In a story that sounds like an episode of The Righteous Gemstones (although, sadly, no one had a pickle in their mouth despite what sounds like some misbehavin’), a plumber discovered a secret stash full of cash and checks hidden in a restroom wall at Joel Osteen‘s megachurch. Back in 2014, thousands of dollars were stolen from a safe in Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, and the money was never found despite the offer of a cash reward. However, that all changed when a plumber was called in early November of this year to fix a toilet.
As reported by local news station, KRPC Channel 2, the plumber called into a morning radio show where he walked host George Lindsey through the insane discovery:
“There was a loose toilet in the wall, and we removed the tile,” the caller said. “We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, and I was like ‘Oh wow!’”
The caller said the envelopes were full of cash and checks.
“I went ahead and contacted the maintenance supervisor that was there, and I turned it all in,” he added.
While talking to KRPC Channel 2 about the plumber’s discovery, Lindsey wanted to know what the heck happened to the thief. “I mean they stole the money, but they didn’t get it out of the wall. Did they have an accident, you know what I mean? It’s like, why did they never go back? If it’s that money, why did they never go back?”
More importantly, the radio host feels the plumber should get the $25,000 reward that was offered. However, Crime Stoppers of Houston feels differently. When contacted by KRPC, Crime Stoppers said that the reward was “only for information leading to a suspect’s arrest” and “the statute of limitations has expired.” Ouch.
Maybe Osteen will step in and make this right, but then again, generosity hasn’t been his strong suit as evidenced by his church infamously refusing to offer shelter during 2017’s Hurricane Harvey.
(Via KRPC Channel 2)