A man who lost his wallet at a Brooklyn concert never expected to see it again — but he was especially shocked by what happened next.
He got a “brutally honest” letter in the mail from the guy who found it, saying he blew all the cash on marijuana and kept the billfold for good measure.
Reilly Flaherty, 28, who misplaced the wallet on Feb. 5 at a show by the band Wilco, was stunned when he got the plain white envelope two weeks later containing the letter, his driver’s license and credit cards.
“I found your wallet and your drivers license had your address so here’s your credit cards and other important stuff,” the hand-scrawled letter read.
“I kept the cash because I needed weed, the metrocard because well the fare’s $2.75 now, and the wallet cause it’s kinda cool. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
The note — which was signed “Toodles Anonymous” — first made Flaherty burst out laughing. But he grew angry over being ripped off.
“I quickly went from being hysterical to like, this guy is selfish,” said Flaherty.
He said in another lifetime, the two might have been pals.
“I would say, ‘Man, we would’ve gotten along — we’re both into Wilco — but you turned out to be super selfish,’ ” he said. “It speaks to the New York mentality: I’m going to be nice but there’s going to be an asterisk.”
Flaherty, who lives on the Lower East Side, said he realized he had lost his wallet in an Uber car when he got into Manhattan on the way back from King’s Theater in Brooklyn.
The Manhattan salesman said he trekked 45 mintues back to Brooklyn to look for it, but came up empty-handed. He had written the wallet off until he got the strange letter.
“I was perplexed by this plain white envelope. Is this anthrax?” he said. “I open it up and sure enough, it’s just the credit card and pretty much everything that’s of no value to me.”
By then, he had already canceled his cards and replaced his license, he explained.
In addition to the MetroCard and cash, Flaherty was robbed of a $10 Barnes & Noble gift certificate and Mr. Shiny’s shoeshine loyalty card, “which was a real drag because I almost had a free shine,” he lamented.
Flaherty declined to say how much cash was taken, insisting, “It’s not really about the money.”
“Whether it was a dollar or a thousand, [this person] is a pot-smoking, modern-day version of Robin Hood,” he quipped.
He also worried the finder had his personal information.
“He probably knows my blood type,” Flaherty added.
Flaherty admitted he wasn’t completely angry at the wallet bandit, though.
“You gotta respect the honesty,” he said.