Wedding envelope full of cash lost - then found

An envelope of cash was lost — then found and returned to its owner thanks to traffic on the Tappan Zee Bridge, a gift registry at Bed Bath & Beyond and Facebook.

But that $200 wedding gift made its way back to a Tarrytown bride and groom mainly due to the sleuthing of a local man who wanted to teach his children the importance of doing the right thing.

“What’s not mine is not mine,” said Peter Palushaj of Thornwood, who found the envelope. “I never considered keeping it.”

Palushaj was driving toward the Tappan Zee Bridge with his wife, Liza, 10-year-old daughter, Lena, and 5-year-old son, Kol, on Oct. 11 when he got stuck in traffic and decided to take the Route 119 shortcut.

He was stopped at a light when he saw something fluttering on the side of the road. To the surprise of his wife, he jumped out of the car to retrieve it.

It was an envelope with "Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein" written on the outside. On the inside was a note addressed to Dave and Teresa. And 10 $20 bills.

"I knew someone worked hard to earn that money," Peter Palushaj said. He learned the meaning of hard work early, as one of seven children in an immigrant Albanian family that settled in the Bronx. His parents always stressed the importance of hard work and honesty.

That was a lesson he wanted to pass on to his children.

What he didn't know was Dave and Teresa Goldstein had gotten married the day before in Tarrytown.

Many Westchester firefighters attended the wedding because Dave Goldstein is assistant chief of the Tarrytown department.

One of their guests was headed to the wedding from Washington Engine Co. No. 2 on Route 119 with the envelope in hand. When he arrived, it was gone.

Peter Palushaj had no idea who Dave and Teresa were. But some quick work on Google led him to the couple's wedding gift registry on Bed Bath & Beyond.

He then searched Facebook, finding four Teresa Goldsteins — one of whom had just posted wedding pictures. He sent her a message, which went into the little used "other" box.

A week went by and no response.

"I figured she was on her honeymoon," he recalled.

Then another week. Peter Palushaj sent more messages including one that read "Knock, knock. I want to give you $200."

It wasn't until this week — more than six weeks after the wedding — that Teresa Goldstein happened to look at her Facebook messages.

"I was shocked," she said. "I just couldn't believe that someone found that money and then went through all of the trouble to get in touch with me."

She quickly made contact with Peter Palushaj and made arrangements to meet his wife at the couple's home.

"She wouldn't take a reward or anything," Teresa Goldstein said. "She just congratulated us on the wedding and wished us a happy life together."

Peter Palushaj, who works as a facilities manager at a Walgreen's specialty pharmacy in the Bronx, said he was relieved to return the cash and grateful to have had the opportunity to teach his children an important lesson.

Teresa Goldstein is still marveling at her good fortune.

"If it didn’t happen to me I never would have believed it," she said.