Kingston homeless man turns in lost cash he found

KINGSTON (WABC) -- He's one of the most recognizable people in Kingston: Hassel Barber, but everyone knows him as junior. Yes, Junior is homeless, but he just may be one of the city's most honest citizens.

Last year the 67-year old made headlines when he found a wallet with nearly $500 in it and turned it over to police. His reasoning was simple.

"He basically said, it's not mine. Period. It's not mine to keep it's somebody's else's," said John Tremper, with the Kingston Police Department.

Now Junior has done it again. Last week he again found money, police won't say how much as they and find whoever lost it. But the department posted news of the good deed on Facebook. Kingston native and Harlem Globetrotter Tay Fisher read about it while touring in Europe.

"I thought that was pretty cool. I was always taught that the people who don't have a lot give the most and he's a perfect example of that," he said.

Fisher gave Junior a bag and t-shirts, though Barber resisted. Just as he's declined offers for food, even lodging from others. Just a quiet man facing life's hardships without taking the easy way out.

"He won't take anything from anyone. We try to take care of him, give him money, he won't take anything. He's just a wonderful person," adds Fisher.

Because there was no identification with the money, if the cash is unclaimed after 6 months it will be returned to the person who found it. Meaning Junior will get the cash whether he wants it or not.