

Friday, June 6th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(El Paso-AP) -- Jose Marquez admitted he had second thoughts when he went to his bank and found $981 in a broken night deposit box.

The car mechanic says he thought fleetingly of overdue bills and the needs of a daughter with leukemia. But he ignored temptation and called Church's Chicken on Thursday about the money in a sack with its name on it.

For Rosanne Allen, Marquez's honesty was a blessing. She manages the Church's restaurant nearby, and the bag contained the restaurants receipts for the day.

She tells the El Paso Times that when she got Marquez's phone call, her heart started pounding. She says someone else might have kept the money and she'd have to cover the loss.

Allen thanked Marquez with a family meal of chicken with all the sides and extras.