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The Herald reported the astonishment and concern of an Auckland pensioner handed a $5000 envelope filled with cash. The “delivery man” then turned and ran. Now there are images showing the face of the ‘delivery man’. David Fisher reports.
It was captured by a nearby security camera as the man walked towards the home of the older gentleman.
The man looks like a tradie taking a stroll but his mission that day - around 2pm on December 20 - was to deliver 100 $50 notes to a man he had never met.
The money was contained in an envelope taken from the right-hand pocket of the knee-length shorts worn by the younger man.
The CCTV imagery carries evidence of the envelope. The pocket is clearly bulging and the weight of the wad of cash appears to have dragged the shorts lower on one side.
The pensioner, 78, was pottering about in his garden on December 20 when the man approached and asked for him by name. He has asked the Herald not to name him or be specific about where he lives.
‘This is for you’
When the older gentleman acknowledged his name, the younger man pulled an envelope from his pocket and thrust it into the other’s hand, saying: “This is for you.”
When the older gentleman asked what it was, the younger man - who was already walking away - said: ”I’m just delivering it.”
CCTV captured images of the man an Auckland pensioner says handed him $5000 in cash.
The delivery man was described as in his 20s and looking gym-fit.
The image supports the “gym-fit” description, although the clothing isn’t typical gym-wear.
The CCTV images show the black shorts ending just above the knee. The black trainers were worn with black socks, with a hint of pale skin above the socks suggesting they had slipped slightly.
The man was wearing a black singlet with two fluoro-style stripes down the front. Like the sock-line, there was evidence of a T-shirt tan, with the upper arms a lighter shade than the lower arms.
When handed the envelope, the older gentleman suspected it contained cash by the weight and heft of it. He quickly tore open the top of the envelope, confirmed his suspicions and set out after the younger man in search of answers.
It was a short pursuit, with the younger man quickly turning a fast walk into a quick run and disappearing out of sight.
The older gentleman called police almost immediately and surrendered the money to the officers who visited his home. A month on, there are no answers from police.
And while police have told the Herald the money is the older gentleman’s, should it be unclaimed, he’s not sure he actually wants it, not knowing where it came from.
These images, he hopes, will bring the answers. “Maybe someone will come forward and say, ‘that’s me’.”
The older gentleman was initially concerned he was being set up in some sort of convoluted gangland sting. He was so concerned that he and his wife left their home to stay in a hotel.
Such a thing would be a foreign land to his experience. He worked white collar jobs throughout his life, setting up businesses that were successful and ultimately bought by overseas companies.
‘A complete mystery’
He’s tried to think of those who might feel indebted, having forgiven debts over the years or helped out people where he could.
“I can’t think of anyone who owes me money. It’s a complete mystery.”
It was the second time the man visited. He had visited two days earlier and asked for him by name, but was told by the man’s daughter he was out.
It was particularly baffling as the man and his wife had spent the last few years living at a property different from their registered, usual, address. He said there were not many people who would have known where to find him.
“How would he know who I was? How would he know where I lived? I would have thought that anyone who knew me would know I would call the police straight away. I was always going straight to police.”
Private investigator Danny Toresen said he had never heard of a similar circumstance - an unannounced, unexpected and unaccountable delivery of cash.
He said the facts available suggested it wasn’t something that should cause the older gentleman any concern he was at risk.
However, Toresen said the facts also suggested that the answer to the puzzle was close to the man’s own life.
David Fisher is based in Northland and has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, winning multiple journalism awards including being twice named Reporter of the Year and being selected as one of a small number of Wolfson Press Fellows to Wolfson College, Cambridge. He joined the Herald in 2004.
